Tashkeel Celebrates 5th Anniversary With The Launch Of Its Annual Guest Artist Programme

artists contribute to Tashkeel

Tashkeel, an independent resource for artists and designers living and working in UAE, has celebrated its 5th anniversary with the launch of its annual Guest Artist programme. The initiative welcomes three guest artists Amartey Golding, who was in 2012 commissioned to create the images on the skate ramp at Tashkeel, Spanish urban artist Ruben Sanchez and calligraffiti artist, eL Seed. The programme provides opportunities for invited artists to advance their own professional practice, whilst interacting with emerging artists within the community.

A hub for the creative, Tashkeel’s guest artist programs are for a pre-determined duration of 3 months to 1 year. Artists are selected according to the relevance of their practice to the creative discipline of Tashkeel’s on going art programs, this year’s artists having been selected to compliment the studio’s new activities designed for emerging artists, teenagers and children.

Amartey Golding, a London based artist studied Art, Design and Architecture at Central Saint Martins School of Art and Design (University of the Arts London). Amartey is intrigued by contradictions that can be contributed to his Scottish and Ghanaian heritage. Known for his large charcoal drawings on un-primed canvas, his themes are of interpreted observations - his pieces celebrate reality of the “impure”, as inherent in any honest portrayal. Amartey’s work has been shown in London, Dubai, Lebanon and Germany.

Coming from a graffiti and skateboard culture, Ruben Sanchez of Spain is a self-taught artist with a strong graphic style that resonates through his projects. He mostly works with acrylics and spray paint on canvas, woods or directly onto the surface of walls, but also works with mixed mediums including digital illustration, graphic design, animation and video. A former Art Director of Spain’s Alai Skateboards, Ruben has collaborated with several brands and his works can be seen on walls and in galleries around the world.

Canadian/Tunisian artist eL Seed has earned a formidable reputation for his calligraffiti, combining street art with Arabic calligraphy. His work has been internationally recognized and was included in the publication, Arabic Graffiti (WordPress, 2011). In March 2012, eL Seed was invited to present his work on campus at Harvard University, and in April he was lead speaker at the OpenForum Society Conference in Cape Town. His dynamic and contemporary approach has led to a number of major commissions in the region, notably at the Museum of Modern Art in Doha, Qatar, November 2011, and Jara Mosque in Gabes, Tunisia, July 2012.

The Guest Artists will explore and contribute to a number of activities within Tashkeel, including studio workshops, kids and teens’ after-school initiative as well as the Saturday Art Club programme and will visit schools in UAE as part of Tashkeel’s educational development program. For more information log onto guestartist.tashkeel.org

Emirate:  Dubai

Date: Jan 26, 2013

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