By SITI DIANA KAMILA
brats@thestar.com.my

With the theme I Love Malaysia, around 7,000 kindergarten children contributed to an art exhibition with only their crayons, colour pencils, a blank paper and their innocent minds.

Doodle For Unity is an art exhibition organised in conjunction with the Independence Month by Selangor FM with the collaboration of Universiti Malaya and Jabatan Kemajuan Masyarakat (Kemas). Thirty of the children’s artwork were selected by a panel of artists, who then made replicas of the entries. Around 200 unselected drawings were also displayed.

“Look at this, (the drawings are) so innocent!” said Mohamad Izzuddin Hamdan, the event publisher, as he pointed out a drawing that declares “Saya nak jadi askar” (I want to be a soldier).

The organisers had originally planned a charity auction of the children’s drawings, but decided against it as they felt the need to preserve the drawings.

“Artists don’t doodle,” said Mohamad Izzuddin. “What we mean by Doodle For Unity is the children’s artwork, because doodling is something you do freely without thinking much.”

Visitors, meanwhile, are allowed to draw on the walls.

Mohamad Izzuddin agreed that the adult’s drawings bring a very different meaning and vibe to the children’s doodles of the Jalur Gemilang, butterflies and kampung houses.

He added that if proven to be popular, the organisers would take the project to other states, with the help of other RTM radio stations.

In line with the event, several workshops, including the mini doodle workshop, were held.

The event has been going on from Sept 2 and will end on Sept 28. It is held at Muzium Seni Asia, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. It is open from 9am to 5pm. Admission is free.