Dubai: The winners of the Shaikha Manal Young Artist Award were honoured by Shaikh Majid Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, on Sunday at a dinner gala held in Dubai.
Held under the patronage of Shaikha Manal Bint Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Women’s Establishment, the award, which was launched in 2006, aims to encourage and promote emerging artists from the UAE.
“The Shaikha Manal Young Artist Award was founded on Shaikh Manal’s unwavering belief that the support of talented young emerging artists is an important cause,” said Mona Bin Khalil, Director of the Cultural Office of Shaikha Manal. “Now in its eight year, this award has proven its ability to build innovative thinkers who will be tomorrow’s world leaders.”
The competition included five categories: fine arts, photography, multimedia, design and the people’s choice award.
The 12 winners received a combined prize of Dh405,000, with the first prize winner receiving Dh50,000, the second Dh30,000 and third Dh20,000. The winner of the people’s choice award, which is decided by public voting through the award’s official website, received Dh5,000.
The winners were selected by a judge’s panel comprised of prominent figures from organisations and institutions within the UAE who play a critical role in the encouragement and promotion of art in the UAE. They included: Shaikha Wafa Hasher Al Maktoum, Founder of Fn Design Studio, Shaikha Maisa Al Qasimi, a curator in the UAE who recently joined Guggenheim Abu Dhabi as Programmes Manager, Marjan Farjam, Director of The Farjam Foundation, Antonia Carver, Director of Art Dubai, and Cyril Zammit, Director of Design Days.
Zammit, the jury’s spokesperson, said: “As always, the jury process was the same: blind judging, freedom of expression and evaluation based on the criteria of originality, technique and the appearance of a personal vision or voice. I was very pleased with the selection of shortlisted artworks.”
