This Emirati Artist Of Determination Just Represented The UAE At A HUGE Arts And Culture Festival In USA
If you have been born, raised, and lived in Dubai, or anywhere in the UAE for that matter, you have a certain kind of tenacity. It is a default setting that comes in all of us- an inability to give up, to constantly aim for higher and better. This is a core value that our rulers and founding fathers have instilled in us.
Case in point: Abdulla Lutfi.
Abdulla Lutfi is an Emirati artist of determination. He was diagnosed with autism in 1997 but never let that stop him.
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The artist has just represented the UAE at the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival in the USA
Abdulla Lutfi is breaking misconceptions about autism one by one. The Smithsonian Folk Life Festival is a prominent arts and culture festival that happens in the USA, which also happens to be one of his favourite countries.
At the festival, he drew a picture that captured the power of art to bring people together across all imagined boundaries. He also conducted a workshop where he disclosed several tips and tricks for improving one’s drawing skills.
The piece I drew here is about the Smithsonian Festival, which is about people from all nationalities, coming here from all over the world and to do their own things.
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Abdulla is a black and white artist, inspired by various manga and The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series
Although he has been drawing since he was three years old, Abdulla only began to consider himself a serious artist after 2012, when he drew his first black and white picture on canvas.
He decided to use only the two classic colours to express himself because choosing colours causes quite a bit of stress. But we have no complaints! His black and white masterpieces are not only pleasing to the eye but also soothing to the soul.
I don’t use color because color is kind of stressful to me. I chose black and white because that’s more of my style. I used to read the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books and manga books which have only black and white pages. That’s how I became a black and white artist.
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Abdulla Lutfi is an inspiration to the community
Abdulla has embodied the true spirit of the UAE to keep going despite adversities and create limitless wonders. The artist is excited to welcome all visitors to his art studio located in the Al Fahidi Historical Neighborhood, Dubai.
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