The Main Master Artisan:
Mr. Abdul Raoul Baydoun Abdulqader was born in 1956 in the city of Id lib Kafr Takharim (Syria). After completing high school in Jumaat Khasan Kafr Takharim High School in the 1970s, his love for art drew him to Damascus, Syria to hone his artistic talents in the Arabic Cultural Center which specializes in the intricate and Syrian traditional ‘ajami art. He spent 6 years in the Arab Cultural Center mentored by professional Syrian artists such as Luai Kayali, Si nan Otah Bashi with colleagues such as Abu Sulaiman AI-Khayyat and Abu-Roohy. He worked on several projects with the Arab Cultural Center, such as setting up the ‘ajami workshop in the Military Housing Establishment, and decoration of the Damascus International Airport lounges and VIP hall. Subsequently, he started his own practice and decorated hundreds of villas and palaces with Damascene artwork.
In 1964, he moved to Lebanon and worked with the Directorate General of Antiquities and UNESCO, where he worked on several museums, as well as restoration and re-construction of several mosques; some of the most prominent are: Umari Mosque (Beirut, Lebanon), Umayyad Mosque (Belbek, Lebanon), Sharhabeel Mosque (Sayda, Lebanon), Al-Mansouri Mosque (Tripoli, Lebanon), AI-Tooshiya School (Tripoli, Lebanon). He executed restoration work for the Azm Palace in Homa, Syria, and then Ghazlah Museum in Aleppo, Syria. The art does not stop there – in fact, Abdulraouf’s children have also inherited the magic in his hands, namely: Reham, Marwa, Milad, and his only son Ziad, who graduated from the International University of Science and Technology (Syria) with a degree in Interior Architecture. Ziad is currently studying Master of Architecture in Interior Architecture.