Meet our Artists

Hello! I’m Ali, also known as AliBali. I was born in 1970/1971 (has his birthday passed already?) but I’m young at heart. I love to celebrate and dance. I would describe myself as a gentleman – I am all about manners and etiquette.

People say I make up for my lack of English with heartfelt gestures and expressive eyes!

My art is precise and neat, yet bright and cheerful. My drawings make me happy and proud. I like to sign them in Arabic and English and usually sign “AliOk”.

Hi everyone, I’ve been coming to Mawaheb for many years and I enjoy every bit of it. I was born in 1987.

I really like the CSR events when companies come to the studio to work with us and learn from us. I like it too when we go to their workplaces.

I also really enjoy our exhibitions when we get to show our work to the public and sell it! It’s great to see how much people enjoy our art. Sketching friends and celebrities is one of my favorite things to do – I’m pretty good at it too!

Our studio now has a café and a shop and we all work together with friends and volunteers to make Mawaheb a wonderful place to be. I also work at The Sinbad Club where I help with children’s activities – busy, busy is best.

Hi, my name is Baker and I am from the UAE and I have Autism.

I have been a student at Mawaheb for 3 years. It has changed me a lot. I have had lots of new experiences. I love to paint and draw and make sculptures. My favorite artwork is drawing cartoon characters. I am an independent adult here at Mawaheb and I really enjoy being at the studio. I can stand up for myself and feel much stronger now. I’m growing here and I want to continue at the studio and get better at my drawings. If I just keep trying I will get it right.

My name is Faran, and I am old. I come from . I’ve been in Dubai for a long time. I like going to Mawaheb. We do ball games which are my favourite. I also like to make jokes and to make my teachers laugh. I enjoy doing yoga and meditation.

Faran has discovered a talent for figurative art, especially for geometry and shapes, which he can draw with great precision and symmetry. Thanks to the skilful use of pencil, his works are defined by the harmony of composition and the exact use of colour.

Hello. My name is Zaid. I’m 40 years old. I’m Iraqi. I like the news and politics. A lot of my art is very personal and about war. I hate war. I wish everyone could live in peace – that was the theme of my solo exhibition in 2019.

I also really like superheroes. I feature them in my art too. I have a special collection of hero figures at home.

I’m a quiet and gentle person. I think a lot. I like music, especially the Beatles!

Hi everyone! I’m James. I’m very sociable and friendly. I love being around people and especially my many friends. My passion is performing arts. I have performed at the Albert Hall in England and in a few plays here in Dubai.

Even though I have Kabuki Syndrome, and have struggled with surgeries and therapies all my childhood, I always live with kindness and positivity. I have become a motivational speaker to raise awareness about bullying and about acceptance and inclusion for the special needs community.

At Mawaheb I enjoy sketching and painting. My favorite painting is one inspired by the works of Modigliani. Mawaheb also helps me develop my skills for motivational speaking.

My message for the world is that everybody should be themselves and “be original!”

My name is Kieran Albert, I was born in 2002 and I am from England. I’ve been living in Dubai since 2017.

I like to play and to watch football. Liverpool is my favorite football team. I enjoy going out sailing with my friends, going to the gym, and when I go to the cinema, eating Maltesers. My brother and I also play Mario Kart on the Xbox. Going out with my family is fun.

My favorite bands are Coldplay and Soul Patrol.

At Mawaheb I love painting and drawing, dancing, and hanging out with my friends.

Hello Everyone! I’m Leila, the ‘Wise Owl’ of Mawaheb. Even though I’m one of the oldest artists, I am very energetic and excited to be here. I am a very happy and friendly person. I love giving hugs and making everybody feel loved and included. I love helping new artists settle in and make friends.

My art is also about love and happiness. At home I enjoy knitting, stitching and making puzzles.

Mawaheb is the best place in the world. We are family and we create beautiful things.

My name is Mariam. I’m from Egypt and the Philippines but I was born in the USA and grew up in Dubai. I was born in 1996.

I would describe myself as a “nerdy” artist! That’s because I love everything about gaming, pop culture and anime. I love drawing and sketching. I put a lot of details in my art and you can see a clear anime style in most of my work.

