Art as a tool for therapy was the topic of an invigorating discussion titled ‘Understanding the World’,
which took place at the 12 th Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF). The bilingual session led by
two experts in the realm of arts opened focus on how children must be encouraged to express
themselves through various forms of art so they can gain a better understanding of the world.
Speaking at the event virtually all the way from Geneva Switzerland, Art Psychotherapist Fransie
Frandsen said art has an immensely therapeutic effect on children as it makes them aware of
themselves. This subsequently leads to building emotional intelligence.
“When kids draw people, they have to decide whether to make them happy or sad, they have to
choose their costumes and their colours, and so on. This detailed thought process that goes into
conceiving and drawing characters from the animal and human world eventually sparks the child’s
empathy towards them. Moreover, there are plenty of skills the young artists will develop as they start
expressing themselves through art. Art is vitally important for children,” added Frandsen, who has
authored the Alexander Questions book series.
Since children are born with an unrestricted view of the world, when it comes to creativity, both
panelists were of the opinion kids should be given unrestricted space to express themselves
artistically.
“When children express themselves through art, they don’t think of boundaries; they just keep
drawing. We should appreciate this undulating spirit of theirs and the artistic expressions that are born
out of it,” noted contemporary Egyptian artist, illustrator and painter, Magdy El Kafrawy.
“Don’t ever force a child to draw anything,” Frandsen added.
Elaborating on this further, she advised parents and adults in general to desist from crticising
children’s artistic output. “If you tell them that the horse they’ve drawn looks like dog, that will silence
a child’s creative and artistic spirit, more often than not.”