A colourful installation, Global Gate, by artist Leon Lowentraut, aims to amplify a message for a better world.
Erected in Burj Park, just in view of Burj Khalifa, the massive gate is covered in the German artist’s drawings that relate to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals outlined by the United Nations. The goals function as a kind of call-to-action for countries to address issues around poverty, health, education, economic growth, gender equality, peace and climate change.
Visitors can experience the work fully by walking under the gate’s five passages and seeing the contents on the walls up close. To emphasise its global message, the Sustainable Development Goals have been explained in 12 languages.
The organisers behind Global Gate say the installation is the largest mobile artwork in existence, made up of 37 sea freight containers and weighing about 140 tonnes. It was inaugurated in Frankfurt in November 2020 and was on display until February 2021. Dubai is its second stop since its unveiling.
In terms of the structure, Global Gate bears resemblance in shape to the neoclassical Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.
Born in 1998, Lowentraut is an artist from Dusseldorf who draws inspiration from Picasso, Matisse and Basquiat for his expressive and vibrant style. He was commissioned by the UN in 2017 to translate the Sustainable Development Goals into artworks, and the resulting paintings were exhibited in Paris and New York. Proceeds from the sales of the works were used to build a school in Senegal.
Lowentraut’s paintings are part of the UN’s #Art4GlobalGoals campaign, a travelling show, which will run until 2030.
