From May 16 to June 1, a good friend of the institute from Beloit College, her colleague, and students visited Senegal. The West African Calligraphy Institute was happy to help prepare parts of their program and host them at the West African Research Center in Dakar.

From Fallou:

I would like to share a brief report on the recent visit of the Beloit College student group to our institute.

We first gave them a warm welcome and presented them with a calligraphy artwork as a gift to commemorate their visit. We then discussed the mission of our calligraphy institute, our future projects, and the activities we carry out in the field using our own resources.

Finally, we guided them through our exhibition, which was organized into four main sections:

• The 28 letters of the Arabic alphabet and their meanings;
• The Holy Quran and its connection to the art of calligraphy;
• The Xassaides, the poetic writings of Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba;
• Calligraphic works conveying messages on important social themes.

The students showed great interest in our work, and the exchange was both engaging and enriching for everyone involved.