Young refugee art exhibit spotlights themes of hope, bravery and strength

A close-up detail of Afghan teenager Zahra Karimi's acrylic artwork titled 'Strength' (2021), portraying the spirit of bravery and hope. Photo: Greater Action

In an effort to support the refugee community in Malaysia, Greater Action, a non-profit social organisation, is holding an exhibition featuring artworks by nine young refugees on Nov 12 and 13 at the Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club’s East Residence Clubhouse in Bukit Kiara.

Greater Action co-founder Julie Das says the exhibition, called Colours Of Hope, aims to highlight the talents of the eight self-taught Afghan and one Rohingya refugee and encourage them to make a living or a career out of art. The artists are aged between 14 and 20.

She says the exhibition, which will be Greater Action Art Gallery's first ever curated exhibition, also hopes to motivate these young artists by giving them a new platform to showcase their hard work and allow them to freely express their emotions through their artworks.

"The organisation is working closely with 250 families via various welfare programmes, and when I met with Laila, a 17-year-old Rohingya student, I immediately recognised her exceptional talent. I promised her I would organise an exhibition one day,” says Das.

Rohingya teenager Laila Rafiq's 'Mix Of Emotions' (acrylic on canvas, 2021). Photo: Greater Action

She shares that each of the art pieces were made using a variety of mediums such as acrylic paints, pastel colours, water colours, lead pencils and many more.

"They've been painting for the past six months, so we'll have about 70 art pieces, some on canvas and some on paper.

"They've done this with limited supplies so we also do fundraising and try to find sponsors to help us to pay for the art materials,” says Das.

Apart from the art exhibition, Greater Action has also been working on a tailoring project involving highly skilled and experienced tailors from the refugee community which created an array of unique handcrafted gift items, accessories, home linen and home decor with premium recycled fabric.

Greater Action aims to improve lives and find day-to-day solutions in education, livelihood, and healthcare for all vulnerable communities, especially refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia.

More details here. Entry by registration. - Bernama