Dubai: The four ArtBuses, designed by local artists, have started ferrying art enthusiasts to various art events during the Art Dubai fair.
The ArtBus concept is a Sikka initiative in partnership with the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, and organised by art space thejamjar. There are three main buses and a shuttle for visitors to various art fairs and other art events in Dubai.
The main buses were commissioned to three UAE-based artists — Tulip Hazbar, an illustrator and multimedia designer and American University of Sharjah graduate; Nada Khalid, an Art and Design graduate of Zayed University (ZU); and Maryam Al Falasi, specialised in 3D design, also a ZU graduate.
Tulip said the commission meant a lot to her. "It is a great chance when everyone in the city can see my illustrations. Art is for everyone and ArtBus is an awesome means of putting art out there. It is like a travelling show!"
Nada said she considers herself lucky as she isn't very experienced. It was an educational experience for her, she said. "I am a figurative artist. I work with traditional methods. It was challenging to create non-figurative digital work."
The artists reflected different aspects of the UAE in their designs. Tulip explained, "I created a pattern of [design] units that portrays the unique experience of being a resident in a multicultural environment. Each unit depicts a nationality I came to know and befriended. The pattern ends up forming a web of people reflecting how people connect to each other and network."
Nada and Maryam drew upon the country's traditions for their designs. Nada said she loved feminine designs and the UAE's traditional handicrafts and choose woven dry palm fronds and bougainvillea flowers as design elements.
Maryam, an Emirati, explained that when an artist creates something new, it is important that he or she shouldn't erase traces of its tradition. "Add a sense of modernity while preserving its essence," she said.
In her work she uses traditional art with a modern touch, using cultural symbols and aesthetics like henna and Arabic letters.
The fourth ArtBus was commissioned to UBIK, also known as Vivek Premachandran, an Indian conceptual installation artist. UBIK fused two and three dimensions in his design, using souvenir fridge magnets to enhance a printed graphic with a honeycomb pattern.
