Project Art initiative returns to empower both local artists and international women
Project Art, the interactive initiative designed to provide Dubai’s best artists a free space to exhibit their work, will return this month for its first show of 2022 – and as well as empowering Dubai’s creative community, it hopes to empower the emirate’s female artists with a special focus on International Women’s Day.
Hosted at Zabeel House by Jumeirah, The Greens, the popular three-week Project Art residency will start on February 17 and finish on March 11, three days after International Women’s Day on March 8, with Dubai-based French artist Leiana (@art_by_leiana) showcasing a selection of female-inspired artwork from her Les Françaises collection.
“I live by colours, movement, and texture and always seek the wow effect in my pieces,” said Leiana, who moved to Dubai six years ago and started painting as a hobby. “The opportunity to have my work exhibited at Zabeel House is a dream come true and even more so as part of International Women’s Day celebrations. Painting for me is an escape from the stresses of modern life; a simple way to relax. I look forward to sharing that process with visitors.”
Leiana will lead a live painting experience on February 21 at 10am in the hotel’s lobby, where spectators will have the opportunity to get up close and personal with the artist, observe her technique, ask questions, and learn a little more about her journey from France to the funkiest neighbourhood hangout in Dubai. The artist’s completed work will be available for purchase, as will all her other pieces.
“Project Art is all about empowerment, so the opportunity to show our support to the burgeoning art community while also celebrating International Women’s Day feels like the perfect moment to bring back what proved a very popular initiative when we launched last year,” said Marcus Sutton, General Manager at Zabeel House by Jumeirah, The Greens. “Leiana’s work is incredibly inspiring and with Les Françaises focusing on strong, independent women, I’m sure her residency will motivate many others to pursue their passion.”
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Learn more about Dubai Design District’s new initiative, Rethink Summer
Dubai Design District (d3) has launched Rethink Summer, a long-running programme of cultural events to promote the city as a global creative capital.
Rethink Summer runs until the end of August. It features creative workshops held in collaboration with Tashkeel, Shaghaf and Maison Des Fleurs, restaurant deals, retail promotions, fitness classes and more. The diverse line-up of events will encourage people to learn new design skills in line with the Dubai Creative Economy Strategy’s plan to double the number of creatives in the emirate by 2025.
Khadija Al Bastaki, Executive Director of d3, said: “We have curated a diverse range of creative workshops, retail promotions and dining deals to ensure residents and tourists enjoy a summer like never before in Dubai. Rethink Summer is a series of events, offers and activations that promises to bring people together to share new experiences, learn new skills and try unique restaurants. It is also the next phase of our global initiative for the post-pandemic world: Rethink the Regular. It aims to encourage society to see design from a new perspective and ensure we create a more resilient, sustainable knowledge and innovation-based economy for the next generation of creative talent. This is also in line with the vision of our leaders to transform Dubai into an international destination for creativity and the capital of the world’s creative economy.”
As part of the programme, d3 is collaborating with business partner Scientechnic to place three Italian SMEG fridges across the design destination stocked up with complimentary refreshing beverages for the community to enjoy all summer long. The striking red, white and black fridges designed by Vittorio Bertazzon will be filled with a daily assortment of refreshing drinks throughout summer.
Rethink Summer will ensure tourists and residents alike enjoy the coolest summer ever, with free ice creams, food deals, retail promotions, and a wide range of creative workshops. It is part of d3’s Rethink the Regular initiative, which aims to encourage people all around the world to come to Dubai to make, co-create and innovate.
Come prepared to doodle, armed with your favourite sketchbook and pencil, at Drop In & Draw: Travel Journaling, a class on drawing approaches and techniques to make your own Travelogue. Bring the kids along to Cardboard Monsters, a workshop that helps the little ones (or the young at heart) create their own mythical masterpieces using a versatile, environmentally-friendly material. All the classes are free to attend and follow the highest health, safety and precautionary measures. Spaces are limited and participants are invited to register here: https://dubaidesigndistrict.com/the-community/events.
Eat at some of d3’s most popular restaurants – including Anamoia, The Host, Vicolo, One Life, Akiba Dori, and Frame – and enjoy exclusive dine-in deals. From free ice cream and artisan coffee to discounts on a wide range of options, guests can enjoy the finest Emirati, Italian, Japanese and Mediterranean cuisine, as well as speciality teas and freshly brewed coffees with a wide range of offers and discounts changing all the time.
With dozens of international and homegrown public artworks and installations, the business district continues to empower the emirate’s economy and elevate Dubai’s status as a UNESCO Creative City of Design.
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Dubai Design District and Serviceplan Middle East launch Distant Neighbours initiative
This calls for a big round of applause! To connect the world and bring communities together during the global health crisis, a unique social design project called Distant Neighbours has been launched on Instagram, backed by Dubai Design District (d3) in collaboration with its business partner, Serviceplan Middle East.
It reflects urban society in an age of social distancing and aims to address the loneliness and isolation experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic by inviting everyone to provide a snapshot of their homes which becomes part of an ever-evolving virtual residential tower.
Distant Neighbours uses the Instagram grid to create the impression of a skyscraper façade, with each window offering a glimpse into the individuality of every abode. Silhouetted illustrations are drawn by Argentina-based, Dubai-educated artist Michelle Peric, who uses them as cover pictures, bringing to life the concept of living under the same roof.
