Gifted Gaza child artist finds inspiration despite hardship
Mohammad Qureiqai, 12, has impressed many with his extraordinary drawings and paintings, and hopes to pursue a career in the fine arts.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Seven years ago, in the old Shujaiyya neighborhood in eastern Gaza City, the artistic talent of Mohammad Qureiqai, 12, was discovered as he was making pencil sketches in his notebook. His journey of being acknowledged as a creative artist began.
Mohammad’s eldest brother, Malek, 23, could not believe his eyes when he saw a sketch drawn by Mohammad, who was only five years old at the time. He asked him to redo the sketch multiple times, to make sure that Mohammad had worked on it by himself. Then, Malek started to help him with the drawings, assisting him in coming up with new ideas for his paintings, which were initially produced using only pencil and charcoal.
Al-Monitor met Mohammad in his humble studio, a small room on the rooftop of his two-story house. After school, Mohammad spends long hours in the studio, where he has placed the oil and pencil paintings he produced over seven years ago.
