On May 18–International Museum Day–in 2009, a little white bus headed out of the Jordanian National Art Gallery and made its first trip to the city of Salt, where an eager group of children was waiting. Since then, once every week this little bus packed with paintings and colored crayons has brought pieces of rainbow to thousands of kids all over the kingdom.
As soon as the classroom fills up, renowned Jordanian artist Suheil Baqaeen shows the kids a series of paintings by both local and international artists, stirring up a lively discussion of the forms and shades of emotion in each one. This never fails to inspire many tiny hands and dedicated expressions to transform imagination into unique masterpieces.
Launched under the patronage of HRH Princess Rajwa Bint Ali, the touring museum aims to increase artistic and cultural awareness in villages and remote rural areas, and encourage young people to persevere in developing their talents. And since many children may not have the chance to visit the National Gallery on their own, the gallery comes to them.
For this year’s International Museums Day, Suhail is holding an exhibition in the National Art Gallery’s gardens, where 20 students from the Royal Academy for the Blind will show their work, “Seeing is Believing”, in tandem with various artistic workshops.