True Identity by Emelina Soares. A digital print that she entered to the competition. (Courtesy: Create & Inspire)
True Identity by Emelina Soares. A digital print that she entered to the competition. (Courtesy: Create & Inspire)

Create & Inspire: Emelina Soares



For the third part in our series featuring short interviews with the winners of the annual Create & Inspire competition, we speak to Emelina Leocadia Soares, who lives in Qatar. She is one of 12 winners of the contest who also hail from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the UK and were selected for their responses to this year’s competition theme: “The World is not Black & White”.

The competition, organised by The Crossway Foundation, in partnership with Art Jameel and Qatar Museums, searches for creative individuals and the prize is a two week trip to Brazil, which they are currently half way through.

Here Emelina, who is Indian and a student at Virginia Commonwealth University Qatar answers my questions:

Q: How would you describe your style as an artist?

A: As a growing artist I personally find comfort in creating works in regards to my religion, and I approach that sensitive topic abstractly. In terms of making medium the message, I enjoy working with printmaking, sculptures, and digital media.

Q: What is your main source of inspiration?

A: My initial source of inspiration was my grandfather, and now is evoked by my search for identity within society.

Q: What do you hope to gain from the Create & Inspire programme?

A: I hope to gain the opportunity to explore the impact on identity that Brazilians have experienced since the rule of the Portuguese and the introduction of African slavery. I have also learned that there are a large number of Japanese Brazilians. I have managed to relate to Brazil in many ways because the Portuguese also influnced the culture in Goa (India). The programme offers the winners to experience workshops with local artists and spend time learning about their inspirations in order to help us climb a higher step in our career.

Q: How is the trip to Brazil so far?

A: The trip is wonderful! The scenic beauty and the people are so welcoming. The language (Portuguese) is still not in my forte but I am gradually learning as I go along the trip. We have had two workshops so far. The artist Gui Mohallem allowed us to travel back in time and understand the idea of photography, while Claudio Bueno spoke to us about his interests in technology and interactive objects that stimulate human touch. Hugo Richard and Natali Tubenchlak, collaborative artists who work with inflatable objects, spoke to us about their interests in creating spaces for human interactions and welcomed us to make one of our own portable inflatable objects. They have asked us to take it along with us as a performance piece and capture images of it being used around the world. There is so much more than this, and I already feel as if the team has become a family.

* Follow Emelina on Instagram and Twitter @emelinasoares

Paatal Lok season two

Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy 

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5

Brief scores:

Toss: Kerala Knights, opted to fielf

Pakhtoons 109-5 (10 ov)

Fletcher 32; Lamichhane 3-17

Kerala Knights 110-2 (7.5 ov)

Morgan 46 not out, Stirling 40

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How to avoid crypto fraud
  • Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League final:

Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports

COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlmouneer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dr%20Noha%20Khater%20and%20Rania%20Kadry%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEgypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E120%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%2C%20with%20support%20from%20Insead%20and%20Egyptian%20government%2C%20seed%20round%20of%20%3Cbr%3E%243.6%20million%20led%20by%20Global%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro
Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books 

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5

Results

United States beat UAE by three wickets

United States beat Scotland by 35 runs

UAE v Scotland – no result

United States beat UAE by 98 runs

Scotland beat United States by four wickets

Fixtures

Sunday, 10am, ICC Academy, Dubai - UAE v Scotland

Admission is free