Looking at the shortlisted entries for the Middle East Emergent Artist Prize this year, I am quietly impressed. The award, in collaboration with Tashkeel, Design Days Dubai and Van Cleef & Arpels is given to one artist who shows promise in the field of design.
In the running for Dh30,000 cash prize and a seven day trip to Paris to attend L’ECOLE Van Cleef & Arpels is Loulwa Al Radwan, a Kuwaiti interior designer whose wall hanging, pictured here is inspired by the traditional Al Sadu weave but has a contemporary twist, making it cool.
Ivan Parati, a science and technology teacher at Ajman University, was selected for the shortlist for his TileTable, a modular coffee table made of wood and copper that takes on Islamic patterns. I particularly like Renad Hussein's Hourglass Floorlamp, which twists and turns and a thumbs up foes to the UAE collective of Merehan Kika, Maryam Sherif and Sultan Alqasimi produced who had an idea for Luminous Waves, a set of organic and flexible wood light installations that play with shadows.
“We are extremely impressed with the level of creativity and personal integrity expressed in the submission artworks,” says Cyril Zammit, the Design Days Dubai director. “Design Days Dubai are pleased to be a part of a project which creates opportunities for individuals from across the Middle East, nurturing their talents and further developing their artistic muses,”
The winning artwork will be unveiled at the Van Cleef & Arpels stand during Design Days Dubai, which takes place from March 16-20.
