Female Emirati artists gain from London trip

Dubai: A media reception to honour a delegation of young female Emirati artists was held on Sunday on their return from a 10-day trip to London's Frieze Art Fair.

The programme was held under the Shaikha Manal Art Exchange programme, based on the direction of Shaikha Manal Bint Mohammad Bin Rashid, wife of Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Presidential Affairs.

Fourteen students and alumni pursuing careers in art and design from universities across the Emirates took part in the trip.

The trip was supervised and accompanied by Mona Bin Kalli, Executive Director of the Dubai Ladies Club and Executive Director of the Shaikha Manal Art Exchange Programme.

"The programme stems from Shaikha Manal's personal understanding of the critical role that education plays in the development of the arts. Providing opportunities and creating platforms for nurturing aspiring artists and those who are interested in following careers in the arts domain is a subject very close to Shaikha Manal as a woman, an artist and the foremost royal patron of art in the region," Mona said.

"London's vibrant and booming contemporary art scene serves as an ideal educational backdrop for the Shaikha Manal Art Exchange Programme. The aim of the programme was to expose the students to impressionable art, artists, collectors, nonprofit art organisations and art auction houses, to expose them to the complete process of creating art, exhibiting and then finding place of pride in private collections. We can now look forward to culmination of this programme with a special art exhibition by the participants in January 2010 at the Dubai Ladies Club," Mona told Gulf News.

Nazneen Shafi, Director of Arts and Culture, Strategic Development of the Dubai Women's Establishment, and Saeed Al Shamsi, Facilitator to the delegation, attended.

‘Amazing experience'

Guided by experts to meet with experts, Bushra Badri, an Emirati graphic designer, immensely appreciated the great support of Shaikha Manal.

"It's an amazing experience to be given the chance and total support to travel to one of the most ancient countries of art such as London and guided by experts to meet with experts in order to be professionally equipped with the up to minute knowledge of art. That certainly will assist us in one way or another to present our artistic outcome in the best possible creative artistic tools and themes," Bushra told Gulf News.

Bushra has a visual communication degree from the American University of Sharjah and is currently a freelance designer of logos and various artwork.

"It's important to be exposed and our knowledge to be expanded on such an international level," she said.

Bushra said she is looking into opening her own graphic design studio soon

Hind Bin Demaithan also took part and was in agreement with her colleague Bushra. "This trip reminds me of my participation that took place in 2007 in the Art Basel Fair and the University of Art and Design Basel in Switzerland. Well, both experiences have added a lot to my artistic knowledge and such trips are really crucial to put the young artists on the right approach and make them come face to face with globally renowned artworks such as those of English artist Richard Prince," Hind said.

Dubai is on the perfect artistic ladder of success due to the tremendous effort it pays to the discipline, she said.