ABRAAJ CAPITAL ART PRIZE
set to push artistic boundaries
and take centre stage at Art Dubai
The selection committee of the Abraaj Capital Art Prize announced the three recipient curator/artist teams of its first competition: Cristiana Perrella & Kutluğ Ataman; Carol Solomon & Zoulikha Boubadellah; and Leyla Fakhr & Nazgol Ansarinia. Their projects, which are being created this very moment, will be unveiled during Art Dubai of March 2009. As Art Dubai is the Middle East’s largest modern and contemporary annual art fair, the unveiling during this event will offer the winning artists an unparalleled opportunity to widen their global reputation and network. The works will become part of the Abraaj Capital corporate collection.
“By supporting artists from the MENASA region in this way we aim to empower them as important agents of cross cultural respect,” explained Frederic Sicre, Executive Director of Abraaj Capital. “With increasing awareness of our region’s rapid rate of economic development around the world, the time is right to also promote understanding and appreciation of the burgeoning art community as another important pillar of societal development,” added Sicre.
“The spectacular reception that this inaugural Abraaj Capital Art Prize received within the art community exceeded our most ambitious expectations,” said Savita Apte, Chair of the Abraaj Capital Art Prize. “The 97 applications received from artists from the MENASA region in collaboration with curators from such diverse locations as Santa Barbara and Japan and almost every country in between, reflected a truly global world of innovation, inspiration and creativity. We are thrilled that the main aim of the Abraaj Capital Art Prize – offering a platform which reinforces creative collaboration – has been so wholeheartedly embraced by the artistic community and it is with enormous anticipation that we await the unveiling of the works in March of next year.”
The Abraaj Capital Art Prize, one of the most generous art prizes in the world, provides an exciting opportunity for creative collaboration between international curators and artists from the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region. The selection committee looked for innovative ideas and use of medium; a reflection of regional and local cultural principles, experimental art production techniques; and a balanced application which showed the curators’ strength and ability to push the artists’ boundaries.
For press enquiries please contact:
London: Nicolas Smirnoff at Brunswick Arts, 16 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London, UK
E: NSmirnoff@brunswickgroup.com
T: +44 20 7936 1275
Dubai: Eileen Wallis/Jumana Bississo at The Portsmouth Group PO Box 71765, Dubai, UAE
E: eileen.wallis@theportsmouthgroup.com
jumana.bississo@theportsmouthgroup.com
T: +971 4 3693575
Notes to Editors
Artist and curator biographies and headshots are available upon request.
About Abraaj Capital Art Prize
The Abraaj Capital Art Prize was established in April of 2008 and is designed to create a viable platform for individual artists who are revered in their local communities but lack international critical and commercial exposure. ACAP provides them with the opportunity to hone their talents working alongside international curators and to reach a global audience through the display of their work at Art Dubai. The Abraaj Capital Art Prize is the world’s largest art competition endowment, worth a total of 1 million USD. The selection committee of the Abraaj Capital Art Prize consists of Savita Apte (Chair); Antonia Carver; Ali Khadra; John Martin; Elaine Ng; Jack Persekian; Daniela da Prato; Maya Rasamny and Frederic Sicre (bios available upon request).