Tartous-SANA
Among the many cafes with its well-known traditional character, and those that young people have recently opened to meet their needs, the “Silver” cafe, which was opened by the young Ahmed Al-Hassan from the city of Baniyas in Tartous, is unique in that it is the first cultural and literary cafe of its kind in the city.
Al-Hassan, 28, a graduate of the Technical Institute of Electricity and Mechanics in Lattakia, spoke to SANA Youth Newsletter about his project, which he launched after his demobilization from the Syrian Arab Army.
Where he suffered two injuries during his military service;
The first in 2017 resulted in burns to the face, chest, and hands, and the second after his recovery and return to the ranks of the army in 2018, with a gunshot wound to the left side of the chest;
Due to the difficulty of working in his specialty and his refusal to sit idle, he had the idea of opening his own coffee shop, different from other coffee shops.
He said: Here you can order your cup of coffee and sit after that to listen to music, attend a poetry evening, or participate in art exhibitions, all in one place and with a homogeneous mosaic mixture, pointing out that the idea of integrating music, painting and poetry within his project was very difficult, but he started painting on the walls His cafe and decorating it with distinctive decorations made of wood, with the aim of securing a place different from others that converges with his talent for drawing.
Al-Hassan added: Although I was afraid that the public would not be interested in the café, I insisted on continuing what I started until it became a popular destination for many, especially after I held my first exhibition in it to display my drawings, which received remarkable admiration.
Al-Hassan uses lead, charcoal, watercolor, acrylic, and oil colors, and he was able to develop his performance to distinguish himself from others, as he preferred to draw in more than one way and went to paint in the “pop art” way, i.e. shadow drawing, especially the portraits through which he tried to document characters and events, and he believes that drawing is a translation Visible to many feelings and feelings using inking pens.
The distinction that young Ahmed holds in drawing is complemented by his passion for making wooden figures and artifacts, using chisels to add some inscriptions to them and then sanding paper for smoothing, in which soft figures are obtained, pointing out that the best type of wood he uses is olive.
Al-Hassan indicated that he did not learn drawing or making sculptures in the College of Arts or by following courses, but rather he relied on his instinct and his love for drawing, and he did not seek any financial gain from his talent, but rather set up free drawing activities and courses for children to teach them the rules and principles of drawing, hoping that He participates in exhibitions outside the province, as it gives his experience more confidence, determination and continuity of work.
Osama Mualla, one of the people who frequent the café, spoke of his admiration for Ahmed's great will and determination to make his project a success, despite his health condition, expressing his admiration for the activities he holds in the café and the need to support young people, especially those who have been laid off.
Ahmed works through his page on the social networking site Facebook to display his paintings and artifacts that he manufactures, and currently displays them on the walls of the café to reach the largest possible number of people.
Rama Dhawa
Follow SANA's news on Telegram https://t.me/SyrianArabNewsAgency
