Painting a brighter future

Gulf News

The Mawaheb from beautiful people art studio in Dubai helps special needs students develop their talents. Read about it here: http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/education/giving-talent-a-creative-outlet-1.952597. See more at http://gulfnews.com/gntv

Transcript

00:00Mawaheb is the Arabic word for talent and Mawaheb from Beautiful People is the name

00:09of the art studio.

00:10It's an art studio for young adults with special needs and we have ten students, ten artists

00:18coming per day.

00:20Victor is 21 years old and his parents found out that he was deaf when he was three years

00:27old.

00:28He's one of three boys, he's from Zambia, born in Zambia.

00:33We found out that he has a real talent and he's really good in painting.

00:40So now this year we discussed with the parents like okay we would like to have him another

00:46year here.

00:47We would like to set out a plan for him to give him wings to become a single artist.

00:56We have lots of schools for special needs in Dubai but as soon as they reach the age

01:02of 18 they have to leave the school and a lot of our artists here they have been sitting

01:08home for years.

01:11Well you can imagine that they gain behavioural problems, depression and all that kind and

01:15the parents they don't have any idea where to go with them.

01:19So they work here on the artistic talents, artistic skills but through art we work on

01:26their life skills and that's even more important.

01:29It is important that they develop themselves as a person and that they become more independent

01:34and that we integrate them into the society.

01:36So tell me about this painting, this is the one you're most proud of, yes?

01:39Yes, I'm most proud of this one because I did it because my dad died of cancer.

01:45Okay.

01:46It's all my feelings.

01:47Okay and how long did it take you?

01:51An afternoon.

01:52An afternoon.

01:53Well a few hours actually.

01:55Okay and you won something for it, didn't you?

01:57Yeah, I won the prize in an art exhibition, I won a Blackberry.

02:02What they've taught me is that they don't have any inhibitions about their art, they

02:06don't have any, they don't paint for the world, they just paint for themselves.

02:12It doesn't matter to them whether the world likes the art piece or not, they like it and

02:17that's what's important and that's I think as an artist it's so important for every artist

02:24to know something like that, you know?

02:28We have 22 volunteers and it's amazing having those people at Mawaan here because we can't

02:38do it again without the community, we can't do it without those dedicated volunteers.

02:44I help here as a volunteer, so I've been working here since the opening actually and I saw

02:51it growing, helping the special needs as well, it was something that I wanted to do and it

02:59gives me a lot, I get so much from them and we make anything about whatever anyone has

03:06to bring, that's the beauty.

03:09We make something out of it because everyone has something to bring and to give.

03:14The perception has to be changed because our young adults with special needs are artists

03:22and that's what we want to show everyone, that they're just as good as everybody else,

03:27you know?

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