“Al Jalila Cultural Centre for Children” concludes with innovate paintings made from coffee and spices

Dubai 10th April 2016 - “Al Jalila Cultural Centre for Children” brought its popular Spring Camp to a close on the 7th of April. The camp was hosted for ten consecutive days and was attended by both expat and Emirati children. Over the course of the camp events, more than 150 children took part in a variety of learning, entertainment and cultural activities that were inspired by the desert art forms and Arabian hospitality. 

Under the mentorship and guidance of renowned artists Helen Karam, Emirati artist Ahmad Abdullah and Fatima Fairuz, the children worked on more than a hundred panels to create artistic pieces using traditional elements of Arabian hospitality including coffee and spices of different forms and colours. This activity was one of the highlights of the camp apart from the painting workshop that was attended by children of special needs.

The pottery department worked with children under the guidance of the artist Kamal Al Zaabi by creating art pieces that are inspired by the nomads of the desert and their journeys. Symbols representing the milestones of desert journeys became the inspiration for pottery works.

The handicraft workshops organized at the camp were of special interest as children enjoyed the art of paper making, appreciate the various textures of paper and preparing paper scrolls for writing. Children had a memorable time jotting down their camp experience in notebooks created and designed by themselves.

Girls of the age group 10 and 16 years took part in a special theater workshop that enlightened them on the art of lighting and decoration, the group worked on the theme of ‘when the sand speaks’. The theme revolved around the journey of Bedouins in history, tracing their imprint from Maghreb to the Gulf and East Asia. Well-known actress Nasra Al Maamari worked with the camp attendees below nine years of age and presented the themes of ‘the show’ and ‘the shadow’ in theater. Along with the handicraft department, the children developed decoration pieces for theater that are inspired from the desert. 

Participation of the Emirati artist Ahmed Mal Allah, pianist Tala Tutunji, oud player Ayham Abu Ammar and guitarist Firas Rida ensured that the music department offered exciting workshops to the Spring Camp attendees. Music inspired by the desert, and featuring instruments like fiddle, drums, percussion, lute, guitar and tambourine helped create pieces with Emirati names like Alnhamah and Sinaa. Children in the age group of 7 and 16 took part in the creative workshops composing their own fusion musical pieces.

The Spring Camp was another success story of collaboration, with partner organizations playing a key role in achieving its objectives of developing creative and innovative youth of the future. Some of the government entities that participated in the Camp are the Civil Defense Department, Dubai Electricity & Water Authority, Dubai Municipality and Dubai Sports Council.