Ibraheem Mohana

I’m Ibrahim, a visual artist from Gaza. I came to art gradually.

I first started drawing in 2018, mostly by drawing characters I saw on television. As I kept drawing, I became more curious about art itself. I started looking into different artists and art movements and slowly realised that art wasn't just about copying something I saw and putting it on paper. It could be a way of saying something.

I was around 14 when art became much more personal for me. I was going through a lot and didn't really know how to explain what I was feeling. In a place like Gaza, it can be difficult to tell people that you are struggling or that you are not okay. I didn't always have the words for what was happening inside my head, so I started putting those things onto paper and canvas instead. At first, I was painting roses, flowers, and landscapes, and my family liked those paintings. But as I changed, my work changed with me. It became darker, more personal, and less familiar to the people around me. They didn't always understand the new direction my art was taking, but for me, it was becoming a way to breathe.

I first worked with children in June 2024, when I ran a workshop for 15 children. I was only 18 myself, and I was still learning. What stayed with me was seeing how proud the children became of what they had made and how quickly the workshop became more than just giving them paper and colours.

They started talking to me about their lives, their daily routines, their problems, and things they normally wouldn't have had a space to talk about. They didn't really see me as someone who had simply come to give them a workshop. They started treating me like a friend, or someone from their own family. That made me realise that I had a responsibility to them that went beyond the artwork.

Later, when we held the first exhibition and I saw their paintings being shown to people outside Gaza, I felt incredibly proud of them. These were things they had made in a small workshop, and suddenly they were being seen and exhibited around the world. That was one of the moments when I understood how much a simple creative space could give someone.

Frameless grew from that same need. I realised that I needed a space like this myself — somewhere I could paint, talk about ideas, practice, meet other artists, and encourage people to keep making art even when the circumstances around us make it difficult.

I wanted to create that space not only for myself, but for other artists and for children too. That is where Frameless came from.