HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Inaugurates Exhibition Of Shortlisted Works For The Sheikha Manal Young Artist Award 2013

An art exhibition of shortlisted entries for The Sheikha Manal Young Artist Award 2013 is now open to the public. The exhibition, which is being held in The Art Centre at Dubai Ladies Club, features 50 artworks by young Emirati and UAE resident artists and is open to male and female visitors until Monday, 2nd December 2013 from 10 am to 9 pm. Moreover, the competition is sponsored by Harvey Nichols, Dubai, who are long time supporters of the arts within the UAE.

The exhibition was inaugurated by His Highness Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, in the presence of VIP guests comprising of representatives from the Judges Panel, Board Members from Dubai Women Establishment, distinguished members of the local and international art community and members of the media.

Moreover, before his departure His Highness Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum also visited Al Ydar - the Dubai Urban Art Wall project, which is one of the first projects organised by The Cultural Office in 2013.

On the occasion, Mona Bin Kalli, Director of The Cultural Office of HH Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said, “For 8 years now, this competition has been supporting and celebrating promising new artists as they develop their practice. We have seen tremendous growth in the calibre of emerging talent this year and we are extremely proud to be able to help identify and develop the next generation of UAE-based artists."

This year has seen a very impressive number of submissions with more than 600 entries from 30 different nationalities; reflecting the continued development of the art and culture scene of Dubai. The Sheikha Manal Young Artist Award is also one of the UAE’s most important art initiatives created for the recognition and support of young emerging artists; which was further reiterated with the recent addition of a new ’Design’ category in 2013.

Bin Kalli explains, "Our intention is to provide each winner with support and exposure to help advance their career and focus. This year’s finalists should be very excited by the possibilities ahead for them."

First launched in 2006, under the royal patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Women Establishment, wife of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Presidential Affairs, UAE; The Sheikha Manal Young Artist Award is an annual fine arts competition which aims to encourage, recognize and promote emerging artists from the UAE and is especially popular amongst university students majoring in Art, Design and Multimedia.

This year’s shortlisted entries will be reviewed by a distinguished panel of judges comprised of industry professional and practicing artists from the local and international art community comprised of Sheikha Wafa Hasher Al Maktoum, Founder of Fn Design Studio; Sheikha Maisa Al Qassimi, an active Curator in the UAE and recently joined Guggenheim Abu Dhabi as Programmes Manager; Dr. Farhad Farjam, Founder of The Farjam Foundation; Antonia Carver, Director of Art Dubai, Cyril Zammit, Director of Design Days; Ali Khadra, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Canvas Magazine.

The winning artists will be announced during the Gala Award Ceremony to be held in mid-December 2013. Moreover, this year the value for the Award prize money has been elevated to total AED 405,000, which reflects the Awards overarching objective to encourage and propel new talented young artists into the spotlight. The new prize money will break down as AED 50,000, AED 30,000 and AED 20,000 cash prize for winner, runner up and second runner up, respectively for all four competition categories. Moreover, there is a cash prize worth AED5,000 for the winner of the ‘People’s Choice Award’, which is decided by public voting through the Award’s official website.

Furthermore, the public can now vote for their favourite art work for ‘The People’s Choice Award’ through the website’s online voting feature. The People’s Choice Award is distinctive in that it is the only award that is not conferred by the jury. Rather, it is bestowed on the finalist artist whose work receives the most public votes. To view the 50 shortlisted entries and to submit your vote for ‘The People’s Choice Award’ please visit www.youngartistaward.ae.

Emirate:  Dubai

Date: Nov 27, 2013

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