Established artists are working with children with special needs to create two to four collaborative artworks under ‘We are the Children of Art’ project. By Umer Nangiana

Established artists from Qatar, Australia, UAE, Oman and Iran will be mentoring children with special needs in an art therapy workshop that started in Doha on Wednesday.
The project, “We are the Children of Art”, is an initiative of Regency Art Non-Profit and Al-Asmakh Charity and will see the teams create two to four collaborative artworks.  
These creations will be a part of Sotheby’s Charity Auction Catalogue in collaboration with Al-Asmakh Charity Annual symposium project. All revenues from the sales would be directed towards children in need of health, safety and education in the Middle Eastern region, announced Ana Kirjanova, Art Collection and Art Events Manager at Regency Art, along with Tamer Hasabo, AFIF Business Club Relationship Manager at Al-Asmakh Charity, at a press meet yesterday.
“When I came to Doha and identified the way Regency Art non-profit has [arranged] its activities, I decided that we need to put together a project that teaches that arts are not only beautiful artwork that people can enjoy,” Ana told Community in a chat.
“Via arts we can actually involve and co-operate with other professional entities where we can raise public awareness on larger scale issues, [be they] local, regional or international. And that is where the idea came from to create a project where through art via charity organisations, we can put together something great, where we give opportunity to the children to be a contributive part of it,” she added.
Ana said it is not just about the physical part, but also emotional and mental state of a person. “I believe there are no bad children, there are just bad examples of leading life. And I felt like this is a responsibility of us as grown-ups and professionals to set an example for children about true values of life,” said the Art Collection and Art Events Manager.
And the true values of life, she added, are the spiritual values. They have been known for centuries and include compassion, kindness and respect towards other living beings.
Art therapy, Ana said, can be described at many different levels. In many cases people think it is only physical part, which is not true. It is not only physical, she explained. “It is a mental and emotional state. It is about learning and changing your ideas, separating right from wrong, pursuing further motivation and simulation in your life,” Ana elaborated.
“There are many aspects to it. And we decided that children need to be voiced. In many cases, I believe we do not involve children the way we should. Not only we do not educate them about these life examples, we do not give them opportunity to be a part of something like this,” she added.
We ignore them, she said. “We say you know nothing. We do not listen to them enough. There needs to be a constructive dialogue between a grown-up and a child and then a good example needs to be shown to the child on how he needs to pursue his life path, besides giving opportunities even with the smallest things,” said the manager.
She thanked Al-Asmakh family on behalf of the whole of Regency Art Non-Profit team. This family, she said, has given an opportunity for the project to happen and she said it is only a beginning for them. The project will grow into a bigger programme in March next year. “We have decided we will not stop there. We will not disclose the information now but I would say that you will hear about ‘We are Children of Art’ going larger, reaching out more to the public,” said Ana.
The workshop this year ends on December 20.