Arts Lab 7.0: Aya Hossameldin Saad Mohamed | Month V - White, Vibrant Colors, Youth

Romania has turned white, and my feelings toward all the transformations happening here remain complex. Almost every colour I am living and experiencing feels new to me. Snow does not fall in Egypt. This is not the first time I have seen snow, but during this period, the colour white dominates the country—it is snowing heavily. I truly enjoy it; I always experience mixed emotions toward the changes around me.

I have completed my artistic residency at the Ion Creanga school about the Roma people. At the beginning, I faced some difficulties with the students’ commitment, but I tried to change my approach and be more friendly and open with them. Eventually, they became more engaged. We danced and sang together; I taught them a traditional Gypsy dance, and one of the girls sang the national anthem for them. We all enjoyed the experience, and they wore traditional Roma clothing, which is rich in floral patterns and bright, vivid colours. They looked wonderful—energetic and inspiring to me. I am happy that we all enjoyed our time together, that they learned something new, and that they broke through their fear and shyness.

This was the second time we performed the Jemom performance, but this time on a larger and more professional stage at the House of Culture. I hope that this performance will travel to many cities and that we can share our artistic experience with different audiences and countries.

It was time to work on my own artistic piece. I chose to focus on Tarot cards and selected an inspiring card: the Ace of Cups. I felt it perfectly expressed my emotions toward this journey, as it is a powerful symbol of new beginnings. Isn’t this experience truly a new beginning for me? It represents the flow of positive emotions, joy, and inner peace.

Here, I opened my heart and soul to new experiences, allowing my emotions to listen, receive, and embrace everything new and different. I added a subtle Egyptian touch to my artwork by using papyrus paper for drawing, which gave the piece a distinctive character. The exhibition day was full of visitors and active interaction from both students and the audience. This particular exhibition was characterized by bright, diverse colors, which truly reflect the spirit of the Roma culture.

It was time for rest—or perhaps exploration. During this weekend, I decided to explore Romania once again and traveled to a new city. I truly enjoy this challenge: carrying my backpack and traveling by train to discover new places. Romania is a wonderful country, rich in breathtaking nature. I feel my soul relax every time I decide to travel and explore.

This week, we began learning different methodologies for dealing with emotions as part of the new artistic residency. I feel that I personally benefited greatly from these sessions in developing a structured approach for workshops with school students. I learned about emotions and how to deal with them, especially when working with students from diverse backgrounds, and how to implement art-based workshops to help them become more open and willing to talk about their emotions, whether negative or positive.

My Egyptian colleagues, Salma and Loay, and I collaborated together for the first time. Although we are all Egyptian, this experience was still new and enjoyable. Over the course of five days, we conducted workshops focusing on emotions and the Cucuteni civilisation with teenage students. I was initially worried about their commitment, but I was genuinely surprised by their level of interest and dedication to the educational and artistic content we presented. We built a strong bond with them, and I feel very happy at the end of this artistic residency. Working with this age group can sometimes be challenging, and ensuring their commitment is not always easy, which makes this experience even more rewarding

I visited the Cucuteni Museum and truly enjoyed this experience on my own. I felt the need to go through it independently, as I sometimes find myself more engaged and deeply immersed when I learn alone and experience things firsthand. I requested a guided tour and spent nearly three hours at the museum, learning about this ancient and remarkable civilisation .

We concluded this month with a magical Turkish night, organised by our colleague Beyza. She prepared traditional Turkish food, which was extremely delicious, and she put great effort into making this celebration special. We danced, played games, sang together, and enjoyed the Turkish atmosphere. Moments like these are how relationships are built and grow stronger and more meaningful.

This monthly report was written by Aya Hossameldin Saad Mohamed, our Egyptian volunteer taking part in a seven-month Arts Lab 7.0 mobility, co-funded by the European Union under the European Solidarity Corps.