Paint brushes at the ready, the Shiekha Manal Young Artist Award (YAA), now in its seventh year, has put out a call for entries from all over the UAE. The annual arts competition was established in 2006 by Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Each year it’s held under her patronage, and has not only proved to be especially popular amongst university students majoring in art, design and multimedia, but is also getting bigger and bigger.
There are three categories you can enter – spanning fine art, digital photography and multimedia – with an award for each category. There is also the ‘people’s choice’ award for which the public can vote online for their favourite piece. We spoke to Sarah Ayoub Agha, supervisor of Funoon – the artists’ community web page for the Dubai Ladies Club.
Can you tell us about YAA?
The philosophy behind this initiative is to recognise the creative and pioneering thinking that resides within the UAE. The arts have proven to enhance a person’s ability to appreciate a world steeped in diversity. And we believe that such art initiatives are essential for building innovative thinkers who will be the worlds’ leaders tomorrow. We are proud to be a part of this process.
Every year the award is juried by a distinguished panel of industry professionals and senior practicing artists. Who are this year’s judges?
On our panel this year we have: Khalil Abdulwahid, who is a visual arts manager at Dubai Culture & Arts Authority; Ebtisam Abdulaziz, she’s an Emirati artist; Ramin Salsali, the art collector who is also founder of the Salsali Private Museum; Rami Farook, who is the director and curator of Traffic Gallery; and Arsalan Mohammad, editor of Harper’s Bazaar Art.
We understand that there are cash prizes?
The prize money for the award totals Dhs185,000. Each category winner, runner up and second runner up will receive a cash prize worth Dhs30,000, Dhs20,000 and Dhs10,000 respectively. However, the prize is not meant to be an end in itself, but one means within a broader strategy for spurring talented individuals in the UAE to greater things. Past winners have gained so much more than just the cash prize from this competition. The award has opened up their future career prospects through public and media recognition. It has given them the opportunity to be noticed by key members from the local and international art community. In fact, on many occasions we have noticed that the judges also take a personal interest in particular winning or shortlisted artists and take the trouble to mentor them and later include them in other art-related projects and events.
How has winning the award benefitted artists from the previous years?
I am personally an example of the many doors that the award can open up for the winners. I was a winner in the Fine Arts category of the award in 2006. And the recognition opened up to me numerous other opportunities, such as being invited by galleries for group and solo exhibitions, being noticed by collectors and art patrons. I was also able to pursue my Masters in Fine Arts from London Metropolitan University, completely sponsored by a generous art patron from the UAE. Other winners who have also done very well for themselves after the award are Fathima Mohuiddin who was Fine Art winner in 2010, she recently founded The Domino – an artist-run creative agency in Dubai, and Mohammed Hindash, who was Fine Art second runner-up in 2010. He is fast becoming one of the strongest talents in the city. Also Aya Atoui, who was the Photography & Multimedia winner in 2011, is quickly making a name for herself as a gifted photographer.
What are your expectations from this year’s entrants?
We are looking for work that is distinctively rich in content and style. We want these young artists to challenge themselves to find innovative and unconventional use for different mediums and push the boundaries of artistic technique.
Deadline for entries is November 1, 2012 and the Gala Awards Night will be held in the following month (date and venue TBC). For more information and to enter the competition visit www.youngartistaward.ae.
