The Syrian civil war was the longest civil war in the 21st century. It has displaced millions of families into its neighbouring countries, and Jordan has become a central hub hosting refugees in the Syrian refugee crisis. Artolution has organised community-based public art education projects in Jordan since 2013, in the Azraq and Za’atari Syrian refugee camps and with host communities across the country.

Against the odds, Artolution has created and successfully implemented programs in the most remote refugee camp in Jordan, the Azraq refugee camp. The team of Syrian teaching artists began by painting murals on a single school and expanding this initiative across the entire refugee camp, painting every school and community centre in the desolate desert refugee camp on the Northern Jordanian border of Syria.

This model was able to grow through a remarkable group of female and male teaching artists. They ensured that all of the youth who visited the “Makani” youth centres and schools in Azraq refugee camp had access to creative opportunities for learning and expression in safe spaces. Artolution continues to fuel the passions of the artists and the children they serve through ongoing programming and professional development from international and Jordanian expert artists. Through regularly connecting online with the teaching artists, Artolution was able to inspire during the challenges of the COVID crisis, deliver opportunities to connect globally, continue to teach artistic techniques, and to share the messages of the Azraq refugees with the world through live events held on a range of platforms. Programs have since been expanded into Amman and across the country bringing together Syrian and Jordanian learners, many of whom are interacting for the first time. The programs include performance, recycled sculptures and large scale murals that now are painted on schools across the entire country.

The Colour of Resilience project was able to engage girls with special educational needs giving them an accessible creative platform to tell their stories of hope for the future. Together, they created a remarkable image of a young girl dedicated to learning to read surrounded by the memories of home and the homes they want to create in the future for themselves and their families.