Have you noticed the gazelles that are brightening up part of our city? On Dubai’s City Walk, 11 original pieces of art have been installed by the team at the Abu Dhabi Art Hub to give viewers the chance to see something different and artists an elevated platform.
It is part of an initiative by Meraas Holdings to liven up their urban environments with art.
When I visited, I was lucky enough to meet Bassam Al Selawi and Maysoon Malsalha, who conceived the project in Abu Dhabi.
“I came up with the concept to use the gazelle because it is the animal that represents Abu Dhabi – the name itself means father of the gazelle,” explains Malsaha. “It started because we had many artists in residents in the Art Hub and we wanted to give them a different canvas to use.”
A group of artists in the Art Hub painted and decorated the gazelles using their creativity and individual designs and now they are having a three-week exhibition on Dubai’s City Walk.
“It is really a beautiful place to have an exhibition and it is great for all of the artists. This is a public place and we have a much wider audience here. I can’t think of a better place to display these gazelles.”
Selawi and Maysoon’s gazelle is painted in different colours to represent the many nationalities that we have in the UAE. The other artists include Mohammed Al Astad, an Emirati from Dubai and Sheikha Alyazia Bint Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, from Abu Dhabi.
* Gazelles in the City will run until October 3rd at City Walk, Dubai.
