Diala Brisley hopes that her visual work might stand as a testament someday to the historic events that have unfolded around her and the social issues that have driven the heart of her work. Several themes have been consistent throughout her projects; social justice, freedom for the Syrian people, and a desire in particular to give a voice to children, the most voiceless and most vulnerable among those who have been targeted in Syria’s current turmoil.
Born in Kuwait to Syrian parents in 1980, Diala grew up in Damascus and was based there until the uprisings sent her and legions of other artists fleeing to different countries until she finally received asylum in France where she kept working on her projects as a freelancer.
Diala began as a cartoonist at the Syrian-based Spacetoon channel in 2001, where she received her first training, and soon began as a layout artist for the fledgling cartoon series. Since then, her career has spanned a variety of mediums and capacities, including layout design, animation, concept art, painting, comic books, and character design.
Now Diala more focuses on spot lighting on the education situation of Syrian kids, and refugees in general, in 2014 she started her own initiative making murals in the refugee camps and alternative education centers between Lebanon and Turkey to encourage kids going back to school after skipping for a few years because of the war. In parallel, Diala was doing art workshops for kids and adults to help them express themselves, while also working on wellbeing and psychological themes recently like post trauma.