What is the problem we are addressing?
Throughout my teaching experience, and especially with some grade levels who were taught in Arabic, I have struggled and faced a lot of challenges finding Art resources in Arabic (including books, magazines, videos..etc), and constantly had to translate the resources I needed from English to Arabic to include and integrate within my planning.
In addition to the lack of Art resources in Arabic, there wasn’t a mean of communication for teachers , students, or artists to share ideas, resources, or simply communicate or interact with others from the same field of interest, and that may be due to the little appreciation of Arts through some cultures, which led to disregard the importance of having platforms or means of communication within the artistic community.
What is our solution?
The solution will be though an artistic platform for educators, students, artists, and whoever is interested to learn and know more about Art, creating this interactive community where everyone can communicate and share ideas with one another. The platform will also include a wide database for Art resources including Art History, vocabulary, lesson plans, samples of students’ work, information about artists and their works, discussion panels, articles, gallery and exhibition suggestions, links to shops for art resources and more. All will be in Arabic language, or translated to Arabic (allowing it be bilingual, yet focusing on Arabic) Fann Bel Arabi will include various forms of Art including Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Music, and Dance, with a vision of making it the first Arabic platform for Arts. The platform will be accessible through a website and later an application, with tabs for each form of Art, including organized categories for each, in order to allow an easy access to whatever one might be looking for (History, samples, discussions, articles..etc).
An overview of our impact
Fann bel Arabi will target a wide range of audiences allowing them to enjoy and learn through this interactive platform that caters for their artistic needs. Since we lack having Art resources in Arabic, this will make a huge difference and impact, as it will emphasize on the importance of Art, and introduce a new mean of communication in Arabic, leading to a better form of interaction between the artistic community, and a new perspective about Art for people to appreciate it more.
The impact will influence educators by having them share their ideas, students to learn and observe other’s work, artists to spread their work and introduce it to the world, and others joining will simply enjoy this experience, and acknowledge the importance of Art and having it in our mother tongue language.
This community of learners will bridge the gap between educators, students, and artists, allowing them to interact all together to share and learn through the various experiences of each, in addition to having a resource to refer back to whenever the are seeking for information, or simply wanting to interact and have deep discussions.
Examples of implementation
- A wide database that includes information about artists from all over the world and throughout history to our modern times, displaying their work, the meaning behind it, analysis for its techniques, style..etc, and possibly some direct contact with the artist (if they are currently available and agree to be part of the community). The database will be cross-referenced, and organized alphabetically, according to art form/style, allowing for easier access to the viewer.
- Interactive discussion panels and platforms, where educators, students, and artists can create their own profile, demonstrating their field of interest, skills, and information about them, allowing them to better know each other, communicate, and share ideas and experiences.
What are our future goals?
My future goals will be taking my passion for Art and education, my pride of our Arabic language, and spreading it around the world, being the first and most influential artistic Arabic platform. I want to emphasize on the importance of Art, have a mean of communication between the artistic community, and allow people to have access to what they need. It will start with a website and an application later, and the goal is to take it further, either by creating a magazine, or informative booklets for different topics and a diversified content.
How can someone else implement it? What do they need?
If someone else would want to implement it, they would need to have an artistic background, a passion for Art and Arabic language, and the vision to combine various ideas in one. They will need to be flexible and updated with whatever is now happening to include and integrate within the platform. IT skills and creativity will be needed to implement the project properly, with acknowledging the importance of the innovation, its mission, and vision.
