Uploaded December 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
When Victor Sitali started exploring avenues of art, he found himself unsatisfied with landscapes and still life. What really lit a fire in him was portraiture.
“There’s emotion that’s in the face, and you can see feelings,” he told as this summer at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. “You can feel connections with people. It’s from the heart directly to the face and that visual connection.”
Sitali, Deaf since age three, wasn’t able to study art at the deaf school he attended in Zambia, his home country. When his family moved to the United Arab Emirates, he was able to join Mawaheb, an art studio for people with disabilities. At the Festival, he communicated with visitors and fellow participants using a form of International Sign.
Read the full feature on the Festival Blog: https://s.si.edu/3Ffl4fz
[Catalog No. CFV11487; © Smithsonian Institution, 2022]
When Victor Sitali started exploring avenues of art, he found himself unsatisfied with landscapes and still life. What really lit a fire in him was portraiture.
“There’s emotion that’s in the face, and you can see feelings,” he told as this summer at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. “You can feel connections with people. It’s from the heart directly to the face and that visual connection.”
Sitali, Deaf since age three, wasn’t able to study art at the deaf school he attended in Zambia, his home country. When his family moved to the United Arab Emirates, he was able to join Mawaheb, an art studio for people with disabilities. At the Festival, he communicated with visitors and fellow participants using a form of International Sign.
Read the full feature on the Festival Blog: https://s.si.edu/3Ffl4fz
[Catalog No. CFV11487; © Smithsonian Institution, 2022]
