Dubai, UAE; September 22 2012: The Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), the Emirate’s dedicated Authority for culture, arts, and heritage; Tashkeel, an independent resource for artists and designers in the UAE, and the Creative Dialogue Association (CDA), a private independent and not-for-profit organisation, based in Barcelona, have selected four Emirati designers to attend the inaugural six-month Design Road Professional programme.
The Design Road Professional programme builds on the Authority’s collaboration on the 2011 Design Road workshops and exhibitions, which were aimed at encouraging intercultural dialogue and creative exchange between local and international designs.
The four participants include furniture and objects designer Khalid Shafar, graphic and fashion designer Aljoud Lootah, visual artist Zeinab Al Hashemi, and computational artist and designer Salem Al Mansoori.
Aimed at nurturing and fostering the talent of aspiring Emirati designers through hands-on training and knowledge transfer, the four Emirati designers will undertake extensive training across the various facets of design, in Dubai, London, and Barcelona, from September 2012 to March 2013.
Over the course of the programme, the selected designers will participate in Inspirational Trips, Educational Programmes, Professional Shadowing Programmes, and Proposal Development, in collaboration with Kingston University, Elisava Design School and ADIFAD, culminating with the production and showcase of their final products in the field of design at Art Week 2013 in Dubai.
Khalil Abdulwahid, Manager of Visual Arts, Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, said: “The selected designers for the inaugural Design Road Professional reflect the diversity of talent that Dubai has and fosters. Through this initiative, we aim to nurture the skills of these designers, thereby strengthening their talent to further contribute to Dubai’s evolving design landscape.”
Approaching design with personal expression of form, movement, emotion, and in particular, ‘the tale’ of objects, designer Khalid Shafar has exhibited his works in numerous design shows across the world, including Next Generation Tradeshow in Berlin, Tokyo Designers Week, Inspirationalists at The Pavilion, Design Days Dubai, and Milan Design Week, among others.
Graphic and fashion designer, and founder of the home-grown brand Niftee, Aljoud Lootah’s handmade limited edition apparel and accessories clearly reiterate her inspiration of traditional Arabian design with a contemporary twist. Aljoud works with a number of clients, and recently collaborated with international brand Repetto to design ballerina shoes.
Visual artist Zeinab Al Hashmi specialises in multimedia design, exploring the city’s current art scene. Zeinab aspires to create visuals that narrate a story, by incorporating elements from popular culture, commercial products, thereby creating contemporary art that is rooted in Emirati design heritage.
Salem Al Mansoori, a computational artist and designer, participated in numerous design and arts exhibitions including the United Nation’s ITU World Youth Forum, representing the UAE, the Emirates Fine Arts Society’s Collective Narrative, and MinD 2011 – City’s Dialogue Exhibition with an art project entitled Pattern Systems.
For more information, please contact Dubai Culture on email at [email protected] or call 04 8004003 or follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/DubaiCultureArtsAuthority) or Twitter (@Dubai_Culture)
About Dubai Culture & Arts Authority:
The Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) was launched on March 8, 2008 by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President & Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. Dubai Culture plays a critical part in achieving the vision of the Dubai Strategic Plan 2015 of establishing the city as vibrant, global Arabian metropolis that shapes culture and arts in the region and the world.
The organisation has announced several initiatives that strengthen the historic and modern cultural fabric of Dubai. These include: Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Patrons of the Arts Awards: A first-of-its-kind regional initiative to honour patrons of the arts from around the world for their valuable support in encouraging and strengthening the cultural scene of the Emirate; Sikka Art Fair: An annual art fair aimed at promoting Emirati and local artists in the UAE; Dubai Festival for Youth Theatre: An annual festival that celebrates and fosters the art of theatre in the UAE; Dubai Next: To encourage and sponsor initiatives that contribute actively to the development of the cultural events and activities in Dubai.
About Tashkeel:
Established in Dubai in January 2008 by Lateefa bint Maktoum, Tashkeel is an independent resource for artists and designers. Tashkeel’s primary mission is to support, encourage and promote the work of artists of all nationalities living and working in the United Arab Emirates. Tashkeel is committed to facilitating art and design practice, cross-cultural dialogue and creative exchange. Tashkeel provides extensive communal studio facilities, a journal and reference library, a meeting room and members room, in addition to the gallery, which is open to the public. In January 2011 Tashkeel opened a second facility in the heritage area of Bastakiya, providing four individual artists’ studios and a dedicated members gallery. Tashkeel also organizes workshops in creative practice, led by practicing artists and open to both Tashkeel members and the general public. www.tashkeel.org
About Creative Dialogue Barcelona (CDA):
Creative Dialogue Association is a private, independent and not-for-profit organization, based in Barcelona. CDA’s objective is to promote creative dialogue among various disciplines in order to bring forward a new space of creativity and interchange between different creative sectors in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe that can be reflected in their cultural and economic life. CDA has announced several initiatives and programs such as Design Road and Design Road professional, which aim to enhance the design culture developing and encouraging creative people to occupy the role and position in their local culture and its direct role in envisioning a creative economy that is an integral feature of modern society. www.creativedialogue.net
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