For the Syrian Refugee Relief Fund, founded in 2015, the tenth anniversary coincides with a crucial moment for Syria: it has been one year since the end of the Assad regime, after decades of repression and a civil war that has turned the country upside down. Today this situation remains fragile, with much of the population below the poverty line, and this is precisely why the work of the SRRF is more necessary than ever.

The response comes through Gallery of Hope, an online exhibition and a sale of works created by the children of the school in the Mahmoudli refugee camp. Each limited edition print covers the cost of one year of education for a child, while some original works are available for those who wish to contribute in an even more direct way. It is a concrete way to turn creativity into opportunity, and art into an act of reconstruction.

Among the faces featured in the exhibition is that of Bareaa, nine years old, who arrived at the camp when she was very little. Her smile, captured in a portrait that becomes the symbolic image of the campaign, is the perfect synthesis of what remains when everything has been taken away. Her school journey, which began two years ago, has given her confidence, curiosity, ambitions, and today Bareaa looks to the future with a determination that speaks louder than any report.

The SRRF, founded by war correspondent Will Wintercross together with his father Brian Cross, has raised over one million pounds in ten years, bringing education to thousands of Syrian children. It is a story of perseverance and responsibility: continuing to be there even when the world’s attention shifts elsewhere, continuing to believe in education as the most radical form of resistance.

Gallery of Hope is this: a space where art becomes testimony, where the imagination of children turns into a concrete gesture of solidarity. An invitation to look at Syria beyond the rubble, through the eyes of those who, despite everything, are still able to imagine a better tomorrow.

Cover image: Children play in the evening sun in Maera, northern Syria.
Photo by Will Wintercross, 20/06/13