Dubai student is first from UAE to be finalist for Saatchi art prize

Whitney Khan, a Dubai-based student, has been picked from 16,000 worldwide entries for the shortlist for the Saatchi Gallery / Deutsche Bank Art Prize for Schools.

Whitney Khan’s Isobel depicts her younger sister. Courtesy Whitney Khan

A Dubai school student has become the first from the UAE to be shortlisted for the prestigious Saatchi Gallery / Deutsche Bank Art Prize for Schools.

Whitney Khan, 17, an A-level student from The English College, Dubai, was selected from more than 16,000 entries for her painting titled Isobel, which will be displayed in an exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery, London, from February 26 until March 5. Khan’s art teacher, Adrienne Beaton, entered the image into the competition last year and Khan was selected as one of 20 finalists earlier this month.

Isobel is an oil painting that depicts Khan’s younger sister as she emerges from a swimming pool, with the face and fluidity of the water rendered with almost photographic, realistic detail.

The works will be judged by a panel that includes the Saatchi Gallery director Rebecca Wilson, the artists Bob and Roberta Smith, and Alistair Hicks, an art adviser to Deutsche Bank and the author of The Global Art Compass.

A first prize of £10,000 (Dh61,500) will be awarded to the winning school’s art department, with a further £2,000 given to the winning pupil to be spent on art and computer equipment. Two further runner-up prizes of £5,000 each will be awarded to the second and third placed schools, with a further £1,000 to each of the winning pupils.

Whether she wins the prize or not, Khan says that she already feels like a winner.

“I have already won in my mind,” she says. “And this is huge and such an accomplishment. I feel very appreciative that it happened to me because to be recognised for all the work I did is a real honour.”

Khan’s mother Fleur Healy, who has been helping her daughter get the painting shipped to London, says that she has noticed a huge change in Khan since she got the news.

“The best thing has been that after years of telling her her work is great, I can now see a small glimmer that she actually believes it. I’ve seen her confidence grow in a lot of things since she was shortlisted. It is a validation of her efforts.”