Instagram followers of @Distant.Neighbours are invited to share pictures showing distinctive features of their home and provide insight about themselves and their community. Each submission receives a personalised illustrated cover created in real-time. Once featured, the person is tagged with their own apartment number and they become part of this virtual residence. There has been great camaraderie between the neighbours since the project went live.
Khadija Al Bastaki, executive director of d3, said: “We continue to witness exceptional circumstances every day and taking a step back to reflect, appreciate one another and share experiences is important as we gradually return to a new normal. Distant Neighbours is an exciting, Dubai-based creative platform that brings people together to connect, collaborate and co-create at a time when socially responsible design has never been so important. With social distancing measures still in place around the world, our community will embrace the opportunity to express itself and join this ever-evolving virtual residential tower to showcase local talent.
Distant Neighbours is a special project for illustrator Michelle Peric, since quarantine has affected every person in the world, and being able to capture intimate, personal moments and moods is something she aspires to capture. These stories will be relevant throughout our times, as the experiences illustrated resonates within each of us that has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and how it has shaped our way of living under quarantine.
Through this project, Serviceplan Middle East and d3 hope to empathise, reconnect, and reflect with a sense of wonder and sympathy during such a strange time for humanity.
Check out this cool video:
’20by2020’ initiative deploys sustainable lighting solutions in Jordan
As part of the UAE humanitarian initiative, ‘20by2020’, the Zayed Sustainability Prize has announced the recent deployment of sustainable lighting solutions at Prince Hamzah Hospital in the Jordanian capital Amman. The hospital is currently treating the largest number of COVID-19 patients in the country.
Sunna Design, the Zayed Sustainability Prize 2018, winner under the ‘Energy category’ and a France-based SME, is installing its high-performance energy-efficient LED solar lights within the parameter of the popular public hospital, to provide sustainable lighting and enhance the safety of the area for more than 3,000 people and more than 100 medical staff, on a daily basis.
20by2020 is a UAE-driven initiative led by the Zayed Sustainability Prize in partnership with Abu Dhabi Global Market, Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, Mubadala Petroleum, Year of Tolerance and Masdar, in addition to Majid Al Futtaim, who recently joined the initiative in support of the Jordan deployment.
Commenting on the occasion, H.E. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and Director General of the Zayed Sustainability Prize said: “The 20by2020 initiative deploys the solutions of Zayed Sustainability Prize winners and finalists, to effectively impact communities and address some of the world’s most pressing challenges in health, food, energy and water. This is in line with the vision of the UAE’s wise leadership to support development efforts around the world and embody the legacy of the late Sheikh Zayed to strengthen sustainability, and this is an area that represents an inspiring roadmap as we seek positive progress.”
The 20by2020 initiative oversees the donation and deployment of previous Prize winners’ and finalists’ technologies, to communities around the world, with the aim of championing and effectively driving the sustainability and humanitarian values of the UAE’s founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed, while pursuing key global sustainable development goals.
The first phase of 20by2020 is currently overseeing the installation of solutions in 10 countries – with four countries already rolled out to date, including Nepal, Tanzania and Uganda. The initiative will also deploy another 10 solutions by the end of the year; however, the timings are dependent on the individual country-specific conditions in light of the global pandemic.
Upcoming technology deployments include energy and water-related projects in Egypt, Indonesia, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Madagascar and, Costa Rica.
Seven designers from d3 join the initiative to produce medical clothing for frontline workers
Dubai Design District (d3) is part of the newest campaign —#AThread4Cause with Arab Fashion Council to combat COVID-19. The seven talented designers are poised to create thousands of protection gowns and surgical face masks for frontline medical workers.
To facilitate logistics, d3 is set to host a unified distribution centre, to store and deliver the protection gowns and surgical masks produced by d3 designers as well as other designers based in the UAE. This will turn the d3 community into a strategic hub for personal protective equipment (PPE) made by luxury brands.
Khadija Al Bastaki, executive director of d3, said: “As the fashion capital of the Middle East, d3 is both humbled and delighted to support #AThread4Cause. With six d3-based designers, we aim to aid the life-saving work of vital medical staff by contributing to the UAE’s stockpile of gowns and facemasks. d3 is well placed to be able to cater to the needs of the local population, as well as export to the rest of the world, heralded by the strong logistics and infrastructure of Dubai. This will enable #Athread4cause to quickly receive the PPE carefully produced by highly skilled, luxury fashion designers across the Emirate.”
“The Arab Fashion Council is proud of d3’s remarkable support to #AThread4Cause campaign by joining forces with us and its readiness to strengthen the emergency network of creative force. Due to this uncertain time, the Arab fashion industry has been able to highlight its strong capacity to operate a purely local value chain” said Jacob Abrian, Founder & CEO of the Arab Fashion Council.
Dubai-based couture label, Michael Cinco, is among the seven d3 business partners taking part in the initiative. Cinco is joined by couture labels, Maison Yeya, and Amato, brainchild of creative designer Furne One are among the seven. Emirati designer Yara Bin Shakar, Egypt’s Marmar Halim, Arab/American designer Zaid Farouki and women’s clothing retailer Si Fashion make up the seven-strong group.
To provide the designers with ample material and to support local suppliers, d3 has established a partnership with a Dubai-based Saudi Arabian fabric manufacturer who will supply over four tonnes of technical fabric to the participating brands.