Maysa and the children of Gaza: how art becomes therapy

Antonella Mariani
Thursday 5 June 2025

The camera on the mobile phone moves from Maysa's beautiful face, framed by a light veil, to the space around her. There is only one small room left standing, crammed with paraphernalia. Next to it, rubble and shreds of wall. And, amidst the grey desolation, hanging from those shreds, many drawings. And children's handprints painted pink and blue: these are the little hands of the children of Gaza, whom Maysa Yousef welcomes every week among the ruins of what was her studio before the war. She is an established artist, her works are for sale online in the most renowned auction houses, she is known for her paintings and collages with different materials classified as ‘magic realism’. But now... ‘I have lost my home three times, I have fled just as many times with my three children and my husband,’ she tells Avvenire in a video link on Whatsapp. ‘In the bombings and escapes, I have lost all my works, certifications and certificates obtained over the years.

But that is not what counts. It's surviving that counts. ‘At first I started with eight children, when I was displaced in the north. Now I am back in my neighbourhood, Deir El-Balah, in the centre of the Strip. There are 35 children. They come here every week and I make them try their hand at colours and collages’.

Artist Maysa Yousef in her bombed out studio in Gaza with children following her workshops - M.Y.

Children in Gaza draw butterflies, lots of colourful butterflies. But those who draw them do not fly anywhere: all the schools in Gaza are destroyed or converted into shelters, there are no safe places to play or to be with their peers. Maysa's house is not safe either, but ‘the children need to come here. They draw and talk about what they feel, their fears, their wishes'. Thanks to her fame, several twinnings have been set up between the young pupils and peers from other countries: with one group in London, the children exchange drawings of hugs, with another in Italy, letters and little thoughts.

With the Monastic Community of Marango di Caorle, in Veneto, a beautiful friendship was born and the travelling exhibition ‘Letters to Heaven’ was set up, which will be shown again on 21 June in Mestre at the in Movimento festival, organised by Refugees Welcome. The Monastic Community, together with Assopace Palestina Veneto, managed to set off a supply of artistic drawing materials that fortunately arrived at their destination with the help of the Gaza printer-bookshopkeeper, Ramadan Elnajeli.

A portrait of Gaza artist Maysa Yousef - Facebook by Maysa Yousef

‘My children have many friends in the world, and this gives them hope. They feel they are not alone,' Maysa continues: she speaks quickly, in perfect English, as if in a hurry to make known all the horror they experience in the war unleashed by Israel to annihilate the Hamas terrorists. She too needs to banish the fear, the anguish of not knowing whether she will wake up tomorrow next to her husband and children, whether they will still have a whole day. ‘We are resisting, we have hope,’ she repeats, as she shows through the camera of her mobile phone the destruction around her and, like flowers in the desert, the colourful drawings of her little pupils. ‘Before 7 October 2023 we had a good life. We want it back as soon as possible. My children are losing precious time of their childhood. Our bodies are weak, we need food, vitamins, protein, fresh air, open spaces. Each of these children has lost someone: relatives, friends, teachers, they are always sad and think they can be next'. They come to her house agitated, recovering from nights of nightmares, and Maysa says she has no words left to calm them down. ‘When they draw, only then do I see them relax. They are my heroes: so small, so resilient’. Maysa's eldest son Salem also has nightmares, cries and refuses to come out, screams that no one will help him, no one will save him. ‘We are not numbers, we are not anonymous, we are human beings, with a human history. We deserve more than that,' she continues. But despite everything, she smiles at the end of her interview with Avvenire. And her smile is the hope of the world.

read more about Maysa and her art project with children in Gaza