Arabic readings / Beginner 2 / Community & City Life

From Graffiti to Art

مِنَ الرَّسمِ العَشوائِيِّ إِلى الفَنِّ

أَسكُنُ في مَدينَةٍ كَبيرةٍ، وَأُشاهِدُ كَثيرًا مِنَ الرَّسمِ العَشوائِيِّ على الجُدرانِ. كُنتُ أَشعُرُ بِالحُزنِ، لِأَنَّ الأَلوانَ تُغَطِّي المَباني وَتُعطي صُورَةً غَيرَ جَميلَةٍ. في الأُسبوعِ الماضِي، جَمَعَت مَجموعَةٌ مِنَ الشَّبابِ أَهلَ الحَيِّ لِيَتَحَدَّثوا عَن مُبادَرَةٍ جَديدةٍ. الفِكرَةُ هِيَ أَن نُغَيِّرَ هذِهِ الرُّسومَ العَشوائِيَّةَ إِلى رُسومٍ فَنِّيَّةٍ. قَرَّرتُ أَن أَشارِكَ في المُبادَرَةِ. كَتَبنا مَعًا خُطَّةً لِلتَّواصُلِ مَعَ بَعضِ الفَنّانينَ في المَدينَةِ. وافَقوا أَن يُساعِدونا بِرَسمِ جُدرانٍ جَميلَةٍ. أَحضَرنا أَلوَانًا وَفُرَشًا، وَبَدَأنا نُغَطِّي الرَّسمَ القَديمَ بِطَبَقَةٍ جَديدَةٍ مِنَ الطِّلاءِ. بَعدَ ذلِكَ، رَسَمَ الفَنّانونَ صُوَرًا عَنِ الحَياةِ في المَدينَةِ، مِثلَ السُّوقِ وَالمَكتَبَةِ وَالأَطفالِ يَلعبونَ. بَعدَ أَيّامٍ، جاءَ كَثيرٌ مِنَ الجِيرانِ لِيُشاهِدوا الجُدرانَ الجَديدَةَ. كانُوا مَسرورينَ جِدًّا، وَقالوا إِنَّ المَنظَرَ أَصبَحَ أَجمَلَ وَأَنَّهُم يَشعُرونَ بِالفَخرِ بِحَيِّهِم. أَنا أَيضًا شَعَرتُ بِالفَرَحِ، لِأَنَّنِي عَمِلتُ مَعَ الآخَرينَ لِتَغييرِ مَكانٍ في المَدينَةِ. أَتَوقَّعُ أَن تُصبِحَ هذِهِ المُبادَرَةُ بَدَايَةً لِمَشاريعَ أُخرَى في المُستَقبَلِ.

English Translation

I live in a big city, and I see a lot of graffiti on the walls. I used to feel sad, because the colors covered the buildings and gave an unattractive image. Last week, a group of young people gathered the neighbors to talk about a new initiative. The idea was to change this graffiti into artistic murals. I decided to take part in the initiative. Together, we wrote a plan to contact some artists in the city. They agreed to help us by painting beautiful walls. We brought paints and brushes, and we started to cover the old graffiti with a new layer of paint. After that, the artists painted pictures about life in the city, like the market, the library, and children playing. After a few days, many neighbors came to see the new walls. They were very happy and said that the view had become more beautiful and that they felt proud of their neighborhood. I also felt joy, because I worked with others to change a place in the city. I expect this initiative will become the beginning of other projects in the future.