UAE | Heritage and Culture

Abu Dhabi launches public programme on art

A new series of informal, cultural events is being launched in Abu Dhabi with the first taking on a Picasso theme.

  • WAM
  • Published: 21:13 August 17, 2008
  • Gulf News

Abu Dhabi: A new series of informal, cultural events is being launched in Abu Dhabi with the first taking on a Picasso theme.

Artscape Picasso will be held on Thursday, August 28, at the Cultural Foundation with free entry for all.

The evening will be packed with activities - for both English and Arabic speakers - which will celebrate the work of Pablo Picasso and modern art-related themes in an informal manner through a multi-art form programme including films, live music, literature, a live painting studio, art related games, and an arts lounge.

The Artscape Lounge will be a relaxed environment for art lovers to hang out together and be inspired. It will resonate with a specially-produced sound experience influenced by Picasso and will feature a reading corner, art games, human statues,' surprise art and music performances and complimentary refreshments.

The Artscape Walkway will be a learning' experience where information is passed to people as they stroll through the feature.

The Artscape Painting Studio will invite people try their hand at painting with guidance from professional artists while the cinema will screen documentaries, short films and dramas focussing on Picasso and his work and on modern art.

The Artscape Conference Room will host a lecture by Martin Giesen, Professor of Art History in the Visual and Performing Arts at the American University of Sharjah (AUS) and arguably the most noted art historian currently living in the UAE.

Giesen, a German national, studied the history of art and architecture at Heidelberg University before going on to work at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Artscape series

The Artscape series is organised by Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC), a major Abu Dhabi developer of tourism assets and supported by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage.

"Artscape is part of TDIC's public arts and culture programme but this time knowledge is imparted through a relaxed, lifestyle event," said Lee Tabler, CEO, TDIC. "We anticipate Artscape becoming landmark events which we intend to hold in different venues to increase exposure and engagement in the arts."

TDIC, together with business development and investment company Mubadala, is staging the Picasso Abu Dhabi: Masterpieces from the Muse National Picasso, Paris exhibition - the Arab world's first showing of the works of Pablo Picasso which runs at Emirates Palace until September 4.

To date, 40,428 people have visited the Picasso Abu Dhabi exhibition which includes an Education Room with academic and educational content, enabling the public to relax and go through publications, computer-based educational resources and other related materials.

"The response Picasso has inspired has been extremely gratifying and has been a great introduction to modern art for many across the country and the region," added Tabler. "We will continue this series of major temporary exhibitions as part of our commitment to the development of arts and culture in Abu Dhabi."

Cultural District

TDIC's public programme is an integral part of the UAE capital's evolution into an international cultural hub. The programme is part of an audience preparation campaign being staged in the run-up to the opening of the Cultural District on Saadiyat Island of which TDIC is the master development.

The island, 500 metres offshore Abu Dhabi city, is being transformed into an international cultural, leisure and residential destination with its Cultural District being home to the world's single largest concentration of major cultural institutions.

These include the Shaikh Zayed National Museum, the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Museum, the Louvre Abu Dhabi, a performing arts centre, a maritime museum and others.

The first of the institutions - the Shaikh Zayed National Museum, the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Museum and the Louvre Abu Dhabi - are scheduled to open between 2012 and 2014.

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