Since its inception in 2004, the Abu Dhabi Festival attaches great importance to young people, their creativity and talents in culture and arts, and contributed to the disclosure of many names that have become stars in several creative fields, despite the announcement of the Abu Dhabi Group for Culture and Arts, which is sponsored by Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, The Minister of Tolerance, for postponing the main activities of Abu Dhabi 2020 Festival, due to global health measures and restrictions on travel, according to what the group explained to «Emirates Today», the festival support for young people continues in this year’s 2020 session through many activities and events led by seven initiatives Notable J:
Plastic Arts Award - Gulf Capital
Founded in 2013, this award aims to support the sustainable growth of the plastic art scene in the Emirates by encouraging emerging Emirati artists (undergraduate students, graduate students and fresh graduates) to participate in the plastic exhibition from the Abu Dhabi Festival.
Details of the announcement of the award for 2020 will be revealed later, knowing that the festival program does not include an exhibition accompanying the arts this year.
Creativity Award - Gulf Capital
Founded in 1996, the Creativity Award is an annual award given to outstanding Emirati creators in the fields of plastic arts, expressive arts, literature, animation or movies. The prize is awarded to those who demonstrate his creative abilities, with a value of 10 thousand dirhams. The award opens the doors of participation to Emirati youths between the ages of 18 and 35, and the award criteria are based on artistic merit, creative thinking and personal application of technical skills, and the winning artwork will be displayed in the Emirates Palace hall throughout the festival period, and details of the award will be announced for 2020 Later.
Total Design Award for Students
This award was established in 2014 with the aim of identifying the innovation and achievements of UAE youth in the field of design and architecture, and the distinguished award seeks to enhance the capabilities and encourage creative practice by providing a platform for designers and architects across the Emirates, and details of the award for 2020 will be announced at a later time.
Design grant for young people
The design grant for young people from the Abu Dhabi Culture and Arts Group aims to create specialized collaborations, taking accredited designers in the UAE and medium-sized startups and partners in a journey aimed at creating future brands in the region and abroad. The grant will use the relationships of the local and global group and its partners with the latest creative ideas in the world The areas of art, design and business, and the Abu Dhabi Festival 2020 offers an exhibition of works of the award-winning Emirati artist in 2019, Noura Al Serkal, who received a specialized mentoring program with the support of L'Ecole Van Cleef & Arpels.
Christo and Jean-Claude Award
The Christo and Jean-Claude Prize is presented this year under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Shamsa bint Hamdan Al Nahyan, in cooperation with New York University - Abu Dhabi and the Abu Dhabi Culture and Arts Group. The award was established with the aim of supporting Emirati emerging artistic talents by honoring artwork that inspires the spirit of creativity that the duo Christo and Jean-Claude have dedicated and can be presented to the public.
Artists studio
"The Artists Studio" is an online digital library that includes interviews (translated into Arabic / English) with professional artists who inspire and know the youth about the value of creative thinking and artistic expression. In each episode, the interview is conducted by an Emirati youth, with the aim of enabling Emirati youth to understand the role of the artist and making their career path in the creative and cultural sectors.
Tandem Emirates
Tandem Emirates is a professional capacity-building program from the Abu Dhabi Culture and Arts Group, Meet Ost and the European Culture Organization, allowing cultural experts from various fields to acquire the skills necessary to engage in long-term partnerships in the Emirates. The program provides the participants with exceptional opportunities to explore cultural scenes in the country closely in order to build a purposeful and sustainable cooperation that contributes to developing the vision of artists, and stimulates their enthusiasm and enjoyment in the processes of exploration and creative cooperation, and the participants in the program gain valuable practical experience through cooperation in the rapidly changing fields in the UAE.
The festival contributed to the reveal of names that became creative stars.