Meet Syrian artist Amjad Wardeh

In the fourth in our series on Syrian artists with whom we have worked, we are delighted to profile Amjad Wardeh. A graduate of the Faculty of Fine Arts in Damascus, where he also worked as a teaching assistant, Amjad initially protested the brutality of the Syrian regime holding his own paintings during marches in Damascus. Forced to flee to Turkey, Amjad was supported by ARK to use his art, cartoons and animations to non-violently protest the destruction of his homeland. Twice nominated at the Cannes Film Festival for his animations War on Canvas and Goal to Syria (honouring the White Helmets Syrian Civil Defence teams, available at Goal to Syria - YouTube), in 2015 Amjad joined the wave of refugees leaving an increasingly uncertain Turkey. He undertook the perilous journey by sea, initially to Greece, then overland to Germany before finally finding sanctuary in Canada. Today Amjad remains an artist, seeking out new mediums to express himself, including rap, where as RefJ he explores his journey to date as a refugee and now a political asylum seeker.