World Art Dubai 2021: Your guide to the affordable art fair

Dubai’s art scene can be witnessed through the year, but it’s an especially exciting time right now with back-to-back events that are shining a light on the creative community in the city. Close on the heels of the recently concluded Art Dubai comes World Art Dubai to bring paintings and more to art-lovers on a budget.

What is World Art Dubai?: The annual event is said to be the region’s most accessible and affordable retail art fair. It will be held at the Dubai World Trade Centre from April 7-10 and will bring together a host of local, regional and international artists from more than 27 countries, offering an array of styles and price ranges.

What can art-lovers expect?: Whether you’re eyeing your next art piece purchase, or just browsing, there’s lots to experience at World Art Dubai. There will be live painting sessions, digital art experiences, workshops and more for those visiting over the four days.

If you’re worried about safety protocols, organisers have assured that the event will take place under strict hygiene protocols. Apart from that, mask wearing is mandatory and visitors will have a contactless experience thanks to the fynd.art app. By scanning an art piece using the app, visitors can access information about the artwork, artists and galleries.

Competitions for artists: The event’s three main competitions are back again this year offering budding artists and photographers a chance to showcase their talent and earn prizes for their creativity. “While World Art Dubai continues to attract award-winning, established and upcoming artists annually, the show has established a reputation as a vital vehicle for budding talents looking to take their first steps in their careers or showcase skills honed, in their spare time, out of a passion for art,” said Trixie LohMirmand, executive vice president, Exhibitions & Events Management, DWTC, in a statement. “Our partnerships with Rove Hotels, Nikon and a network of Dubai schools have fostered a new community of aspiring artists and photographers, giving them an outlet to shine and widening the show’s appeal in line with our mission to support and develop the local art scene.”

What are the competitions?: - Artists can submit their work under the theme ‘Rove freely’ for the third edition of the Emerging Artists Competition, held in partnership with Rove Hotels. The theme is meant to inspire artists to reflect on the pandemic and the ‘new normal’, while encompassing the essence of their community, according to a statement. The competition will be assessed by a panel of judges including the World Art Dubai curators and artists, Batool Jafri, Samar Kamel and Petra Kaltenbach; Emerging Scene founder Rebia Naim, and the Rove Hotels team. The first prize is a stand at World Art Dubai 2022; and the second prize is a three-month exhibition at a Rove Hotels property in Dubai, as well as an overnight stay.

- If photos are the medium through with you tell your story, then the competition titled ‘Stories Through Self Portrait’ is one to check out. Held in partnership with Nikon, photographers must upload black and white photographs of themselves to Instagram using the hashtags #WADxNikonMEA, #WorldArtDubai, and #NikonMEA, and tagging @WorldArtDubai and @NikonMEA. The top 10 finalists will be displayed at a gallery at this year’s show and the winner will be gifted a Nikon Z 50 digital camera. | Photo used for illustrative purpose

- An integral part of World Art Dubai since its inception, the School Competition is back this year as well and welcomes student entries such as painted murals, sculptures, installations and mixed media artworks from Nord Anglia, Repton Dubai, GEMS New Millennium School and Jumeirah Baccalaureate School. Each school can submit two entries, one each from juniors and seniors, to stand a chance of winning the first prize of Dh3,000 for their art department. The second prize is Dh2,000 for the school art department. The submissions will be judged by the World Art Dubai curators, and will be on display for visitors. | Photo used for illustrative purpose

Pottery exhibition: Paintings and photographs aren’t the only pieces of art that will be available for viewing. The Al Jalila Cultural Centre for Children (AJCCC), an entity of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), will display pottery created Emirati citizens and residents, both from young people and adult artists, during the four-day event. The exhibition is in line with the Authority’s efforts to provide a platform for talents in the pottery art community and will feature works by young artists who picked up the skill at AJCCC. Kiddos can get their hands dirty with AJCCC’s evening workshops, held on April 9 and 9, that teach the basics of ceramics and pottery and let their imaginations run wild. | Photo used for illustrative purpose

Don’t miss it! World Art Dubai runs from April 7-10 at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) in halls 1 and 2. Tickets start from Dh10 and are available online. Free parking is available at Trade Centre Multi-Storey Car Park. | Julia Smolenkova exhibiting for the fourth time at World Art Dubai having been one of the top sellers at last year’s show.