Dubai Waterfront Market unveils Dh30,000 Murals and Art Competition winner

Winning artist Sudheer Perinjat took 100 hours to complete the mural

My Dubai, My Confidence by Sudheer Perinjat, winner of the Waterfront Market Murals and Art Competition. Photo: Issa Alkindy for The National

The Waterfront Market has unveiled the winner of its fifth Murals and Art Competition. Sudheer Perinjat's work, titled My Dubai, My Confidence, was chosen from 250 entries — earning Perinjat Dh30,000 and a permanent display space at Deira's Waterfront Market.

“It’s such a great feeling to win this prestigious competition,” Perinjat told The National. He said he was "honoured" and "overwhelmed" by the accolade.

"Revealing my winning mural as part of the Dubai Art Season is definitely a milestone, which I will cherish for ever.”

This year, the competition invited artists to imagine what the emirate might look like following Expo 2020 Dubai.

Perinjat's mural, which took him more than 100 hours to complete, depicts a young Emirati girl looking hopefully into the distance with the Dubai skyline behind her. They are joined by astronauts, drones and other UAE residents interacting with one another.

“Spectators will get to see Dubai’s future through her eyes with different elements around the girl covering sustainability, futuristic means of transportation and more,” Perinjat said.

A panel of three judges — Khalil Abdulwahid Hassan, director of Dubai Culture's Fine Arts Department, Lachlan Gyde, an executive director at Ithra Dubai, and the Waterfront Market’s senior marketing officer Maitha Almarri — agreed that Perinjat’s submission best fit the theme of the competition.

“The entries this year have been the best so far since the launch of the competition back in 2018,” said Almarri.

“Every year, when going through the entries, we follow the same set of criteria such as the use of colours, the style of the painting, the medium used, how relevant it is to our chosen concept and the composition of the elements within the artwork. With Sudheer’s artwork, we unanimously agreed that it ticked off all boxes.”

Perinjat credits his mural’s success to Dubai’s achievements and development, which he said were a great source of inspiration and celebration.

“I am grateful to be able to share my art with the world and to also celebrate the future of Dubai.”