Sharjah Children Biennial Animates Fantastic Tales with Artistic Talent

The Sharjah Children Centres held a variety of artistic workshops in preparation for the fifth edition of the Sharjah Children Biennial (SCB). The workshops, aimed at educating children about creative arts as well as broadening their imaginative abilities, were a highly-anticipated forerunner to the 5th SCB, which is being held under the patronage of the wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Chairperson of the Supreme Council for family affairs (SCFA).

Designed to cater to all Sharjah Children Centres as well as Sharjah Girl Guides, the workshops educated children on the arts and helped them to discover their own artistic talents. The classes also evaluated the children’s natural ability in various art forms to assess their participation in the fifth edition of Sharjah Children Biennial, which is focussing on a new category, ‘Fantasy and Reality’.

In the first workshop, ‘Re-imagine, Re-build’ conducted by Alaa Edrees, the children constructed a setting using images of landmarks, factories, towers, landscapes or even archaeological sites. They then related that environment to a specific time and transformed their real world into a fantasy story.

Held under the theme ‘Colour techniques – Dream and Reality’, the second workshop, conducted by Yousef Al Dweik, showed children various methods used in different styles of colouring. It aimed to enrich and enhance the children’s technical skills and helped them to express their feelings and dreams through their work.

“It is a crucial element of any child’s life to understand and appreciate art and it is our goal to help them not just treasure that gift, but encourage them to contribute to the creative process. We support and embrace their talents and help them to shape their innovation and imagination, bringing an added dimension to the fifth edition of the Sharjah Children Biennial. Given what we have witnessed through many workshops in the Emirate of Sharjah, we expect the quality to be outstanding at this year’s event,” said Reem binKaram, Director of the Sharjah Children Centres.

In the third workshop, themed ‘My Ideas on Ropes’, Huda Saeed Al Thohouri taught the children about Earth Art by making model figures using almond tree leaves and wood, linking children to their surroundings and natural environment. In the fourth hands-on lesson, titled ‘Imagination Outside the Frame’, Khadija Al Saidi encouraged children to express an idea by imagining a tale and drawing it as a short illustrated story.

Artist Hind Ali Al Shamsi led two artistic workshops on architecture design. Geared to enhancing the spirit of cooperation among children as well as broadening their imaginative creativity, the first workshop was themed ‘Neighbours’ and the second ‘Our House as We See It’. Children imagined their dream houses, and chose the shape of their neighbours’ homes, designing the whole neighbourhood.

Artist Danial Ghassan Dao conducted a workshop, themed ‘A World Built by Children’, in which the young artists built 3D models about their own world. These were then brought together – the result is a world full of fantasy and wonder, built collectively by children full of creativity and innovation.