Al Ghurair Centre in Deira offers local artists chance at permanent exhibit

By early next year, Dubai's oldest mall will install five pieces of public art that will permanently change the face of the city's artistic landscape

David Thurling, the vice president of Al Ghurair Centre. Courtesy Al Ghurair Properties

Public art, or the lack of it, is a growing concern for artists and aficionados in the UAE.

Last summer, when Emaar unveiled its latest piece – a life-size horse on Burj Plaza overlooking the Dubai Fountain – we took the chance to address the issue and gather opinion from cultural leaders.

In May, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched Dubai Speaks to You, a project bringing together the country’s best artists in a celebration of the city and its people. He promised art installations, sculptures and street art would be installed in popular spots across the city, and this came just a month after a Dh184 million plan to turn six metro stations into art galleries from the Road and Transport Authority.

Now, Dubai’s oldest shopping mall is tackling the subject again with an open call to find artists to build pieces of public art. The Public Art Commission, a project spearheaded by Al Ghurair Centre in Deira and supported by Dubai Culture, will permanently establish pieces of public art within the urban landscape.

Soul of Dubai

David Thurling, the vice-president of the mall, says the thinking behind the competition was to celebrate the real story of the building.

“While we might not be the biggest or the most luxurious of malls, we do have a community that lives on our doorstep and they are part of Deira; the soul of Dubai. Our vision is to create art, music and culture that embraces the streets and the pedestrians and become everything that all the other malls are not.”

Having taken up his position about 18 months ago, Thurling says he was keen to make a difference and identify artists who were as inspired by the neighbourhood as he is and also to create engaging pieces of art.

“We want people to interact with them and to be proud of the fact that, around their streets of residence, they have compelling pieces of art.”

The Domino effect

Fathima Mohiuddin, who has been enlisted as a curator and consultant for Al Ghurair’s Public Art Commission, is the first person to receive the submissions from the open call, which began in August. Mohiuddin, who runs an organisation called The Domino, has been attempting to create a debate about public art in the UAE, where she was born and grew up, since she returned from London in 2009. Last year, she coordinated a panel discussion on public art at Jumeirah’s Creekside Hotel and this, she feels, is the appropriate next step, where she gets involved with the community and rallies support for this project.

“I think public art has a lot to do with communal identity of the city – the reason why I am so passionate about seeing public art here is that I don’t think the UAE has created enough of its own identity. I grew up here and went away for eight years and, when I came back, it seemed to have lost its identity. We need to create something that people want to see that we can call our own.

“This is an excellent opportunity for artists because all they have to do is submit an idea and there are no strings attached in terms of production or materials. We only ask them to consider durability, cultural sensitivity and interaction with the public.”

The timeline

A panel of judges including Sheikha Wafa Hasher Al Maktoum, a gallery owner and artist in her own right, Ebtisam Abdul-Aziz, a well-established Sharjah-based artist, Patricia Millns, a British artist who is widely exhibited, and Colin Reaney, an associate professor of sculpture at the American University in Dubai, will select a shortlist of 10 entries by October 24.

These 10 will then work one-on-one with a judge to fine-tune their ideas. Five finalists will be announced in November, when production will begin and their installations will be publicly unveiled in March.

If it is successful, the project will continue every year. This is something that Thurling says is vital to the concept.

“There is a large art community out there that is desperate for the opportunity to display their work, and if we can help unearth artists, then this is great. We want to start to build an underlying culture of art around the mall and we would like it to spread up and down the streets of Deira.”

• To find out more, visit http://alghuraircentre.com/publicartcommission/