Her Excellency Noura Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Youth, President of Zayed University, visited yesterday evening with Dr. Khalid AlKhazrajiVice President of Zayed University an exhibition of seven students from Zayed University at the new creative destination in Downtown Dubai “The Foundry” that continuous until 7th of February, whilst taking into consideration all the precautionary measures to limit the spread of COVID-19.
The Exhibition titled “Emerge V: Don’t Walk Between Columns” showcases seven unique perspectives inspired by a week-long study trip to Venice on 2019. The seven emerging artists journeyed through the city, taking note of the architectural details of palaces, and decorative motifs, then combining them with local Emirati culture in addition to a modern touch that aligns with their generation and translating all these components into exceptional artworks.
The story behind the exhibition title goes to the myth of two columns, San Marco and San Teodoro, which stand as the official gateway to the city from the Lagoon into St. Mark’s Square walking into Venice, where the Venetians believed for centuries that walking between the columns brings bad luck.
Her ExcellencyNoura Al Kaabi expressed her appreciation for the unique fusion that the distinct artistic pieces represented, saying: “Themeetingofthe two cultures in the artworks show the extent of cultural harmony between peoples. Our students have highlighted the cultural harmony with fine artistic taste. For instance, we notice the harmony between the Emirati “burqa”and the Italian masks that Venice is famous for. The use of the local animal Al Maha as doorknobs in the venetian doors, as well as the blending between Italian patterns and the adornments in Emirati jewelry design, eloquently symbolize this harmony.”
She further added: “We are proud of the extraordinary work of our students who are able to demonstrate a deep link between nations through meaningful pieces of art.”
Kevin Badni – College of Art and Creative Enterprises (CACE) said: “CACE faculty are strong supporters of ‘study abroad opportunities’ for our Art and Design students. In a globalized, well-connected world, employers increasingly value graduates with international experience. Studying abroad helps our students to appreciate other cultures, experience new perspectives and gain a greater understanding of the world. It is also a two-way street and our students act as excellent cultural ambassadors in every country they visit.
ZUUSS is an opportunity to showcase the various ideas developing in CACE; ‘EMERGE V: Don’t Walk Between Columns’ highlights the diversity of approaches of visual art and design students. Exposure to artworks in professional settings has a much bigger impact than studying art history only in the classroom, so we encourage our students to take advantage of the opportunities we can provide them.”
Janet Bellotto, Professor, Visual Arts, CACE commented: “As travelling has always inspired artists to contemplate the world, the artworks in ‘Don’t Walk Between Columns’ are a conversation and contemplation between two cultures. While some focus on the similarities, others are about the experience and growth of what was revealed. Through painting, sculpture and installation they connect to the craftmanship of woodwork, the architecture of buildings, the doors of homes, interior textiles and other patterns in daily surroundings.”
Amira Albastaki, Visual Artist said: “I think that the ‘Don’t Walk Between Columns’ exhibition is quite interesting and important to me asit is the first exhibition I participated in after the breakout ofCOVID19. When we were in Venice in 2019, we attended the Venice Biennale which was titled ‘May You Live In Interesting Times’, and back then I didn’t think much of the title and unexpectedly, we are truly living in interesting times now. I believe that my work; ‘The End of the Voyage’ taught me simplicity, acceptance, and resilience more than anything else.”
Giuseppe Moscatello, Cultural Developer / Founder of “Foundry” stressed on the importance of supporting the youth: “One of the core missions of the Foundry is to engage and support local organizations and talents. We are very proud to host ZU at Foundry and witness regularly the up and coming creatives graduating from the University. The university has been fostering talents for years, and some of them have already proven to succeed in the art world.”
The participating students are HassanaArif, with her work titled “Toc-toc”in which she used ceramics and mixed media, Hessa Al Fahim relied on canvas and oil colors in her artwork“Untitled 1 & 2”.Maitha AlSuwaidi used acrylic on wood in her “Two Visions” piece. Malina Server used clay and wires in her work “What if?”.Rafiaa Hussainused acrylic on boards in her work“Untitled”.Amira Al Bastaki relied on cardboard, woolen yarn, and steel wire wrapped with textile yarn to create“End of the Journey”,and finallyMouza AlBedwawiused wood, glass beads and copper in her jewelry design named “Sogha”.
