By Ben Garcia

Two Kuwaiti artists - a mother and daughter - participated in an international art exhibition organized by the Caesar Union for Literature and Arts and Jordan's Ministry of Culture. Najat Al-Reyahi and her daughter Anfal Bo Hamad were proud to be the only Kuwaiti artists participating in the "No to Crime" art exhibition virtually.

"We are very proud to be part of the art exhibition with a theme denouncing any form of crime," Najat said. "She demonstrated her willingness to participate when she heard about the exhibition," the mother told Kuwait Times, referring to her daughter Anfal, a popular artist with Down syndrome.

Participating countries included Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Bangladesh, Yemen, Turkey, Algeria, Pakistan, Sudan, Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia. "Our participation is a demonstration of our desire to help end any form of crime wherever it occurs all over the world. Paintings can send a strong message to people. It's a form of awareness, that no matter where you come from, we all want to coexist peacefully and lovingly, so we support such programs by any country and by all means," Najat said.

Protective mother
From January this year, Anfal has had limited public exposure, as Najat tries her best to protect her daughter from being exposed to the coronavirus. "The art exhibition was the latest of many virtual exhibitions we joined all over the world to keep us busy. Anfal is a Down syndrome patient and they are vulnerable to viruses, and I will never allow anything to happen to her," she said.

"When we go out, I take her along, but she stays in the car. I only allow her to walk in our neighborhood; otherwise we have stayed at home for almost a year now. I am a very protective mother. I also told my son and husband to stay home because if one person in the family is infected, we will all be in trouble. I want to protect my daughter because she has a condition that has very low immunity," Najat said.

Najat remembered HH the late Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. "We would get a gift once in a while from Baba Sabah for Anfal. We also met him several times. When he died, we couldn't hide our emotions. Anfal and I cried, because as much as we wanted to attend his burial, we couldn't leave the house because of the pandemic. We haven't visited his grave yet, but are planning to do so in winter," she said.

Talented artists
Anfal, 23, is very talented in many ways. She is a photographer, dancer and stage performer. Her mother calls her a girl with extraordinary talents, and many people in Kuwait admire her for being very active, organized and jovial. "She laughs and smiles with everyone at home and those she knows. She is cheerful but moody as well. What I like about her is that she follows my orders and never lets me down," Najat said. Najat was a fine arts teacher for several years, but retired early to concentrate on the needs of her daughter.

During the pandemic, the duo participated in several art exhibitions outside Kuwait virtually. "As her mother and mentor, we participated in several art expos. We participated twice in Saudi Arabia, thrice in Jordan, twice in Kuwait organized by a group related to persons with disabilities and once in Qatar. We are happy to be part of art exhibitions and are selling her paintings. People are buying too - in fact a hospital in Saudi Arabia wants one of her paintings. Also during the pandemic, she joined Quran recitation online and got a gift," Najat beamed.