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Raising awareness for the crisis in Syria through the power of art.

You’ve been an activist for the Syrian Revolution since 2011. Could you tell us how it started?

Ever since I was young, I’ve had a fascination with foreign politics, especially in regards to the North African and Middle East region. In 2011, the Arab Spring swept across the Middle East, the Arab Spring was a collection of popular, peaceful uprisings that occurred throughout countries in North Africa and the Middle East. I happened to stumble across this disturbing article about a young 13-year-old boy in Syria named Hamza Al-Khateeb, who was tortured to death by government officials after being arrested at a peaceful protest in Syria. The article graphically narrated how young Hamza was tortured to death. I was shocked. Growing up in a sheltered environment, I had no clue that such brutality existed beyond my history books. After that, I focused my interests specially on the Syrian Revolution.

You’re also the founder and creator of Art2Defy, an organization that raises awareness for the Syrian crisis through art. Could you tell us about some of the amazing artists involved?

Art2Defy was founded in 2015 out in Los Angeles. At the time, I was working full-time in Los Angeles for NEXT model management. Los Angeles has an amazing street art scene that is very much politically charged. I was fortunate enough to one day strike up a conversation, with one such street artist and we collaborated on trying to do a mural piece about the Syrian Revolution. Unfortunately, I left Los Angeles before our plans could ever truly become concrete. Yet, during this time we decided that we wanted to see what other artists we could recruit for our project. We then made the Art2Defy Instagram, which has been active ever since.

As of now Art2Defy still is just an art sharing platform with hopes in the future of making it much more.

How has Art2Defy raised awareness on the Syrian crisis?

At the moment, Art2Defy serves as an Instagram platform, to educate a mainly western-based audience about what is going on inside Syria. We have around 2,400 active followers, who are mainly based in the United States. We post updates throughout the day on what is going on inside Syria. Aside from sharing artwork from various Syrian Artists and artwork related to the crisis in Syria, we try to intermix a collection of news footage and images about war efforts and the refugee crisis.

At the end of the day, the goal is always to keep the focus on Syria for people so far removed from this horrific crisis. It’s been wonderful to see the engagement from our western following. We regularly receive questions and artwork from our followers. We repost everyone who sends in Artwork and answer all questions that we receive. We encourage our community to stay engaged with us and always keep Syria fresh in their mind.

How can non-artists participate in Art2Defy?

Anyone can be an activist, when it comes to the crisis in Syria. We live in a global society, and one day our children’s children will look back and wonder why the world was so complacent to war crimes inside Syria.

Art2Defy is unique in the fact that it brings together an eclectic mix of people. We try to post content that does not just appeal to one type of person. This means, we repost videos and images about the war, as well as a variety of different styles of artwork – from street art to fine art, and then well-known Syrian artists, and young up and coming artists just looking to get an insta-feature. This diverse sharing of content has led to an eclectic mix of followers from artists, non-artists, political junkies, Syrians, Americans, Muslims, Christians and atheists are all a part of our Instagram community.

We encourage anyone curious about what is going on in Syria, to look us up on Instagram or Tumblr at @art2defy. We also encourage people to reach out, with questions and artwork they may have.

You’re also a very talented model, with numerous fashion shows and commercial prints in your portfolio. Has your career helped you giving the Syrian crisis a voice?

I think in the beginning it did, especially on social media. When I started Art2Defy, I was working out in Los Angeles full-time for NEXT model Management. When you’re working in the high-fashion industry, Instagram is your best friend, so I had a pretty steady following of artists and photographers. I really try to these days separate my career from my political views, especially in the political climate we live in today. I’ve been an activist for a Free Syria since 2011 and a model since 2013.

My career has been a blessing, and such an amazing adventure, but my heart and passion has always been with politics and the revolution.

Models are often stereotyped. Many assume they only create skincare lines, or hold fundraisers for wildlife preservation. Have you experienced any challenges being an activist?

I always say the most amazing thing about the fashion industry are us young models. For one to have a lasting and steady career in a very uncertain industry, like the fashion industry, requires a level of maturity, practicality and resilience. The girls that continue to book the jobs, and have a career that lasts more than just one season are the girls that view this industry as a business and a job, not just a free ticket to party. Our careers are also very short; and most us understand and accept that. That being said, many of my friends in the fashion industry, like myself, have a lot more interests outside of work. We are actresses, college students, activists for various causes, artists, and more. Nowadays, I try to not mix activism with work. When I first started Art2Defy, I had a few designers and photographers I worked with take interest, but that was out in Los Angeles when I was working for a corporate agency. Since being out in New York City, I’ve signed with a wonderful boutique agency. It is a smaller agency, so the relationship with the clientele is much more intimate. Out of respect for my agency, and amazing group of bookers, I try to keep politics out of any job I go to.

If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?

That’s a hard question. If I could change anything about this world, I would change how we view one another. There is so little empathy in this world, it seems like since the latest election people seem to be justified in their actions that promote intolerance and hatred towards one another. We’re living in dark and uncertain times. If I could change anything, I would want people to see one another as people not stereotype and stigmatize.

What is the next step for Art2Defy?

When I have time in the near future, I want to complete the process of making Art2Defy a non-profit organization, as well as doing events and gallery showings. When I first started Art2Defy, I had an amazing team of volunteers across the country helping me. Unfortunately, other commitments in their lives have left me to do this on my own. I hope to recruit more volunteers in the future.

What is next for you?

This past year, I returned to school after taking a break due to my modeling career. It’s felt AMAZING to be back in school. I am majoring in Middle Eastern policy and minoring in Arabic. I plan afterwards to go on and get my law degree after. I also would love to travel over to that region someday, to better master my speaking skills. For right now, I’m greatly enjoying my life in New York City.

Photo credit: Featured image by https://www.instagram.com/artistichappiness

Connect with Art2Defy:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/art2defy
Twitter: https://twitter.com/art2defy