A Rising Star of Future Palestine

Ahmed Hmeedat was born and raised in Dheisheh Refugee Camp in Bethlehem. As a senior at Al Quds Bard Honors College, Ahmed has chosen human rights as his major and literature as his minor. But his true passion is art. His obsession with art started at the tender age of thirteen. He met both Hassan Al-Laham and Yazan Ghareeb, two Palestinian artists, during their visit to one of the camp’s cultural centres. These two artists helped him to develop painting techniques, and after a few lessons from both Yazan and Hassan, Ahmed became more confident and put his skills to use - along with a few friends from the community - in drawing on the walls of Bethlehem and Dheisheh. The group would wander the streets of Dheisheh looking for just the right scene to capture. “Everything that is weird in nature,” he says, “becomes beautiful through art …. And although the camp atmosphere is in fact unorganised and crowded, our art portrays a different, improved image.”

Ahmed says that once Yazan and Hassan left Bethlehem he relied on no one but himself to learn more about art. It was after graduating from high school that he decided to pursue his painting and drawing seriously. Unable to attend art schools abroad, Ahmed became a self-taught artist. He read books and watched YouTube tutorials to develop his techniques. Ahmed’s style is impressionistic and non-classical, focusing on human figures and human artistic anatomy within the context of the open spaces of Palestine.

His work has been published in the brochure of the Psycho-Social Counseling Center for Women, the Nukta Nukta Nukta magazine for Bard, and Al Quds newspaper; and exhibited in the camps of Dheisheh and Aida as well as in cultural centres such as Al-Phoenix Center, Laylac Center, and Ibdaa Center in Bethlehem. He has recently been commissioned by the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music to sketch the weekly concert series Saturdays in Music in Bethlehem. The conservatory expects to publish the sketches in a booklet.

Ahmed’s art is mainly based on his own experience. He works at creating massive portraits, self-portraits, and murals. Ahmed lives with his two sisters and a brother. Of his siblings, only one brother - a budding musician - shares his love of the arts.

“I believe it is easy to be an artist,” says Ahmed, “even though it needs a lot of effort and sacrifice. Indeed, it does not happen overnight but takes time and comes through practice. Practice is the key to success and creativity.”

Ahmed embodies the new generation of Palestinian artists. At night, he secludes himself from his friends and family in an empty room in his home. He follows his heart and mind in the emptiness, far removed from any and all distractions, and loves to experiment with colour. “Once you put your mind and soul to art,” he says, “you can make anything.” He hopes to continue his education and further pursue his art.

Prepared by Mae Shuaib.

See PDF www.thisweekinpalestine.com/i193/pdfs/article/aotm.pdf