More than 50 writers with a keen interest in the arts took part in the workshops held over the past five months. Experts from around the world engaged the participants in various aspects of writing about the arts, including art criticism, analysis against global benchmarks and a wider perspective of the evolution of the arts across the world.

Alia Al Hashimi, Senior Specialist at the Projects Department in the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority said: “The response to the ‘Writing About Art’ workshops, held for the first time ever in the region, has been overwhelming. The event offered a unique platform for artists, art professionals and art writers to come together, brainstorm and promote the standards of art writing. A genuine appreciation of the arts, followed by insightful writing, will help in shaping a stronger arts community.”

She added: “As the first group of art critics graduating from this initiative, the participants will help to engage the community in understanding and appreciating the arts. These art critics will in turn educate the general public about art, thereby facilitating greater interaction between the arts and its audience. They will also play a key role in further reiterating Dubai Culture’s goal to strengthen the cultural scene in the region by promoting original content creation from Dubai. ”

Dubai Culture and Bidoun Projects will explore opportunities in networking with regional publications, gallery directors, and publishing houses to promote the writings done by the workshop participants, to further strengthen art appreciation and awareness, thus creating a vibrant cultural scene in the Emirate.
 

Activities like drawing, coloring, beadwork and accessory making appeal to children of all ages. This is also the right place to make a souvenir of the day at Modhesh World. Families have the option to work together and make a painting or a bead handicraft together.

The face painting corner is also a hit with children. Here they can get their faces painted with their favourite character masks including that of Modhesh. The Modhesh head is one of the most popular face painting designs.

Seven year old Shahed Jafal and her three year old sister Fatma Jafal had an amazing time at the Art and Craft Zone coloring, drawing and working together. “I really enjoy drawing and colouring. I love to draw Modhesh most of all. Making different clothes and styles for him is fun. Fatma loves to color but she cannot draw. So I draw and we both color together,” said Shahed.

Five year old Uttara from India was busy putting her imagination on paper while her brother played with beads, feeling the textures, letting them slip through his fingers or simply turning them over and over overlooked by an attentive volunteer. “Both of them enjoy spending time here and both are easily engrossed in different activities. After running around this gives them a good break and we can spend more time out enjoying as a family without worrying that children get tired,” said their mother.

H. B. Leisure, DWTC, Coco-Cola, Magic Planet, Emirates, Masafi and Union Co-operative are the sponsor s of Modhesh World.

Modhesh World doors are open from 10.00am to 10:00pm (Saturday to Wednesday), 10:00am to midnight (Thursdays), and 3:00pm to midnight on Fridays. Tickets to the venue are priced at AED 10 for adults and AED 15 for children with numerous free zones and exciting activities.
 

Its launch is complemented by an image design contest that will enable anyone who is resident in the UAE to submit their design for the homepage banner of the art archive, which can be found at www.uaeartarchive.org. Supported by Emirates Airline, who is providing two economy class tickets to Venice, the competition encourages everyone with artistic flair to submit their work.

Commenting on the announcement, Dr. Lamees Hamdan, Commissioner of the UAE Pavilion, said:
“The UAE Art Archive provides a unique platform, for the first time, in the contemporary art community where we can all come together and share this vehicle across all seven Emirates. This is a collective space for artists practicing in the UAE to show their work, whereby profiles can be uploaded with a biography, reference to online websites and gallery affiliation can be made and exhibition histories and artwork can be created. The archive is published online and is open to everyone all over the world.

This is also an opportunity for UAE residents to participate in an exclusive competition and to be a part of an online community that is really working from a grass roots level for the art and cultural scene across the UAE. This competition, I believe, is one of the most effective paths in which we can engage people’s interests and encourage them to support our own pool of creative contemporary talent.”

Ahmed Khoory, Senior Vice President for Commercial Operations – Gulf, Middle East and Iran, Emirates Airline said:
"Emirates is delighted to be a part of this exciting initiative. I hope that the people of the UAE can take inspiration from the majestic beauty of this great country when developing their submissions. The UAE Pavilion has worked hard to encourage UAE residents to embrace and express their creativity and we look forward to continuing our partnership with them for many years to come."

Commencing from July 23nd, the competition will be judged by the Ambassadors to the UAE Pavilion: Sultan Al Qassemi, Alanood Al Warshaw, Jack Persekian, Paula Askari, Hannan Sayed, Nadine Kanso, Rashid Shabib, Ahmed Shabib, Sunny Rahbar and Maliha Tabari. The contest will close on September 2nd and an announcement of the winner will be made on September 16th at a Suhoor during Ramadan to reveal who will be awarded two economy flight tickets to Venice with a three-day stay at a four-star hotel in Venice and two tickets to visit the 53rd Venice Biennale, courtesy of Emirates Airline.

“As an Ambassador to the UAE Pavilion and one of the judges of this competition, I am enthusiastic to see the first glimpse of how the UAE’s art scene has evolved and what our local creative minds have in store. This contest is an innovative way to examine the developments which are currently taking place across the UAE’s art agenda,” Sultan Al Qassemi commented.

