An extensive program for "Exhibition 421" in 2021

Faisal Al-Hassan: The "pandemic" contributed to uncovering local innovators

Faisal Al-Hassan: The "pandemic" has demonstrated the necessity of working to achieve a balance between the digital and the physical experience.

From the source

The General Director of "Exhibition 421", Faisal Al-Hassan, revealed that the exhibition has prepared a program rich in activities and technical initiatives to welcome the year 2021 within the new strategy launched by the exhibition in conjunction with the completion of its fifth year, stressing that the "Covid-19" pandemic has left positive and negative effects on Cultural scene;

Just as many people lost their jobs and stopped creative production, the pandemic also contributed positively to the identification of many local creators, and to cooperate with them in a way that goes beyond relying on their international peers.

In an interview with Emirates Today, Al-Hassan explained that "421" has many projects, initiatives and exhibitions in the pipeline for implementation during 2021, including: "Floating Exhibition" by Stephanie Kumelang, and includes the presentation of two new films by Stephanie Kumilang, who is based in Berlin, which She tells stories about Filipino workers abroad, and mixes documentary and science fiction styles.

In addition to the exhibition "100/100 - The Best 100 Arabic Posters", it celebrates the winners of a poster competition, which is held every two years for talented graphic designers from all over the Arab world.

As for the exhibition "Port Zayed ... Reflections on a Past Future", it is the fruit of an informative program in partnership and cooperation with Gulf Photo Plus, which started in February 2020. It will display works by 11 artists, representing an exploration of the Port Zayed area through photography, films and multimedia models. Through a mixture of documentaries, poetry and comedies.

421 is also preparing to launch an abbreviated version of the exhibition development program, which is a pilot test in 2021, to be organized in partnership with academic expertise and the professional network of the Bombay Institute for Critical Analysis and Research (BICAR).

Standards and objectives

Regarding the criteria upon which the new strategy was developed for the exhibition, Al-Hassan said that Exhibition 421 “believes in the importance of nurturing creative thinking in all aspects of life, and from this standpoint we have developed a strategy that provides a focused and influential set of programs across three disciplines that will provide the basic basis that Through it, we can expand and intersect with other programs, as we aim to reach frameworks that achieve stable and orderly growth rates in the creative system, ”adding that this strategy“ was based on several factors, the most important of which are: discussion sessions that aim to review what was mentioned in the previous and current programs. Of the local cultural ecosystem, thinking about future trends, as well as reactions to open calls that enable us to search and explore the goal that creative practitioners seek to achieve at the beginning of their careers, and the skills that they may need to develop to continue achieving their goals.

The General Director of Gallery 421 pointed to the importance of established partnerships, saying: “In line with our belief in the value of community participation, we continue to look forward to establishing partnerships with other cultural institutions that enhance the experience of our peers, as well as transfer it to a new generation of emerging practitioners.”

Annual reports and evaluations are an important aspect, as Gallery 421 is committed to understanding the public's experience and listening to its evaluation and observations regarding its exhibitions and programs.

Al-Hassan pointed out that there are three surveys currently being prepared in order to evaluate the offers made, and the transformation to meet the needs of the audience, to ensure relevance, continuity of communication, enhance participation and develop it in a manner that enables the exhibition to understand the privacy of its audience in the best possible way.

Corona effect

Faisal Al-Hassan touched on the impact of the "Covid-19" pandemic on the thinking of the organizers of "Fair 421" and the mechanisms of work in it, explaining that the pandemic demonstrated the necessity of working to achieve a balance between digital and physical experience and how to achieve integration between them. Urgent support and investment in capacity building, understanding the needs and identifying the obstacles that emerging artists face, and how institutions can provide them with the required support in order to enable them to move forward in the best way, pointing out that the exhibition launched, in this context, several initiatives to support artists and creators In the Emirates and the region, to enable them to continue their creative work;

Through the establishment of the "421 Gallery Fund to Support Projects", which is part of a program aimed at mitigating the negative effects of the pandemic on creative production groups.

Al-Hassan added: “No one can deny that the pandemic affected the cultural scene in some way. Just as many people lost their jobs and stopped creative production, the pandemic showed, at the same time, how everyone gathered and united to find different ways to support different creative practices, and how they found Enterprises immediately provide ways and strategies that enable them to continue serving and supporting creative and productive practices.

The pandemic also contributed positively to the identification of many local innovators, and to cooperate with them in a way that exceeds reliance on their peers at the international level.

Support the creative scene

The General Director of "Gallery 421", Faisal Al-Hassan, referred to a number of initiatives that appeared to support the creative scene, such as the "Forsa" initiative, which focused on supporting artists and creative people who lost their jobs or whose projects were canceled indefinitely.

The Art Jameel Foundation also launched an open invitation through the Art Jameel Digital Artistic Assignments program.

Amending the third session of the program, and expanding its scope to include digital works that recipients everywhere interact with, in response to the latest developments in global events due to the Corona virus.

"Port of Zayed ... Reflections on a past future" is an exhibition of the works of 11 artists blending documentaries and poetry.

There is an urgent need to identify the barriers emerging artists face.

The "100/100 Best Arab Poster" exhibition celebrates the winners of a competition held every two years for talented graphic designers.

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