Since its inception in January of closing year, Kenaz, the UAE’s first-ever cellular art caravan, has been riding across country with a undertaking to deliver artwork and creativity to faraway and underserved groups. Launched by Emirati artist and educator Ghaleya Almansoori, Kenaz has traveled over 10,000 kilometers, offering free artwork classes and workshops in areas wherein get entry to to creative schooling is limited. Almansoori’s personal initiative targets to create a area for cultural change and artistic expression, achieving humans of every age, from kids to adults, inside the UAE’s maximum remote locations.
A Vision Turned Reality
The concept for Kenaz changed into born out of Almansoori’s deep connection to each her Emirati background and her experience running in community outreach programs at nearby art establishments. As an artwork educator with a Bachelor’s diploma in visible arts from Zayed University and a Master’s diploma in artwork training from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Almansoori traveled extensively to rural regions across the UAE, staring at the scarcity of assets and areas for people inquisitive about art. Recognizing the capacity for a mobile answer, she expected a manner to convey art directly to the people, in particular those in remoted or rural communities who may not have access to traditional artwork establishments or packages.
Named after a camel on her father’s farm in Liwa, Kenaz is a 10-meter-long caravan, filled with paints, brushes, easels, and other materials. The mobile studio is designed to house each outdoor and indoor sports, making an allowance for art training for the duration of the cooler months as well as the recent summer time days. It has grow to be an area in which people can explore their creativity, irrespective of their skill stage or enjoy.
Kenaz’s Impact: Connecting Communities
Kenaz’s cellular studio has already made a great effect in several towns and towns throughout the UAE. From the border metropolis of Al Sila to the ancient metropolis of Qidfa in Fujairah, the caravan has fostered a space for people to experience artwork. Whether travelling to schools, fairs, or network events, Kenaz has supplied loose workshops that inspire local residents to engage with art, offering them an possibility to find out new competencies and innovative stores.
“I always wanted to spread the pleasure of creating art,” Almansoori shared. “With Kenaz, I have had a extraordinary adventure witnessing the way it became a thriving hub for cultural exchange and artistic expression.” People from diverse backgrounds flocked to the caravan, eager to participate in art training, explore their creativity, or even discover new varieties of expression. Whether it’s a collection of youngsters portray their first canvas or adults learning new craft techniques, Kenaz has created an inclusive environment that celebrates the joy of inventive exploration.
One of the most significant feature of Kenaz is its potential to bring humans collectively from different walks of life. Whether it’s a neighborhood Emirati community or an international vacationer, the cell art studio serves as a bridge for special cultures to attach over shared artistic experiences. Almansoori’s imaginative and prescient has led to a area wherein Emirati tradition is widely known via the arts at the same time as additionally embracing international affects.
A Strong Cultural Foundation
Growing up in Liwa, amidst the full-size sand dunes of the UAE, Almansoori’s early life changed into deeply inspired by way of the conventional crafts and cultural practices of her network. She fondly recalls watching her grandmother weave Al Talli, the problematic Emirati embroidery, which instilled in her a lifelong love for crafts and hues. It became this deep-rooted connection to Emirati culture that led Almansoori to comprise traditional elements of her background into Kenaz’s offerings, aiming to keep and have fun the rich cultural history of the UAE.
Through the cell studio, Kenaz has also participated in diverse historical past fairs inside the UAE. At activities just like the Al Ain Date Festival, Kenaz has delivered art bureaucracy that mix traditional and current techniques, inclusive of spice art workshops, where traffic use turmeric, saffron, coffee, and paprika to create particular art work. American expat Nicole Walters, who attended a spice art workshop on the Al Ain Date Festival, shared her enjoy: “This was the primary time I’ve ever used turmeric, saffron, espresso, and paprika to color. Being part of this cultural cellular art studio changed into a memorable experience.”
Expanding the Reach
Kenaz’s achievement lies in its accessibility and flexibility. The caravan movements across the UAE, accomplishing regions which can be otherwise overlooked by traditional art institutions. Whether it’s the Al Marmoon Film Festival in Dubai or the quaint city of Al Sila, Kenaz has end up a fixture in communities across the united states. Emirati Sara Al Marzouqi, who participated in a tote bag workshop at the Al Marmoon Film Festival, shared her experience: “The entire concept appeared very interesting and I ended up doing a tote bag workshop. This became a new revel in for me. I in no way knew I ought to create artwork so effects. Now I’m a big fan of Kenaz, and I plan to tune it and follow it wherever it goes.”
The caravan’s cell nature ensures that it reaches groups regardless of their vicinity, whether or not in bustling towns or in extra far flung, much less related regions. This accessibility is principal to Almansoori’s challenge to democratize artwork and make it available to anyone.
Looking Ahead: A Growing Legacy
As Kenaz maintains its journey across the UAE, it’s clear that this modern venture has made a lasting impact on the local communities it has touched. Through her initiative, Almansoori has not handiest brought art to the people however has also fostered a feel of network and cultural delight. By presenting a platform for innovative expression, she has created a space where art is not simply something to admire, but some thing to create and percentage.
Looking beforehand, Kenaz is poised to develop and enlarge its attain even further. Almansoori’s willpower to making artwork accessible to all is obvious in the enthusiastic responses from those who’ve participated in her workshops. Whether younger or old, local or global, people preserve to flock to the caravan, keen to explore their creativity and become a part of something large than themselves.
Through Kenaz, Ghaleya Almansoori has not only created a mobile artwork studio however a movement that celebrates the electricity of creativity, community, and cultural trade. As Kenaz travels further across the UAE, it’s clean that its journey is simplest just starting, and the impact it will have on destiny generations of artists is bound to be transformative.
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