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Life in villages through children’s eyes

Charity photo exhibition aims at empowering child photographers aged between 10 and 16 to create a positive impact in their communities.

Daily lives in the villages of South Sudan, Cuba and India captured in photographs by children are being exhibited at the Maraya Art Centre in Al Qasba since August 13. The MOBIPIX UAE Charity Roadshow Exhibition, dubbed as ‘Photography for Social Giving’, is aimed at creating a social impact among communities in the UAE.

DIFFERENT SHADES, MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES ... Visitors at the MOBIPIX UAE exhibition at Al Maraya Art Centre in Sharjah. — KT photos by M. Sajjad

The exhibition is displaying photographs captured by children aged between 10 and 16 years, which were selected by ‘100 Cameras’, a non-governmental organisation based in New York, from different children’s centres interested in sharing their photographs.

Reem Saeed, one of the four Emirati mobile photographers who organised this charity roadshow exhibition for the first time in the UAE, said the proceeds from the exhibition will go the children themselves to empower them to create a change in their communities.

Saeed said MOBIPIX UAE has exhibited her works and those of three other Emirati mobile phone photographers and eight others from other countries to help raise funds for 100 Cameras. “We did our first fund raising exhibition at the Al Serkal Avenue in Al Quoz for a week in July this year with photographs from eight mobile phone photographers. This time, we increased the participation to 12. All our mobile phone photos are sold at a lower price of Dh250 each to help the kids.”

Photographs taken in the countryside using mobile phones of MOBIPIX UAE members are among the exhibits. Photographs clicked by children from South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, the Philippines, Oman, India and Turkey are on display.

Saeed said the ongoing exhibition, which will continue until August 31, is part of a series of mobile phone photography exhibitions across the UAE. “It is a roadshow partnership with 100 Cameras, where we demonstrate that there is no need for big cameras to capture photos for creating social impact.”

She said 100 cameras is training children with interest in photography using a basic camera. “These children, who are selected from children’s centres in South Sudan, Cuba and India, will get the proceeds of their works. This initiative encourages children as young as 10 to be creative (to create) ... a positive impact on their day-to-day lives in the villages. So, we try to promote their works in the UAE because no one else is doing it.

“We believe that by holding a charity roadshow exhibition, we can encourage artistic children to be more expressive.”

lily@khaleejtimes.com