Art is a powerful form of mental and emotional expression, and during these difficult times, one student is working to keep the power of art alive at NYU Abu Dhabi. Maha Mohammed, Class of 2023 and founder of the NYUAD Virtual Studio, wanted to give students that opportunity of expression and spread the joy that comes with art.

“I wanted to cheer everyone up in the way I know how, with this art” Mohamed shared. “It was art that was the light for me, it kept me warm throughout this quarantine, and I wanted to share that.”

In the beginning, Mohamed noticed that some people were seeking artistic methods of release, ways to express the emotional and mental struggles affecting their daily lives. In fact, it was the observation of people’s personal journeys with art as they navigated the pandemic that formed the very foundation of the NYUAD Virtual Studio.

“I was watching Snapchat stories and Instagram stories of my friends and they were creating things, and I thought, this is really cool. I bet there’s a whole lot of students who are doing this too,” explained Mohamed. She then reached out to students she suspected would be interested in an art project.

“I got loads of responses from students showing me what they were up to, and that’s when I knew this could be something,” Mohamed added. Eventually, a form was created which gave students the opportunity to describe the role that art played for them during the pandemic, submit up to 10 works of art ranging from drawings and paintings to photographs and writing pieces, and specify their experiences with various artistic mediums.

“The responses amazed me,” Mohamed stated. She was then granted access to the NYUAD Visual Arts Instagram account and formed an assistantship with the Visual Arts Department, and the project began to truly take off.

“I began the process of curation, gathering all the posts into series so that we could have little posts that were ready as an exhibition in a sense,” Mohamed shared. She described the continuous notifications of student submissions as the best thing she had heard in a long time. The NYUAD Virtual Studio exceeded her expectations in many ways; what started as an observation of individuals’ journeys with art became an exhibition where students’ works of art were featured and appreciated by many. “It’s better than anything I could have imagined,” Mohamed said.

Photos courtesy of Victor Manuel Quinonez

Today, the NYUAD Virtual Studio is in the middle of its first submission series, and it has already featured four students’ works of art, including a series of symbolic paintings by Victor Manuel Quinonez, Class of 2022. Quinonez reflected on the role that painting played in improving his mental health. “Painting has been key for my mental well being in these months, keeping me focused, allowing me to improve my artistic skills, and even learn some business skills and earn some money from selling them,” he said.

Another submission is a series of paintings by Roudhah Hamad Al Mazrouei, Class of 2024. “I’ve been into art, drawing, and painting since I was a little girl, so I’ve been doing it as long as I can remember,” stated Al Mazrouei, explaining her journey with art. “I’ve had this vision that I just want to be called an artist. I want that kind of title for myself… I love the process of mixing colors, of creating a certain skin tone, the sheer excitement of me creating and perfecting a shadow is immense.”

She also described how her background and experience with art helped her through the pandemic, because art makes her feel most at home. “Being here in my own studio, doing what I love most made things way less hard and made me feel less alone knowing that my art and my craft would always have my back no matter where I am,” described Al Mazrouei. Mohammed Muqbel, Class of 2023, similarly explained the emotional effect that art has had on him during the pandemic: “when I was able to write poetry in a certain way and paint a certain picture, I was able to connect more with what I didn’t have.”

Mohamed also expressed her vision for the future of the NYUAD Virtual Studio, stating that there will be another submission series later in the semester, and that she aims to work on a bigger project featuring more NYUAD artists this winter. Furthermore, Mohammed expressed the importance of the community that is forming as a result of the NYUAD Virtual Studio.“This community that we’re creating here, it is so important and it’s better than anything I could have imagined.”

Art, therefore, is more than just a painting, a writing piece or a photograph. It is a form of mental and emotional expression, and the many submissions received by Mohamed convey how art continues to characterize the pandemic, acting as a source of sheer excitement or a way to achieve mental well being.

“This pandemic experience has shown us how important it is to create...I had friends who were creating paintings, who were writing, doing things that I’ve never seen them do before,” Mohamed stated. “They were singing. They were drawing. They were doing the most beautiful things, and the way that juxtaposes this tragedy is so intriguing and I wanted to capture this story because it’s a story we do need to tell.”