COVID-19 Resilience
Dhahran trainees’ artwork inspires COVID-19 resilience
Training and Development Exhibition provides an outlet for trainees’ talents and passions.
Ghala Al Ghamdi lights up when describing her artwork at the Training and Development (T&D) Art Exhibition.
Al Ghamdi, a trainee at the Dhahran Industrial Training Center (ITC) talks about the time and effort she put into the piece, which shows a nurse with the world in balance, and how working on the project made her more comfortable with getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
“The people in the health field are working to help people get better and I wanted to take the vaccine to do my part to help the world get better,” she said.
An outlet for talents and passions
The T&D Art Exhibition provides trainees with an outlet for their creative talents and passions. Originally intended to showcase artwork by trainees related to the fight against COVID-19, the exhibition will be an ongoing feature of the Dhahran ITC and will display other artwork reflecting positive social messaging in the future.
Mishal Alqahtani, an ITC trainee, worked with a team of other trainees on a collage that took clippings from company publications and used them to form the shape of a mask. Alqahtani said working on the project changed his views toward COVID-19 safety protocols.
“At first, I didn’t see the masks as very important, but after working on the project I learned that wearing the mask was very important to protect myself and others,” he said.
The exhibition currently displays artwork submitted by trainees during the T&D Creative Competition in 2020 and a 2021 competition promoting vaccination. The exhibition features select artwork from the competitions, while all artwork submitted from the competitions may be viewed via an app.
Developing social responsibility and awareness
Norah A. Albahussain, a business analyst in the Industrial Training Department who has played a leading role in the creation of the exhibition, said the art contests and exhibition play an instructive role for trainees by encouraging them to develop their abilities and in developing social consciousness. Albahussain said participating in the competitions resulted in many of the trainees taking the time to learn more about COVID-19 and how they could contribute to stopping the pandemic by following public health guidelines and getting vaccinated.
Albahussain drew upon her own creativity to organize some of the artwork featured in the exhibition into a display showing how the world looked before, during, and hopefully after the pandemic.
Albahussain said that inspiring creativity among trainees and employees has the practical benefit of teaching them to harness their imagination and flexibility of thought and apply it to workplace challenges. The end result is a more adaptable and innovative workforce.
TOP PHOTOGRAPH CAPTION
Norah A. Albahussain discusses how her artwork is arranged to create a narrative about COVID-19 at the Training and Development Art Exhibition.