Houssam Khorchid was born in Kuwait, in 1981, moved to Abu Dhabi – UAE in 1992 and living there since then. He is a Palestinian of Ottoman roots, with a Bachelors degree in Computer Science, from King’s College University of London, UK.

His interest in the art of Arabic calligraphy started while he was in London in 2001, where he received his first reed pen and started practicing by himself. Upon returning to Abu Dhabi, UAE in 2002, he promptly joined Arabic calligraphy courses and learned Divani and Neskh scripts, with UAE’s first accredited Arabic calligraphy artist Hussein Al-Hashimi. He continued to study with his teacher and took permission from his teacher to develop his skills further in Istanbul, Turkey. In Istanbul, being the capital of this art throughout history, he took lessons in Thuluth script with the main masters such as Hasan Chelebi and Davud Bektash. He also interacted with Mehmed Özcay and Savash Chevik who are experienced artists. Since then till today he is in continuous contact with art historians and university professors, such as Mustafa Uğur Derman and Süleyman Berk, who have published books about his art and began his personal research about calligraphy in the Ottoman era and learned the Turkish language.

He is working as a Senior Computer Systems Administrator in Abu Dhabi. He speaks Arabic, English, Turkish.