Manahel's Story
My name is Manahel Albik, and I’m from Syria.
I came to Canada in April 2019. Before that, I lived as a Syrian refugee in Egypt, where my art journey has started. Being a refugee wasn’t easy for my family and me. Because of the Syrian war, we lived in Egypt in deplorable situations.
I still remember back in 2013 when I was diagnosed with cancer, and I couldn’t tolerate the pain. My youngest daughter gave me her colour book to help her, and what happened was I helped her for about 3 hours without feeling any pain! I forgot my cancer and treated my mental health with this art therapy. After that, I started developing my art skills. I tried drawing some cartoons, flowers, and sketches. Then I taught myself oil and acrylic painting. I challenged myself, and I pulled my first oil pastel canvas, and many people liked it; in fact, someone bought it from me.
Many people told me that I have my own artwork style and personality. I realized that what I needed was to refine my skills. I applied for a three-week workshop for self-taught artists to help them refine their art.
I am still learning, and every day I teach myself something new and play with a unique mix of colours. During my art journey, cancer attacked my body four times, but at each time, I fought this disease with my art.
Currently, I am a professional artist, and my art is displayed in different places.
Manahel's Story
My name is Manahel Albik, and I’m from Syria.
I came to Canada in April 2019. Before that, I lived as a Syrian refugee in Egypt, where my art journey has started. Being a refugee wasn’t easy for my family and me. Because of the Syrian war, we lived in Egypt in deplorable situations.
I still remember back in 2013 when I was diagnosed with cancer, and I couldn’t tolerate the pain. My youngest daughter gave me her colour book to help her, and what happened was I helped her for about 3 hours without feeling any pain! I forgot my cancer and treated my mental health with this art therapy. After that, I started developing my art skills. I tried drawing some cartoons, flowers, and sketches. Then I taught myself oil and acrylic painting. I challenged myself, and I pulled my first oil pastel canvas, and many people liked it; in fact, someone bought it from me.
Many people told me that I have my own artwork style and personality. I realized that what I needed was to refine my skills. I applied for a three-week workshop for self-taught artists to help them refine their art.
I am still learning, and every day I teach myself something new and play with a unique mix of colours. During my art journey, cancer attacked my body four times, but at each time, I fought this disease with my art.
Currently, I am a professional artist, and my art is displayed in different places.