In my free time, I really enjoy writing and illustrating stories. Most of my stories are realistic fiction. I also enjoy watching movies, listening to music and browsing the internet.

Marwan

Hey! My name is Marwan. I’m 21 years old. I’m Emirati. I have two brothers.

I love Mawaheb because I’m doing lots of art. I like my teachers and friends. My best friend is Kieran. We work together on art projects and we chat about football. We both cheer for Liverpool!

I love to swim in the pool and beach with my friends. I go to football practice at SoccerKids Dubai. I play lots of video games on my play station. My favourite game is FIFA.

My name is Namrata and I am an artist at Mawaheb from Beautiful People studio in Dubai. I am inspired by many artists such as Picasso and the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, because they are amazing artists and magical to me.

I love being an art student at Mawaheb, it’s so interesting and it’s fun. I feel happy when I paint. I like working in acrylics and painting with colour, especially orange as it’s so vibrant and happy.

At Mawaheb, I like meeting my friends and I love to dance and sing and chill out doing yoga. I can be myself. When people like my art I rejoice. My family and friends love my art and I hope you do too.

Hi my name is Nick. I’m from India and came a long time ago. I have one brother. I’m 33 years old. My favourite art activity is splatter painting. My favourite colour is red. My art is bold and colourful.

I like football and cricket. I also love video games, especially on the PS3 like car racing. I also like the beach. I love movies. I go every Thursday with my family.

I like to learn new skills. I’m practising every day at Mawaheb cafe and helping out. One day, I’ll work at our cafe. On Fridays, I work at the Dusit hotel and afterwards I meet my friends there.

Hi! I’m Nida.

My favourite colours are pink, purple, yellow and black. I love dancing and eating snacks. I also love my family.

At Mawaheb, I like drawing and painting, and love colouring with pencils. It is a beautiful place and I really enjoy it. The chicken wraps in the cafe are my favourite.

My name is Rekha, I am years old and I am from . I love being at Mawaheb and it makes me very happy. I enjoy dancing with the teachers and the other students. I do yoga as well.

Reikha is one of the veterans in Mawahab who made her debut with her own exhibition, an artist who has developed her own personal style of flowers and small faces that she repeats with markers in the canvas with painstaking patience.

My name is Richard and I am old. I like coming to Mawaheb. I like to paint and have an amazing style. When we play music, I like to touch the music to feel the beat of the music. I am strong and good at sports, and enjoy doing yoga.

Richard has a natural aptitude for action painting, and uses the paintbrush in a free and spontaneous manner. He started out in expressive art and has achieved a major milestone by being able to draw the human face with a line that is both clean and decisive at the same time. His works express all the emotion he possesses.

My name is Sarah, I’m born in 1985.

I come from Scotland, Jersey. I lived in Jersey and Belgium. Now for a long time I live in Dubai. Cats and Kittens are my favorite pets. Having a good time with my friends is what I love.

At Mawaheb I learn new things: drawing, painting. My favorite color is blue and all different colors.

I enjoy speaking to my friends at Mawaheb. My dream is to have a job that is about taking care of animals. I am proud to have new teachers in my life.

My name is Sean. My favorite food is fish, chips and milkshakes. I am 23 years old. I live in Dubai for 16 years.

I like sports and play the piano. I enjoy dancing a lot. I like to ride on camels. I like to play table tennis with Sonya in Mawaheb.

I am happy and I enjoy going to Mawaheb. I enjoy field trips. Mawaheb is a happy and exciting place with nice friends. Painting on canvas makes me feel happy.

I sparkle – that’s what I do. I come from London. I was born in 1994/3.

I love coming to Mawaheb. I love to paint and draw and sculpt, I love my friends at Mawaheb. When I first arrived I was very different. I still love being at the centre of things but Mawaheb has taught me so much more, I now listen and take my time with my art. I can work with friends in a team and I can be my true self.

I love it when people visit as I can show them around our studio and that makes me proud and excited. I often travel on the metro on my own – and I do like shopping at Mall of the Emirates! My favourite song is Roar and dancing with my friends is great. Acting and performing is part of who I am – come and see me shine at the studio. I love art – mosaics and painting are my thing.