Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, the Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, tried his hand at street art on Wednesday during the unveiling of a new public mural in Abu Dhabi.
Picking up a can of white spray paint, Sheikh Nahyan signed his name in Arabic on an outer wall of the British embassy under the guidance of the renowned British street artist Ben Eine, who had just completed a 40-metre mural.
Eine, best known for his unique typographic style, has painted public spaces all over the world. Last year he was commissioned to paint a 400-metre-long mural the length of London’s Olympic Park.
Eine’s Abu Dhabi mural spells out the phrase “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” and Sheikh Nahyan walked the length of the artwork with Eine at its unveiling.
“This is the second-oldest building in Abu Dhabi,” said Sheikh Nahyan. “I couldn’t think of a better place to have this piece of art as it represents the strong relationship between the UK and the UAE on an official and personal level. I think it will inspire the next generation of artists to express themselves.”
The mural, which took four days to paint, was completed ahead of a solo exhibition of Eine’s work in Dubai’s Artspace gallery on Monday.
“Whenever I go anywhere in the world to do a show I try to paint something in the street as well,” says Eine. “The art that I do is for the people. It is about engaging a new audience who wouldn’t necessarily go to art galleries and museums and painting on the street is the best way to do that.”
The whole project was facilitated with the support of the British Council, Artspace and arts management company Urban AM.
Marc Jessel, the British Council country director, says: “What we are trying to do is bring the best that the UK has to offer in arts and education and in this particular case we are bringing Ben Eine, a well-known urban artist. Apart from presenting a lovely piece of art, we are hoping to introduce urban art to the UAE. We also want to break the stigma about graffiti and show that it is acceptable to the mainstream art community of the UAE.”
In addition to spending four days painting the primary phrase, Eine also did a two-day workshop with the graphic design class from Zayed University’s female campus, during which they helped him paint the words Abu Dhabi on a section of the wall right next to the mural.
Philip Parham, the UK ambassador to the UAE, closed the ceremony by commenting on the phrase itself.
“The words Ben chose to paint are very appropriate for Abu Dhabi, where there are so many different styles and ages. This is a place where modernity meets the past and we are very pleased to have this art here in the capital.”
• Ben Eine’s exhibition Hand in Hand runs from Monday, March 16 until April 9 at Artspace, Dubai
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