Kuwaiti artists use digital art to take a stand

Kuwaiti artists use digital art to take a stand

By Sara Mahmoud

KUWAIT: Art is a strong tool for starting a conversation — it’s a creative medium that colors a picture, both figuratively and literally. Unlike reading, art doesn’t require a prerequisite of education to be understood. These artistic messages can either have a specific meaning or just a creative release, it can uniquely be decoded by everyone. Today, local artists use their social media platforms for social and political awareness, they start discussions that are relevant to our day-to-day life. Shahad, an artist uses her burst of creativity through her comics, making experiences come to life in a fun, creatively genuine way. Through her comics and main character ‘Shalala’ she illustrates the mundane, the simple joys, and sometimes the societal frustrations.

As a member of s ociety, Shahad, at times, paints emotions of distress at some of the normalized actions. For example, pollution is a big issue in Kuwait and she uses her art to convey her opinion about the issue. Moreover, she illustrated her take on Kuwait’s post-national day celebration chaos — people littering everywhere, with no moral or social responsibility for their actions. She pointed out their lack of accountability to express her concern for the environment and