Painting for Human Fraternity: a portrayal of peaceful coexistence
By Francesca Merlo – Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Ahead of the International Day of Human Fraternity, young people from all over the world gather to paint famous masterpieces, feeling united by the common feeling of freedom as they each interpret colour in their own way.
Live painting as a portrayal of tolerance and peaceful coexistence. This was the concept behind a session organised by the Ministry of Tolerance and Coexistence in collaboration with “We Love Art” in the Emirati pavilion at the Dubai 2020 Expo.
It is one of many events taking place during a Festival organised by the Ministry and the High Commission of Human Fraternity in the lead up to International Day of Human Fraternity, marked on 4 February.
From looking to painting
Around 20 young people gathered to replicating their own versions of the same three works of art.
All three are famous artworks, and are therefore all uniting, said Zahra Khalifa, from the Ministry of Tolerance. Just as people travel from all over the world to visit the Mona Lisa at the Louvre, people from all over the world gathered to paint with her on Wednesday afternoon.
Art as a universal language
Denise Schmitz from the Netherlands, founder of “We Love Art”, advised some of the artists on how to give more depth to Mona’s smile, and explained how art acts as a bridge between cultures.
“Colour connects us! And it makes us free, breaking us away from boundaries and self-imposed rules. It knows no religion or gender. When we paint we are all the same and our differences are our strengths.”
