Sharjah24: Taking inspiration from the “Circle of Life” song in the Disney superhit movie The Lion King, a batch of Grade 4 girl students set about recreating a silhouette of the African savannah with a medley of wildlife at the “Creative Silhouettes” Art & Craft session during the ongoing 15th edition of the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF).

The children were quick to recognise Simba the Lion King, Mickey Mouse, the genie from Aladdin, and others from their silhouettes and then set about designing their own landscape against a setting sun. 

On a digitally created A4 size print predominantly in bright pink and blue, they set about placing the semi-circular image of a setting sun cut out from yellow paper, then cut and stuck using glue a long piece of black paper in thin wavy form to signify the grassy ground, and coloured animal silhouettes with a stencil and black sketch pen.  

Elephants, giraffes, leopards, baobab trees and birds came to life on their paper. Some had camels, coconut or date palms to signify a different landscape.

With a little help from Ukrainian trainers Valeriia Lotorieva, an art student in Japan; Svitlana Lotorieva, a professional painter and designer; and Rubau Taras, a professional musician and craftsman, all of them patiently overseeing each effort, the young artists perfected their creations and proudly carried them home.

The largest celebration of knowledge, creativity, art and innovation of its kind in the region, SCRF 2024 is taking place in Expo Centre Sharjah from May 1 to 12, and carries the slogan ‘Once Upon a Hero’.

More than 1,500 cultural, artistic, and edutainment activities by 190 guests from 25 countries have set the stage for boundless explorations and creative expression along with 470 publishers from 75 countries at SCRF 2024, which will come to a close on May 12.