Adults try their hands at painting during a cultural evening
PARKHURST – Adults got to connect with their creative sides at the Kolor Kids Middle Eastern culture evening in Parkhurst.
Kolor Kids in Parkhurst recently welcomed renowned Turkish Islamic art calligrapher, Refik Carikci to the suburb for a dazzling Middle Eastern cultural extravaganza.
The colour-riddled evening, which consisted of paint-on-canvas for adults, showcased calligraphy as both a noble and revered form of artistic expression. Events manager at Kolor Kids, Sharezaan Cupido said the evening was knowledge-filled, enlightening and universally appealing.
“The famous wall calligraphy [which is a famous Arabic symbol] extends beyond just Islam as a religion, but to humanity as a whole,” she said. “Refik Carikci provided great insights into the Quran that really opened up the minds of all who were in attendance. But this was not only for the Muslim people, but rather spoke to every individual who was in attendance.”
Luthando Kaka, who is a South African cyclist, was among the many untrained artists who also wielded his paint brushes on the night. He said the experience allowed him to be creative while tapping into his inner child. “It was insightful and was a remarkable experience to be able to feel like a kid again, by channelling your inner creativity and making it come to life on canvas,” said Kaka. Painting is, however, also believed to be therapeutic – allowing for one to find solace from the constant pressures of everyday life.
Artist at Kolor Kids, Marc Madella explained what painting means for him. “Painting is seen not only as a means of escaping the menacing life of the world but basically [the process] of entering into a different realm,” said Madella. “When you paint, you’re technically by yourself, in your own world, trying to create an image from a blank canvass and trying to make it into something meaningful. It’s basically unlocking the creativity that [seems] to exist, but not knowing that you actually have that side to you.”
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