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Biggest art exhibition for world children with art talent

 "this festival is not only an arts festival; it unites the cultures together."
"this festival is not only an arts festival; it unites the cultures together."
By Heather Yamour (with photos) WASHINGTON, June 26 (KUNA) -- On national park right across from the White House, thousands of people have shown up to watch, learn, and take part in the World Children's Festival, the largest children's festival aimed at celebrating the creative talents and imagination of children from all over the world.
Bringing many different languages, faces, and cultures together to speak through the universal language of art, the World Children's Festival showcases the winners of the third Arts Olympiad, an international arts competition for school children aged eight to 12.
The theme for this year's Arts Olympiad, "My Favorite Sport" celebrates the "artist-athlete ideal for children" drawing over three million participants from over 100 countries who submitted colorful paintings and digital art works on their favorite sports, ranging from soccer, scuba diving, to basketball.
The top artists selected by their country have their work on display under one of the festival's tents, culminating in a colorful, creative, menagerie of imagination open to the public.
About 100 pint-size winners from over 50 countries have come to attend the festival, including the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Sultanate of Oman, and the United Arab Emirates.
The three day festival focuses on opening up the creative mind and energies of kids through the broad umbrella of art, and features more than 25 performances every day from over 200 hundred kids, from music to dancing, ceremonies to art projects.
An ensemble of boys and girls from Sharjah, UAE, wearing the colorful, traditional womens dress "Thob" and mens colorful jalabiyah, took the stage to perform classical and Arabic music in a seven piece orchestra set and sang in both Arabic and English, while the audience clapped in rhythm.
They were followed by a circus mime act and a puppet sing-along show. The performances were lively and energetic as they literally pulled audience members, young and old, by the hand onto the stage to dance.
The large UAE delegation, sent by the Sharjah Supreme Council for Family Affairs headed by Khuloud Al Houli, is in charge of 14 children during their week-long visit to Washington. She said the children's message is one of peace to combat negative stereotypes brought from the September 11 attacks and help bring unity through art.
"After the events that happened here people think Muslims and Arabs are dangerous people, but we are not. We love all the world and this is what we have found here; we found the American very receptive," said Al Houli.
While keeping track of the kids at the festival kept her busy, she remarked how easily she watched them mingling among other groups, adding "this festival is not only an arts festival; it is a festival that unites the cultures together." Other countries from the Middle East like Oman offered silver and gold crafts and design activities for kids, teens, and adults, and there is an Iraqi Children's Art Exchange featured among the more than 75 workshops ranging from art therapy to silk painting.
Children and their families helped construct a huge mural replica of the US using an estimated 1.2 million LEGO bricks. The giant mural features famous American landmarks like the Statue of Liberty and the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge, and was sponsored free-of-charge by the LEGO Company.
Many workshops are on the theme "art and peace" and there was a workshop on building friendships through ethnic and artistic exchange and music.
The Arts Olympiad program was launched by The International Child Art Foundation (ICAF), a non-profit organization, ten years ago. The aim was to integrate arts with science, sports, and technology to boost children's creativity. Ultimately, there is hope this would help bring in positive social change.
Executive director Dr. Ashfaq Ishaq, an economist by trade, founded ICAF ten years ago as a quest for a more prosperous and nonviolent world.
After years of searching, he told KUNA he realized the answer was through children. ICAF, which offers both the World Festival and the Arts Olympiad free, is considered the only international non-profit organization that promotes creative development and cross cultural cooperation through art.
"The preconditions are creativity and empathy" both of which Ishaq said were missing in schools and homes around the world. Although he gave up his successful career in economics, he said it was worth it.
"When you see a big gapping hole, you have two options. Either you close your eyes, or you do something about it. All I did was do something about it," he said.
The Festival is held every four years.(end) hy.wsa KUNA 260918 Jun 07NNNN