There has been a gluttonous trend of late – of using a popular design platform to create and sell colouring books for children – except, the art is not created by actual human artists. Before falling for this purchase, consider the work of an actual graphic artist called Ebaa and how the purchase of a colouring book can impact her life.

“because art is the only breath I have left in all this pain” – Ebaa

Ebaa’s art studio was located on the upper floor of her home in northern Gaza.
After being forcefully displaced, she walked to the south, passing tanks and unconscionable pain. “I lived in conditions unfit for human life”.

When her family were allowed to return to the north, she returned on foot, walking for two days and collapsing from sheer exhaustion, with no access to food or water. If sleep came it was while lying in the streets.

Once home, she discovered that her art studio had been completely destroyed and only a part of the home she had always known was still standing. Her father’s small fabric shop, the only source of income for the family, was now gone, captured in precious memories. Her younger sister’s health needs cannot be met due to the rising costs of unobtainable medications. They have been working to rebuild and do what artists do – create beauty in the rubble.

Ebaa draws to preserve stories, memories, and to plant hope in the midst of all that has been taken away. A colouring book: MY ARTISTIC JOURNEY TO PALESTINE is a project created to rebuild from the rubble.

“Through lovable characters and pages full of creativity and exploration, it encourages young minds to discover Palestine with their imagination and colors. It even includes a special “Artist’s Passport” for children to fill out, turning them into little artists on a mission to express love through art.”

So, instead of reaching for a non-human-generated purchase, consider a colouring book “designed with love from Gaza”, one that can inspire through art, and encourage a thoughtful connection to identity and belonging.

“Despite it all, I try to resist through art. I draw what’s left of life in Gaza to show the world that we’re still here — dreaming, loving, and creating — even in the heart of devastation.” – Ebaa

Please find links to support Ebaa directly here. Find Ebaa’s art here.