“Telling our stories through art” - Rohingya Refugee Children Express Themselves in the Camps

Over 2,000 Rohingya children, entirely cut off from the outside world in Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh, are taking part in an exciting new journey in creativity.

​40 Rohingya refugee artists, trained by US-based, non-profit Artolution are visiting schools in the camp to support each child to “tell their story” through whichever means of expression they choose, creating a range of beautiful collaborative and individual art.

The project not only gives the children an opportunity to be creative and express themselves, it also gives them a chance to be part of changing their physical surroundings through large scale murals in the camp. So the whole community can see and appreciate their contributions and the children can have pride in the work they have done.

10-year-old Sadiya Bibi says that “everyone can communicate through art” it doesn’t matter what language you speak or if you have a disability, you can use art to help others understand your perspective. She is excited to keep working with the Artolution artists to gain more knowledge about expressing herself using art.  

9-year-old Huzaifa says that the Artolution project is helping to break down language barriers, as she can express herself and tell her story to people from other countries. She says, “I have learnt so much about painting and drawing from the Artolution artists and love telling other people about the project,”

For 8-year-old Areshad, being a part of the Artolution project is helping him find new ways to articulate his feelings. He told us:

“I find it hard to express my feelings through language but I find expressing my feelings using art easier.”   

The Artolution project has only been running for a month and has already had a big impact, children are finding new ways to express themselves and tell their stories. They have pride and a sense of achievement at the artworks they have created and they have helped make the confines of the camp where they live a bit brighter for the whole community.

Over the past decade Artolution has been delivering vibrant arts programmes in marginalised communities around the world. Focusing particularly on children, they organise and train local teaching artists to facilitate collaborative, educational arts programs in crisis-affected communities, yielding long-lasting social impact. Their projects produce expressive works of art which both document times of turmoil and celebrate the power of communal resilience to overcome even the most difficult challenges.