Colors and Rainbows: an Art Workshop for Deaf Children, a wonderful exhibition
With your support, Rebuilding Alliance has been providing learning support to children in Rafah in the south of Gaza. We recently expanded our horizons by holding an art workshop for deaf children in December 2021, followed by an exhibition of their artwork in Jabaliya Camp in the north of Gaza.
Following the bombings in May, two famous Gaza artists, Basel el Maqosui and Maysa Yousef, asked Rebuilding Alliance to sponsor an art workshop for deaf children. They are both part of the Gaza in Color consortium, Artist Basel speaks sign language and has extensive experience teaching deaf children. Artist Maysa loves working with children.
The social environment is hard on deaf children. Due to the communication barrier, other children don’t play with them and bully them. These children don’t get equal opportunities and don’t get accepted into regular schools. 12-year-old Fatima is one such child who was not allowed to continue education in regular schools. Schools thought that she is too dull to carry on with her education not realizing that she is hearing-impaired. Fatima is now a student of Jabaliya Joint School for Deaf Education and we’re so pleased that she took part in the art workshop.
The children in Gaza are still suffering from the psychological trauma of the May 2021 bombings. The art workshop gave them an important way to address their fears. They channelled their negative emotions into work that is so very creative and positive.
Rebuilding Alliance partnered with Al Basma Club for the Disabled, one of our partner community NGOs in Gaza, and the Jabalia Rehabilitation Society for this venture. A total of 50 hearing-impaired children, age 8-16, from Jabaliya Joint School for Deaf Education participated in the workshop. The children were divided into two groups based on their interests. One group did collage work with Artist Maysa while the other group learned drawing from Artist Basel.
The workshop lasted for five days. It kicked off with an awareness session on COVID-19. We made sure that all preventive measures were taken against COVID and rooms had good ventilation. Thankfully it was after our workshop concluded that the Omicron strain hit Gaza.
Each child was provided with a bag containing painting tools: five acrylic colors, a sketchbook, paintbrushes, scissors and glue. Children were taught the basics of color mixing and introduced to how to work with different materials for collage work. Their instructors helped them bring their concepts to canvas.
The children thoroughly enjoyed themselves! Fatima shared, “I really like drawing because it helps me express myself.” Another girl shared, “Colors and the workshop have taught me how to be happy. I am very happy that I participated in this drawing workshop.”
Children produced amazing artwork which was proudly displayed in an exhibition held at the Shbabeek Art Studio in Gaza City through January 2022. The children came up with a wide range of subjects – a house on top of a snowy mountain, a cat, a girl holding balloons, and a horse – offering insight into their imagination. Amal made a flag of Palestine to show her love for her homeland.
I hope it will warm you heart to see the joy that colors, brushes, and canvases brought to these deaf children in Gaza. After all, all children deserve colors and rainbows in their lives. Thank you for being part of this project that is working for inclusive education in Gaza and bringing joy to these children. Please enjoy a scroll through the virtual art gallery.