Al Tashkeel Magazine
The Foundation, the Turn, and Restoration

Nujoom Al-Ghanem
Film Director/Poet/Artist

Those with an interest in documenting and keeping a record and in the cultural and artistic history are aware of the importance of cultural and artistic initiatives launched in the 70s and 80s of the last century. Publishing Al-Tashkeel print was one of those initiatives that wish to reflect the passion of a certain group of fine artists at the time, not only for shedding the light on the activities in the fine arts area in particular as an art practice, but also building a foundation for a culture of fine arts and spreading awareness of fine arts in the society, while also emphasizing that fine arts are not the mere paintings or sculptures, but way more than that. Hussain Sharif carried the first issue of Al-Tashkeel print to the Emirates Writers Union office in Sharjah, with the hope they’d approve its publishing, given that the Emirates Fine Arts Society didn’t have a copying machine at the time, back in 1984. Then one of the members at the time suggested going to a printing place on the ground floor of the same building, and this member was “Saif Al Suwaidi”.

There, Hussain Sharif managed to print 500 copies, at a cost of AED1000. also, the late artist Hassan Sharif was keen to supply the magazine with various artistic translations, and provide information on young movements and fine artists from outside the Arab world scene so they’d gain more recognition and awareness. however, the first print of the magazine was issued in 1984, and up to this date, only 30 more issues were published; this raises a lot of questions about the magazine’s journey and the challenges it faced.

“The magazine started in 1984. It was 8 pages long, and it cost AED1000 to print”

In that issue, an elite group of researchers from around the world in the field of visual arts were invited to submit articles. Our celebration today is not only for launching the 30^th issue of the magazine, and receiving the support from Sharjah Government, but also for launching the magazine website, which makes the magazine, with all of its intellectual and artistic content, available to all art audiences around the globe. This emphasizes the Society’s keen effort to spread knowledge and culture, and enrich the Arabic library with the most important publications.

Source: “Language, Literature and Art” program، by Raad Aman, Sharjah TV, 8/10/2022.

Ali Al-Abdan
Researcher of Knowledge

Al-Tashkeel is an ancient magazine, as it goes back to 1984. since its issuance, the magazine was indeed the most significant source for spreading the visual art culture. it contained many translations of the concepts and trends of contemporary arts at a time when translated books were scarce. plus, the visual landscape now is in need of education, in addition to producing artwork. we, in the Emirates Fine Arts Society,  are proud of this magazine, which encompasses many studies, not only in the field of fine arts but also in cinematic methods and schools, theatre, poetry, and others. in 1989, I have submitted an article in which I addressed the history of caricature art, now I’m writing in the “File of the Issue” section about “Sculpture art in the UAE”… this magazine has great importance, as it genuinely documents the history of the art movement in the UAE, and it enjoys, especially with its new look, many qualities that qualify it to become a source to which we can return about art in the UAE.

Raad Aman
Writer, poet and journalist

"Amidst arts, there is an authenticity to bring delight, 
one that enchants the soul with a ravishing sight. 
A brush, a picture, a pen, an article,
 then Al-Tashkeel magazine came to light."

Al-Tahkeel magazine provides us with a wide variety of experiences in the field of art, it also encourages young talents and the mightiest of pens to write in it, thus providing a great benefit and conveying great importance.
Al-Tashkeel magazine recently launched a tab to introduce the magazine and the researchers contributing to it, in addition to the chapters and sections. Plus, the website included a separate tab for all the magazine topics so that the readers and anyone interested are able to view all the research and articles and follow all the news smoothly and easily.
The launching event was held at Emirates Fine Arts Society headquarters in Sharjah in the presence of many artists, creators, and renowned figures. The launch of the website accompanied the ceremonies of publishing the magazine’s 30th issue, which came with varied and multifarious research and articles, written by a group of elite writers from all around the world, who shared their views and academic research addressing arts and its problematic issues and topics. The issue was also ripe with news covering the artistic and global landscape from various sources, festivals, and events concerned with artistic matters and their latest news.

It is my wish to see communication between the state’s institutions and universities and art faculties, and to see them working together toward spreading artistic culture among the new generation of artists. Our thanks here are due to those working on the magazine; Salem Al Junaibi, chairman of the Emirates Fine Arts Society, and Dr. Noha Farran, the magazine’s chief editor. What they accomplished was not simple, as it typically requires the efforts of a huge team, but their individual efforts and their volunteering work in service of art and culture without expecting a return is something that deserves a lot of appreciation, their efforts equal that of a whole team that is continuously working, with the support of Sharjah government.