How do you define a place? To know where you live is all well and good, but how do you convey that to someone else when it not only changes from day to day, but from person to person? The 18th century German writer Johann Herder coined the phrase zeitgeist, literally meaning ‘spirit of the age’. Books, guides, films, and yes, even magazines, all strive to capture this elusive essence. Government departments spend countless hours and sums of money trying to explain it to eager tourists. It is not so much a dilemma as a philosophical crisis, but it is one which Abu Dhabi has engaged head on.
The answer? A photography competition: Abu Dhabi Through Your Eyes, which ran until the end of July. It was the chance for anyone, professional and amateur photographer alike, to share their own personal experiences of the emirate. The idea is to take unpublished images which capture the spirit of Abu Dhabi and turn them into something which will showcase the heritage and culture of the area to the rest of the world. In short: letting the people speak for themselves.
It is a remarkable joining together of art, tourism and patriotism – with cash prizes of Dhs 150,000 to be divided between the 10 winners as an added incentive. ‘The photography competition was a fun and creative way for people to get involved and contribute to the Brand identity,’ Her Excellency, Ms Reem Al Shemari, general manager for The Office of the Brand of Abu Dhabi explains. ‘After all, this identity belongs to everyone – citizens and residents alike.’
The competition was run alongside a touring photographic exhibition, The Essence Collection, which ran from May to June, appearing in various malls throughout Abu Dhabi as well as at the Emirates Palace. Boxes were set up to allow entrants to just drop in their entries at will. However, the potential is not only to discover a new way of telling the world about Abu Dhabi, but to discover some genuine new artistic talent at the same time.
‘Certainly it would be great to identify Abu Dhabi’s up-and-coming photographers,’ Ms Al Shemari explains. ‘Abu Dhabi’s photography scene is maturing and we feel this competition has definitely opened up new avenues for all photographers to express [their] creativity…’
One such person is Saif Al Mehairbi, an analyst by trade and amateur photographer in his spare time. Saif is rather coy on what subject he actually chose (after all, judging is ongoing – winners will be informed independently in September), but he shares similar hopes for the competition. ‘We’ve got a lot of young talent and many of them enjoy photography as a hobby,’ he tells me. He also believes that he is seeing the beginnings of a cultural shift in the emirate with regards to art. ‘More people are interested – before you wouldn’t see so much attention given to photography, art and exhibitions.’
The cultural landscape of Abu Dhabi is definitely changing, the prestige of the Picasso exhibition at Emirates Palace and future arrival of the Guggenheim and Louvre galleries bear witness to this. But this competition is different, more personal; many of those who entered have lived through the changes which Abu Dhabi has undergone, Saif explains, and for himself it was a matter of pride. ‘I am local. I’d like people to see the image of Abu Dhabi through a local view and eyesight,’ he declares.
Saif sums up the appeal of the competition rather well: ‘People like to keep their culture around them,’ he tells me. It is true. This is the reason why competitions like this are such a fantastic way to build enthusiasm for art within the local populace and perhaps explains the enthusiastic response.
‘[It] has generated hundreds of entries and submissions from more than 30 nationalities across a diverse range of backgrounds and perspectives,’ Ms Al Shemari tells me. Judging will be difficult, the general manager admits. ‘One of the main reasons we didn’t outline prescribed categories was that we wanted to see how people interpreted the theme “Through Your Eyes”. We wanted people to think about what aspects of life in the emirate they connect to and embrace.’ The result has been a massively diverse array of subject matters ranging from cultural sites such as the Grand Mosque and the Corniche to profile shots, landscapes and slices of everyday life.
I ask whether all these images have forced her to rethink the way she looks at the emirate? ‘Well, the interesting thing is that Abu Dhabi’s landscape is altering every single day as part of the area’s rapid change and development. However, a common thread throughout all the entries is a feeling that people are connecting to the heritage and identity of the emirate and celebrating it. There is definitely a sense of wanting to preserve and capture images of what makes Abu Dhabi unique.’
It is an interesting idea: how do you capture the essence of a place which is constantly evolving and developing? Indeed, the whole concept of Abu Dhabi Through Your Eyes reminds you of some kind of giant social experiment. The thought of seeing all of those images laid out side-by-side, for all to see – a collective montage of Abu Dhabi life – is a fascinating one, albeit rather impractical. Ultimately, though, the winning photographs will probably become as familiar to us as the sights they depict when they are absorbed into ‘the visual identity of the Abu Dhabi brand’. But it should never be forgotten that they arose out of this truly unique competition.
The good news is that Ms Al Shemari doesn’t rule out the possibility of similar events in the future. This is pleasing to hear. The competition has got people both talking about and creating art, which is always a good thing. It has also been refreshing to see the way Abu Dhabi Through Your Eyes has been embraced not only by those behind it, but the people of Abu Dhabi – the emirate which defined itself.