The announcement comes in the midst of an ongoing international art exhibition in Venice, Italy, the 2009 Venice Biennale, of which the UAE has sent its official contribution to play an integral part. Breaking ground as the first Arabian Gulf state ever to participate since the event began in 1895, the UAE Pavilion was established in recognition of the nation’s emergence as a cultural hub worthy of attracting global attention and was supported by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Community Development.

Universally recognised as the world’s most prestigious contemporary art event, the Venice Biennale currently presents its 53rd International Art Exhibition, which began on June 7 and will be staged through November 22, 2009.

The opening of the art show, comprising 43 paintings and photographs submitted entirely by the bank staff, was attended by members of the Senior Management of the Bank, as well as the artists, well-wishers, family and friends.

The Art Show received an overwhelming response from the bank employees, with over 180 submissions. The experts taking a call on the best entries were from the prestigious American University of Sharjah, with the design professor Philip Sheil as the painting curator for the event and Tarek Al Ghossein, the photography professor, judging the photography entries.
 

The exhibition displays the works of 17 talented artists from UAE, Japan, Netherlands, Belgium, China and Canada. Yvonne Flipse, a doll artist from Netherlands, uses her skills in standing figures and lovely fairies taking inspiration from nature, dreams, emotions, and special moments.

On the other hand, Camille Allen is the gifted Canadian artist who concocts miniature babies out of clay. Her determination to imitate realistic details in the face and body of the baby dolls are evident in her beautiful works of art. While renowned artists Yoko Ueno and Chieko Hazeki show an exquisite collection of Japanese dolls wearing the traditional Japanese costume kimono, the Japanese dolls are eye-catching pieces that appear as real depiction of Japanese heritage.

Members of the Dutch and Belgian Institute of Doll Artists (DABIDA) are also presenting numerous dolls in various artful themes and images. Some of their works are dramatic and mimic the elegance of 18th century Europe through detailed work on make-up and costumes. Additionally, there are daily performances using exquisitely made wooden marionette puppets that help bring stories to life.

The event opened on July 9 and will go on till July 23 at Level 1, Festival Centre, Dubai Festival City.

Speakers on the day included Beth Carruthers, internationally known artist, independent curator, and advocate for environmental social practices of art; Elizabeth Monoian, Co Curator and actively involved with arts projects in the UAE; Charlotte Di Vita MBE, a well-known activist who raises funds through arts for numerous social causes and a Goodwill Ambassador to the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund; Robert Ferry, a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University and a licensed architect currently working on various projects in the GCC, most notably as consultant Senior Architect for Masdar City in Abu Dhabi; Julian Knight, who joined Global Cool Productions from the world’s largest alternative investments manager and financial broker, Man Group; Rima Jabado, who has nine years of experience in marine research and conservation projects around the world, and Huda Saeed Saif, a local artist, a member of the Emirates Fine Arts Society and a professor of physics.

Yousif Mubarak said, “The ‘Green Vision’ theme adopted for Arts Oasis is a reflection of DSF Office’s commitment to involve itself in issues that affect local and international communities. The DSF Office began promoting the ‘green’ concept through Dubai Shopping Festival and Dubai Summer Surprises many years back and we will continue to promote environmental causes through our events in line with our country’s commitment to the same.”
Beth Carruthers said, “We are extremely delighted to be here in Dubai to promote a just cause and one that is very crucial to all of us. UAE is at the forefront of environment conservation and this discussion has opened up issues such as the responsibility of artists to promote environment through an ideal event during Dubai Summer Surprises. We hope that the messages of conservation will reach out to a wider audience this summer.”

Beginning with introductions to the work and practices of the different panel members, the discussion explored ways that artists and their works have engaged with culture and sustainability. The panel concluded with a look to the future and put forth questions on the future roles for the arts in sustainability in the UAE and the possibilities arising for the fruitful interdisciplinary or hybrid collaborative projects within the UAE.

The talks were also attended by the participating artists of Arts Oasis who then proceeded to begin work on the exhibits slated for the event.

The discussion was held as a preview to this year’s ‘Green Vision’ theme of Arts Oasis, a Signature Event of DSS 2009. Initiated in the summer of 2006, Art Oasis was a Dubai Summer Surprises initiative as part of its endeavors to diversify its events to a wider local, regional, and international audience by gathering artists from around the world. As an event, it has opened up a platform for various forms of art to be displayed and more importantly, created an environment for cultural exchange in Dubai.

Primarily focused on paintings and sculptures, Art Oasis in the past has also made it possible for thousands of art lovers in Dubai to admire creativity and even own some of the exquisite creations made by the artists. The event has thus gone a long way in fostering, cultivating, creating dialogue and spreading the awareness of visual art by bringing it to Dubai’s public spaces such as malls.

This year, Art Oasis has created a platform for critical discourse and an opportunity for emerging artists to create new works which will be showcased at the Eye of Horus, WAFI from July 9 to 15 July, 2009.