Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) and Alserkal Arts Foundation have announced a collaboration to bring inspiring and thoughtful art to Dubai’s public realm. The collaboration will deliver a series of three Dubai Public Art projects, including the Al Quoz Creative Zone, Shindagha Historic District, and Hatta.
The joint commitment to support artistic and curatorial excellence amongst UAE-based practitioners will lead each of the three public commissions. Munira Al Sayegh has been appointed curator for the open call for Al Shindagha Historic District, where she will lead a process-driven and participatory commission. In Al Quoz, Sumayya Vally will work with Alserkal Arts Foundation to consider the area’s industrial past and creative future, taking into account all those who use the space in innovative ways. Faysal Tabbarah will respond to the landscape itself in Hatta, seeking interventions that respect the environment and transform relationships with it.
Dubai Public Art is a new program launched by Dubai Culture to commission, curate, and activate three public works across Dubai, intended to create distinctive artistic interventions that will engage with the city and its individual neighborhoods. The program seeks to create meaningful opportunities for local artistic practice to thrive.
Dr. Saeed Mubarak bin Kharbash, CEO of the Arts and Literature Sector at Dubai Culture, affirmed that public art is an essential element in enhancing the strength of cultural tourism in Dubai. It contributes to enriching the emirate’s creative identity. He expressed his happiness in cooperating with Alserkal Arts Foundation to launch the open call. He continued, “Al Shindagha Neighbourhood is one of the most prominent historical areas of Dubai, and is considered a witness to the stages of the establishment and development of the emirate, and Alserkal Arts Foundation’s decision to select it to be part of the map of the distribution of Dubai Public Art reflects its importance and place in community memory.”
Vilma Jurkute, Executive Director of Alserkal Initiatives, reinforced the importance of public art in the social evolution of cities. She said, “Alserkal Arts Foundations’ ethos is grounded in shared authority and collective learning where open dialogue and long-term cooperation are foregrounded in our partnerships. Participatory art can help re-appraise current subjects and invite critical engagement, which creates an empowering space that can lead to social transformation. We look forward to working with Dubai Culture across the city to galvanize communities in Al Quoz, Shindagha, and Hatta, some of Dubai’s most historically-bound locations.”
Munira Al Sayegh said, “Public art remains one of the most powerful forms of art as it becomes directly accessible to any public that is within its reach. Dubai Culture’s investment in this domain is important for the community that surrounds it, and for the generous narratives we are collectively building for our shared future.”
Al Sayegh invites artists, designers, and architects to propose a project that engages deeply with the multiple histories and temporalities of the neighborhoods around Dubai Creek. The project, titled ‘Lamma | Coming Together,’ is designed to be program-led, inviting artists to propose ideas rooted in public participation. The commission presents a unique opportunity for artists, designers, and architects to collaborate with an established, locally-based curator in order to create an understanding of the impact and legacy of public art and the potential for meaningful social engagement in an urban heritage and museum context.
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