Art van adds a splash of colour to drab Gaza life amid the coronavirus pandemic

Every day Ammar Abu Shamalla adds a little colour to drab routine life in Gaza, loading up his camper van with pictures he displays and sells in the Palestinian territory's streets and markets.

He and wife Arwa, both jobless college graduates, did painting in their spare time before coming up with the idea of putting their hobby to more productive use.

 Palestinian artist Ammar Abu Shamalla displays paintings for sale on an art van.

"We wanted to display our paintings to the public in vital places... Amid the coronavirus, we also wanted to make living," he told Reuters.

There are no art galleries in the territory, run by the Extremist group since 2007.

 A man pushes his bicycle past an art van with paintings put on sale by Palestinian artists.

However, some private and public institutions hosted exhibitions before the start of the epidemic, which has infected 69 and led to one death there.

Depicting mainly landscapes, flowers or portraits, Abu and Arwa's paintings hang off the sides of the van, and he brings out more from inside once he has parked it and crowds gather.

 Palestinian artists work on paintings they display for sale on an art van.

READ MORE

Ukrainian artist strikes a chord with matchsticks

Thai artist makes lifelike sculptures of King Maha Vajiralongkorn

US artist Jeff Koons controversies and complaints

Three other local artists are also partners in the project and over the past few weeks the couple say they have sold about 200 for between $4 and $10 each - comparatively large sums in a sealed-off community where the unemployment rate is around 50%.