Located in the culturally rich Bastakiya region of Dubai, an airy, sunbathed villa is home to an art studio for young adults with special needs. Mawaheb from BP (which means ‘talents’) is also a safe haven where students can develop their self-confidence while learning artistic and life skills. Mawaheb not only gives these young adults an opportunity for expression and self development, it also works to make them valuable members of the community through contribution. From art exhibitions nationwide to the sale of unique products such as beach bags and crockery, Mawaheb ensures that the voice of these talented individuals are heard and appreciated.
We spoke to director, Wemmy De Maaker, who is the lady responsible for the initiative. Hailing from Holland, Wemmy worked with people with special needs for 15 years prior to her move to the UAE.
Take us from the beginning, why establish Mawaheb?
When I first came here I realised that people with special needs are not very visible in the community, on the streets, or in the malls. In Dubai, and I think in Abu Dhabi it’s the same, there are fantastic schools for people with special needs, but it’s all up to the age of 18. As soon as they turn 18 they have to graduate and then there is nowhere for them to go to. You can imagine, it’s the same for anybody – when you’re at home and you don’t have any purpose in life, you don’t have a job, you don’t have school, you become depressed. In such situations people with special needs will develop behavioural problems.
In 2009 I organised an awareness raising campaign with a big art exhibition at the Grand Hyatt Dubai under the patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein. It was in cooperation with an organisation from Holland, and we were exhibiting 40 art-works by people with special needs from the Netherlands, Switzerland and the UAE. From HRH Princess Haya and through Dubai Culture and Art authorities I received a villa in the Bastakia district in Dubai. In October 2010, we opened the doors of the art studio.
So what do students do at Mawaheb?
We are not a school, we are a studio, so we call all our students artists. At the moment we have 18 artists ranging from 18 to 43 years of age. 10 artists attend per day. We teach them artistic skills but through art we teach them life skills as well. While they are shaping the art the art is shaping them. This is basically what we have seen over the last year; that the most important thing is that they grow in confidence and self-esteem. We also participate in exhibitions. Last October, we had an art exhibition in the DIFC, and it was such a proud moment for the parents and the artists.
And you accept commissions for artwork, right? How does that work?
A company or an individual that would like to have artwork in their office or home approaches us, and we sit with them and discuss the theme, the size, the colours etc. We then sit with a couple of artists and we discuss the theme – we ask them, ‘OK, what do you think about this theme? What does it mean to you?’ Then they start painting in accordance with the size, the colours and the theme requested. One company wanted to buy the images of the paintings (and not the paintings themselves.) So they chose the paintings they liked and they bought 13 images and used them on their company calendar for 2012.
Sounds fantastic! Can you tell us about your Mawaheb products?
We sell small products the artists have made, like mosaics, coasters, mirrors, postcards. We also have coffee cups. One product that we are selling a lot of is a beach bag which has images of the artwork from one of the artists. At the moment we sell our products at the studio, but I hope that soon we will sell them at shops as well.
And lastly, if we want to volunteer do we have to be artistically inclined?
It’s not necessary that you have an art background as long as you are dedicated to the studio in the sense that if you promise to come for a day, then we expect you to come for that day because the artists are expecting you as well.
The ability level of the students varies greatly. We have a couple of students that can work independently, they need some guidance of course – we still need to teach them – but they’re able to work on their own. Then we have a lower level as well and they need support one on one. We have two art teachers this month and 22 volunteers who work with us. Every day, we have two or three volunteers coming to help out one to one with the artists.
Mawaheb is open Sun-Thur, 8.30am-3pm, but closed July and August. If you’d like to register, volunteer, commission artwork or buy Mawaheb products, contact them at info@mawaheb-dubai.com or on 04 353 2100/050 421 3070.
