Three alumni from Qatar Foundation partner Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar (VCUarts Qatar) – Zenab al-Khayat, Ayah Elnour, and Salma Awad – held supervised online workshops for those with Down’s Syndrome from the Qatar chapter of Best Buddies International.
The sessions, which took place over a six-week period in November-December 2020, were part of a pilot programme jointly conducted by volunteers from Qatar Foundation partner universities VCUarts Qatar and Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q), Sidra Medicine, the Qatar chapter of Best Buddies International, and the ATIC (Art Therapy International Centre) Psychological and Counselling Centre in Dubai.
During the workshops, which were overseen by programme volunteers from participating entities, al-Khayat, Elnour, and Awad guided the teenagers as they created watercolour paintings, collages, prints, and 3D artwork, using materials that were delivered to the students’ homes specifically for the purpose, from a local art supplier.
Prior to the workshops, the three VCUarts Qatar alumni were mentored by Dr Alan S Weber (programme developer, and professor of English at the WCM-Q), Michelle Dixon (group facilitator, professional mentor for the programme, and art therapist at Sidra Medicine), Sara Powell (arts and health educator of programme development, founder of the ATIC, Dubai, and VCUarts Qatar alumni), Natalie Carlier Gomez, (professional mentor/supervisor of programme development at the ATIC, Dubai), Mariam El-Halawani (arts and health educator of programme development at the ATIC, Dubai), and Rania Abou Ghaida (programme and activities researcher at the Qatar chapter of Best Buddies).
Aysha Alkooheji (programme administrator and programme manager for Community & Continuing Education at the VCUarts Qatar), and Asma Ul Hosna (Community & Continuing Education co-ordinator at the VCUarts Qatar) helped co-ordinate and organise the sessions between the VCUarts Qatar alumni and other volunteers.
During the mentoring phase, al-Khayat, Elnour, and Awad familiarised themselves with the appropriate techniques, approaches and communication tactics that would help make the sessions effective and enjoyable.
They also discussed key issues of ethics and confidentiality essential to such engagement.
Hanan Abdallah Tamimi, the parent of Nawaf al-Jaber, one of the participants, said she was pleased when she first heard of the online sessions from Abou Ghadia, at the Qatar chapter of Best Buddies International.
“I hope these workshops are repeated soon,” Tamimi said. “That’s how much my son – and our entire family – enjoyed them.
“It was lovely to see my son blooming when he engaged with the VCUarts Qatar alumni; he felt that he was the star of the session, that his work was the focus of everyone’s attention.
“He particularly loved the process of mixing colours, manipulating the brushes, and deciding what to create.”
Dr Weber noted: “The programme mentors and VCUarts Qatar community artists have clearly demonstrated that online art therapy-assisted community arts programmes can be successful in boosting confidence, creativity, and socials skills in special needs children.
“The group plans to do research on this unique and possibly first-of-its-kind programme in the GCC, to understand how and why it was successful.
“Published research will assist other countries in the region in developing similar initiatives.”