Staring out of the frame, Hessa Al Ajmani's self-portrait immediately catches the viewer's attention. Her pencil drawing is a revelation of her inner spirit – her face sports warrior markings, her shoulders are covered in eagle feathers and part of her hand has morphed into talons. Subliminal Self Portrait is the Emirati student's entry to this year's Sheikha Manal Young Artist Award. Al Ajmani is studying visual arts at Zayed University, and she is one of the 80 artists who are having their work displayed in an open-air gallery on Dubai's City Walk until Sunday – 50 of whom have been shortlisted for the award that will be announced next week.
“My portrait shows who I really am rather than what people think I am,” says Al Ajmani. “The markings on my face and hands have hidden symbols and meanings. This drawing is very personal because it illustrates challenges that I face every day that other people are completely oblivious about, but greatly affect the way they see me.”
Al Ajmani’s work has been entered into the fine art category for the award. The other categories include digital photography, multimedia and design – where entries included a Braille door handle for the blind and a Quran holder that spells out in Arabic the words of the Islamic declaration of faith.
In the multimedia category, Alhamza Al Sadr, an Iraqi graduate from the American University of Sharjah, produced a two-minute video called Spirit that follows the movement of a plastic bag in the wind.
“I wanted to move people to an emotional state,” he says. “You relate to the bag as a person rather than an inanimate object and it represents our journey through life.”
Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum says that the award, now in its ninth edition, was born from a need to establish a sustainable platform for the development of the arts.
“I have always held a deep regard for the role of the arts within the framework of any society and in the understanding that art is a universal language and a powerful tool for intercultural communication,” she says. “[The award that] began nine years ago, as a humble platform for the recognition and support of young emerging artists, has rapidly evolved into one of the most important art competitions in the region. The impact of this award is a reflection of the creative potential of the UAE, ready to shine and thrive when given a platform for expression.”
The quality of the award is increasing year on year, says Mona Bin Kalli, the director of Sheikha Manal’s cultural office. Because of this, she says, it is now one of the most prestigious awards in the region.
“I am surprised every year by the talent and quality of entries,” she says. “This year, for the first time, we actually displayed 80 pieces in the exhibition, although only 50 were shortlisted – we have never had so many great pieces to choose from.”
The prize money, which totals Dh430,000, and breaks down as a Dh50,000, Dh30,000 and Dh20,000 cash prize for the winner, runner-up and second runner-up, respectively of the four competition categories: fine arts, photography, multimedia and design.
There is another cash prize of Dh12,000 for the winner of the People’s Choice Award, and for a secondary competition running on social media called #ClickYAA. Over the course of the exhibition, members of the public are invited to share their images of the art show on social media using this hashtag and the best three photographs will win a cash prize of Dh10,000, Dh5,000 and Dh3,000 for winner, runner-up and second runner-up.
• The exhibition at City Walk is open until Saturday. The winners of the Sheikha Manal Young Artist Award will be announced on Monday evening. Visit www.youngartistaward.ae for more details
aseaman@thenational.ae
