A variety of photos taken by children aged 6-12, portraying their creative imagination and talent, have revealed Emirati children talented in the telling of fairy tales, promising a great future for these children in literature and cinema.
The photos are accompanied by an audio recording in which the children describe the imaginary characters in the photos. The photos are on display at the 4th Sharjah Children Biennial, which is organised by the Department of Children Centres in collaboration with the Sharjah Museums Department. The biennial will wrap up at the Children's Centre in Mughayder on 9th of February.
The exhibition hall comprises a number of pictures of boys and girls wearing unusual clothes that fit the fictional characters created by the children themselves.
The children used artificial feathers and wigs in making these characters, and then narrated a story about them to create a complete image in the listener's mind. Through these stories, they capture listeners' attention and draw them into their world, revealing their literary and storytelling skills.
One of the children tells the story of the "Flying Pirate" who likes to eat bears and elephants and lives in a cave on the mountains overlooking the sea. The pirate describes himself as a creature that does not like swimming and hates water and small animals. The story has a meandering style that beautifully illustrates the child's vast imagination through his wonderful descriptions of unspoiled nature that makes each scene come alive to the listener.
Another photo portrays a girl wearing a yellow wig with a crown. In the centre of the crown there is a red jewel. Wearing smooth white feathers, the girl tells the story of the "Bird Princess", who plays with a hen, a sparrow, and a turtle. The princess likes to fly in the air to discover the beauty of nature and also likes chocolate very much.
A third picture is presented by a boy who chooses to narrate the story of the "Tiger Pirate" who does not hate anyone, and wants to be a policeman! The main story deals with the pirate who likes fishing, and who once managed to catch a lot of fish that he grilled and ate before going home to sleep.
In another tale, a girl with vast imagination tells the story of a small girl that she called "My Little Princess". Wearing wings of pink feathers and a very beautiful crown, the girl tells the story of her little princess who was living in an orange and red house in the woods. The princess has a beautiful friend, "the duck", and there was a dog threatening the princess and her friends. They were all afraid of him because he will eat them if he manages to catch them.
The little Princess thought deeply to come up with a trick to get rid of the dog. She then threw a small bone in a far place, where the dog went looking for the bone and never came back, so that the princess and her friends could live in peace and be safe.
Wearing rabbit ears and cat's nose, a girl tells the story of the "Bewitched Princess" who lives in the middle of strawberry fields where butterflies and roses are her friends. The princess hopes that everything in the world is made from strawberry before she discovers that there are no strawberries anymore. She then goes home where she finds nothing except some seeds of apples and cherries. The princess then plants the seeds and waits until they bear fruit, and before eating them all, and nothing was left at her home except honey.
The Sharjah Children's Biennial is the first-of-its-kind event dedicated exclusively to children in the UAE and the Gulf region. The biennial has expanded to take on a global facet, attracting creative works and positioning itself as a leading event committed to supporting children's artistic skills and upgrading these skills towards higher levels of pioneering creativity.
Source: WAM