The X is an industrial black-and-white scene, with a curved structure drawing the viewer’s eye. From a distance, it looks like the feathered wingspan of a bird of prey. Up close, it looks like a mechanical tunnel. But edge closer and you’ll see that the image is an inverted shot of Dubai Metro’s escalator system.
The photographer, Mohammad Shabanpoor, is one of 13 winners of this year’s Sheikha Manal Young Artist Award, an annual award open to 18 to 30 year old UAE residents. Recognised in the category of photography, Shabanpoor was awarded the top prize of Dh50,000 in a ceremony held in Dubai on Thursday.
In second place was Maitha Abdalla, with her striking image of a woman in the kitchen called Whoa Mein; she was awarded Dh30,000. These awards were also given out for entries in fine art, which had two awards given for second place, multimedia and a new category of design. These three categories also included a third-place prize of Dh20,000.
All this brings the total prize money to Dh410,000, more than twice the amount that was given out in previous years.
“The Sheikha Manal Young Artist Awards are now in the eighth edition and we have evolved considerably over the last few years,” explains Mona bin Kalli, the director of Sheikha Manal’s Cultural Office. “We are very proud of the talent that has emerged and we are keeping track of their achievements. This year, we decided to give them more support; one way to do this is monetary and another is exposure, so we are helping them reach out to galleries and putting on some exhibitions.”
The accolades also included a People’s Choice Award – voted on by the public on the website – and were presented by Sheikh Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
The selections were made by a panel that included Sheikha Wafa Hasher Al Maktoum, the founder of FN Design Studio in Dubai, Sheikha Maisa Al Qassimi, the programme manager for the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Marjan Farjam, the director of The Farjam Foundation, and Antonia Carver, the director of Art Dubai. Other winners were Sarah Alagroobi for her innovative prayer chair designed in the shape of the Arabic letter “kaf” and Gabriela Purri Rosas Gomes for her video A Metaphor of the Mind.
“People who have won in previous years have become prominent artists,” says Kalli. “If this tells us something, it is how important the YAA is in giving them confidence, building the right platform and allowing them to grow.”
• See all the shortlisted works at www.youngartistaward.ae
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