As an art student in the United Kingdom, Mays Almoosawi found joy in taking solo walks and sketching randomly what she saw on the streets. What she has come to understand is that the UK is rich in culture and natural diversity. Taking regular walks every day was both a learning and enjoyable experience for her as what is supposedly a very uneventful day would lead to her bumping into street art, graffiti, art galleries, and museums. Whenever she finds something that inspired her, it goes into her sketchbook.
Mays Almoosawi eventually earned her bachelor of arts degree in Illustration and Animation. As a visual artist returning home, she was shocked that there is not much art exposure in Oman compared to when she was in the UK.
She shared that taking sketching trips alone was not amusing anymore, and it got a bit challenging.
With this bump on the road, she came up with an idea.
"I had this idea of gathering up people, to be more precise youngsters like myself who are out-going, self-motivated, eager to learn from others, and most importantly enjoy sketching and I started arranging outdoor activities that involve views to sketch by the end of the day," she shared.
"Art Walk" then became an experiment for her. Simply put, it basically is walking and sketching.
By the beginning of 2019, Mays had been organising art walks vis a vis workshop which led to her making short visits to different places such as Muttrah, The Grand Mosque, and The Wave.
In every walk, she noticed that the number of artists joining is also improving.
"That's when we decided to grow our family and create a WhatsApp group to keep track of upcoming events, outdoor activities and share our ideas. We are about 60 members now, and we always welcome others to join, do not worry; you do not have to be a professional artist," she said.
Other than the artsy part of their goal, they also wanted to create great memories other than drawing. The experiment is one of a kind, and people were constantly looking for new fun activities.
"We met many curious people on the streets while sketching, which raises our sketching family's chances of increasing its participants. When people saw us sketching, these strangers usually share the same question: "What are you guys doing?," she noted.
Answering the question has given them the opportunity to engage and deliver the group's message to the society.
"We tell them that by doing what we are doing, we were able to preserve different places by creating memories and sketching them," she said.
"I believe art is the journey of a free soul, creating experiences and stories to symbolise what I came across in life, defining my character within my work of art," Almoosawi said.
While they were beginning to gain momentum, the coming of the pandemic posed significant issues for them.
"2020 was not an easy period when the coronavirus outbreak significantly impacted us as an artistic community. We had to pause for a while, taking a step backwards for the sake of our health and our loved ones since our concept is based on gathering people and having them exist in the same spot simultaneously," she said.
Despite the hurdles, they carried on. Almoosawi shared that "Art walk" is not just about drawing. It defines someone's personality as an individual and provides them with an opportunity to express their individuality. Spreading awareness towards the young generation is crucial, especially in the visionary of the art, as it transcends one's perception and allows one to experience various art themes.
"Art Walk" resembles a mixture of every little thing I am passionate about; Art and exploring. I found beauty in the nature of Oman and I got lost wandering in the most magnificent places," she said.
She added, "I had to sketch to show the world a little piece of heaven on earth. I get my dose of inspiration from my surroundings and talking to nature."
Despite the temporary pause, Almoosawi said that she looks forward to a better future adding that "I can see myself and my work of art all around the World and be recognised at international galleries one day."
"My family of artists and I plan to go back to work sometime around winter once the weather gets cooler and Covid restrictions get hopefully lifted. Further plans are being discussed with other creative artists to enhance the concept behind "Art Walk" in our community," she shared.
For additional information regarding upcoming events and supporting great artists, follow @artwalk.om on Instagram!
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