Dubai, UAE, February 5, 2007: High praise has come in from the jury for the creative excellence displayed at the Emaar International Art Symposium, which concluded on January 28 with a gala dinner and prize distribution ceremony. The panel of judges observed that the sculptures and paintings created at the fortnight-long fine arts event “set new benchmarks in creativity.”
Organised by Emaar Properties to coincide with the recent Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF), the Emaar International Art Symposium featured 61 artists including 39 sculptors and 22 painters. They took part in a sculpting competition hosted at the Global Village from January 7 to 27; and a painting competition held at the Dubai Polo and Equestrian Club at Arabian Ranches from January 14 to 27.
A much-awaited event in the fine arts calendar of events of DSF, the Symposium evoked huge public response as it served as a forum for interaction between the artists and art-lovers in the region. Due to the outstanding standards of creativity, the jury picked six sculptors and four painters as winners as against three from each category.
The winners are: Sculpting – Dorsten Diekman (Germany), Joe Kley (Germany), Colin Foster (Britain), Jumber Jikia (Georgia), Mustafa Ali (Syria), Alfonso Banchi (Brazil); Painting – Safwan Dahoul (Syria), George Gugushvili (Georgia), Fatma Al Haj (Lebanon) and Maher Baroudi (France).
Mr Ahmad Al Matrooshi, UAE Managing Director, Emaar Properties; Mr Saeed Al Naboudah, CEO, Dubai Shopping Festival; Mr Abdul Redha Ali Bin Redha, CEO, Global Village; and Mr Boutros Boutros, Senior Vice President, Media Relations, Sponsorships & Events at Emirates Airline distributed the prizes at the gala dinner held at the Dubai Polo and Equestrian Club.
Mr Al Matrooshi said: “With the Emaar International Art Symposium, we celebrate the power of creativity. Every impressive structure that Emaar has created, and continues to create, is born from creative minds. The support showed by the public to the event is testimony to the power of the idea. During the past two weeks, they interacted with the 61 artists, who extended their whole-hearted support to the Symposium.”
He added: “We will continue to extend our patronage to fine arts and artists, because we believe that central to any city’s character is its cultural and artistic heritage.”
Announcing the winners the jury, comprising Ali Youssef Khadra, Publisher and Editor in Chief, Mixed Media Publishing; renowned artist Katya Assouad Traboulsi; William Lawres from Christies; and Obai Hattoum and Ayoub, members of the Emaar International Art Symposium organizing committee, said: “The creative standards on display by these sculptors and painters are indeed world-class. These works of art push accepted frontiers, and deliver a new, vibrant artistic experience that is unparalleled.”
Mr Saeed Al Naboudah said: “Emaar’s International Art Symposium demonstrated the true spirit of DSF by celebrating its theme – One World, One Family, One Festival. It gave the festival a new level of entertainment by serving as a spectacular showcase of fine arts.”
Abdul Redha Ali Bin Redha said: “The sculpting competition held at Global Village as part of the Emaar International Art Symposium attracted a number of visitors. The event built on the reputation of Global Village as the must-visit destination for cultural and entertainment events.”
Emirates Airline was the official carrier and title sponsor of Emaar International Art Symposium. Mr Boutros Boutros said: “The Emaar International Art Symposium is one-of-its-kind in Dubai’s event calendar and brings artists from around the world. The wide representation at the event complements the vision of Emirates of serving as the world’s trusted carrier that connects you to any destination globally.”
The sculptures created at the event will be displayed at Emaar communities soon.
