Culture & Education | Wednesday 14 January, 2015 2:43 pm |

An exhibition featuring 50 shortlisted artwork submissions for The Sheikha Manal Young Artist Award will open tomorrow - Thursday, 15th January, 2015 at 7:00pm in CITY WALK, Jumeirah at the junction of Al Wasl and Al Safa roads. The exhibition will be inaugurated by His Highness Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman Of Dubai International Marine Club, in the presence of VIP guests comprising of representatives from the Judges Panel, Board Members from Dubai Women Establishment, distinguished members of the local and international art community and members of the media. The show will be open to the public until Saturday, 24th January, 2015 from 10 am to 10 pm.
The open-air exhibition, which will feature 50 artworks by young Emirati and UAE-based artists - and is curated by Patricia Millns, Artist and Advisor - will be open to the public, strategically located within the heart of the city's urban arts scene at CITY WALK - the premium outdoor destination by Meraas Holding. Designed for discerning visitors with eclectic taste, CITY WALK has quickly become an urban cultural hub of the city, making it the ideal location to host the 9th edition of the Exhibition of 50 Shortlisted Artworks of The Sheikha Manal Young Artist Award.
The Sheikha Manal Young Artist Award has been around since 2006 as an annual visual arts competition which aims to encourage, recognize and promote emerging artists from the UAE and is especially popular amongst university students majoring in Art, Design and Multimedia.
The year will also mark a further increase in the total prize money. The new value totals AED 415,000, will break down as a AED 50,000, AED 30,000 and AED 20,000 cash prize for winner, runner up and second runner up, respectively of the four competition categories (Fine Arts, Photography, Multimedia and Design) along with a bigger cash prize of AED10,000 for the winner of the ‘People’s Choice Award’, and the introduction of the #ClickYAA Competition category, where the winner will receive a cash prize of AED5,000.
Furthermore, following the opening of the exhibition on Thursday, 15th January 2015, the public will have a chance to vote for their favourite art work for ‘The People’s Choice Award’ through the website’s online voting feature. The People's Choice Award is distinctive in that it is the only award that is not conferred by the jury. Rather, it is bestowed on the finalist artist whose work receives the most public votes. To view the 50 shortlisted entries and to submit your vote for ‘The People’s Choice Award’ please visit www.youngartistaward.ae.
The distinguished panel of judges for the 2014 edition of the Award comprises of industry professionals and practicing artists from the local and international art community, which includes Dr. Lamees Hamdan, Commissioner of the National Pavilion of the United Arab Emirates at La Biennale di Venezia 2013, Fatma Lootah, Emirati Artist, Reem Fadda, Associate Curator of Guggenheim Museum Abu Dhabi, Antonia Carver, Fair Director of Art Dubai, Cyril Zammit, Fair Director of Design Days. The winning artists will be announced during the Gala Award Ceremony to be held in late-January 2015.