Environmental awareness raised through art

Art is a significant tool to help raise awareness on the role of recycling in protecting and preserving the environment, a member of QatART Handmade Community has told Gulf Times.“Art has the power to reach out to people of all age groups and can influence them in better ways,” according to software engineer Swapna Namboodiri, one of QatART’s board members.QatART, a group of Qatari and expatriate artists specialising in a myriad of handmade crafts, holds the annual “Katara QatART Handmade Market” at the Katara Art Studios Courtyard - Building 19 from October to April. This summer season, the group will hold a series of workshops at Katara until September.“Recycling is one of my ways to show and inspire people to do their part in protecting the planet. Creating something from discarded household items will help me to spread the message about the scope of reusing for a better tomorrow. And through this, I believe we can all work together for a greener planet,” she explained.A "birdtarget="_blank"'>“There is a vast possibility to recycle many things that we use on daily basis. Since plastic bottles take hundreds or even a thousand years to completely degrade, why don’t we start recycling or reusing them? Our kids must be taught about the importance of recycling and usage of eco-friendly products, and also their responsibility towards the planet,” she added.