Mawaheb From Beautiful People Takes Part in Quoz Arts Fest

The Dubai-based art studio for adults with special needs will run a series of events and workshops over the weekend in Alserkal Avenue

This weekend, 27-28 January, Quoz Arts Fest comes to Alserkal Avenue, Dubai’s former industrial complex turned creative hub and contemporary art gallery quarter. This year, dance as an art form is the focus, and the weekend boasts a packed programme of gallery tours and talks, performances, film screenings, workshops and live music.

One of the most interesting participants is Mawaheb from Beautiful People, the art studio for adults with special needs based in a picturesque courtyard building in Dubai’s historic Bastakiya area. The studio, founded in 2010, does invaluable work in using the practice of art to help students develop life-skills, confidence and increase their self-esteem. It’s also a social space, a community that combats the isolation so often encountered by adults with special needs, and many of the students have made close friends over their years of attending.

The Mawaheb mission is to “break down the boundaries and stigmas associated with people with special needs by integrating them into mainstream society and giving them a voice to demonstrate their own unique creativity.”

Over the course of Quoz Arts Fest, Mawaheb will set up in Warehouse 48, Alserkal Avenue, with a series of workshops, from 10 to 7pm each day, demonstrating the much needed work they do. The events are open to all and include sign language, speed painting and drawing workshops, alongside anti-bullying talks and yoga with the Mawaheb students.

Visitors are also welcome to visit the permanent studio in Bastakiya, where there is a gift shop selling the art made by the Mawaheb artists and a café run by the students.

For more information see Mawaheb-dubai.com or the Alserkal Avenue website