A 10-year-old refugee, who has been nicknamed “the little Picasso” for his artistic talent, is holding his first exhibition — and donating all the money raised to a sick Serbian boy.
Farhad Nouri’s drawings and photographs were put on display Wednesday in Belgrade, where he has lived in a crowded migrant camp with his parents and two younger brothers for the past eight months.
The family was forced to flee conflict and poverty in their home country of Afghanistan two years ago, traveling through Greece and Turkey before arriving in Serbia.
The boy’s gift for art was spotted during language and painting workshops in Belgrade that were organized by local aid groups for refugees and migrants.
“We quickly realized how talented he was and sent him to a painting school as well as a three-month photography workshop, so this is a retrospective of what he learned there,” said Edin Sinanovic from the Refugees Foundation, a local NGO.
Among Nouri’s works exhibited in the garden of a Belgrade cafe were his drawings of Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali and Harry Potter. His photographs mostly include scenes from around Belgrade.
In addition to holding his first exhibition, “Farhad wanted to help someone, so he chose to dedicate it to a six-year-old Serbian boy who needs funds for his therapy after brain cancer,” Sinanovic said.
Nouri, who is dreaming of one day moving to Switzerland to become a painter and a photographer, said he wanted to help someone else as well to show how important it is to be good to other people.
“We all need kindness,” he said.
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