Dubai Culture to create platform for artists
dubai — The Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) plans to harbour more creativity and innovation within the UAE culture and creating concrete sectors for working artists, a senior official said as the organisation marked its 10th anniversary on Wednesday.
Saeed Al Nabouda, acting director-general of the authority said: “We no longer just want to see engineers with a creative side, we want to see artists; real artists coming through and representing the UAE. If you are a poet, you will have an industry, if you are a painter you will have a dedicated sector to work in. We want to ensure you have a platform to focus only on that creativity and we will make sure you will be well paid too,” he told Khaleej Times on the sidelines of a cultural celebration at the Cultural and Scientific Association in Dubai.
Remarking on the 10 years gone by, Al Nabouda said while it is good to celebrate past successes — such as the launch of the Sikka Art Fair in 2010 and the opening of Etihad Museum in 2016 — it’s now time to “take things to the next level”.
“And it’s the young generations that will drive this. We are going to see a lot more creativity and innovation being embedded within our culture. And our focus is to create a robust creative industry more rooted in our culture and traditions,” he said.
With student interactions the main focus at the Dubai Culture, Al Nabouda said nurturing a talent while a child is still young and in the classroom will help turn the UAE into a country that, in the future, exports its cultural around the globe.
And with the Ministry of Education and the Dubai Education Zone noted as the authority’s first partner on a federal level, that relationship will continue to grow, he said.
“We understand that culture starts in school. Currently we have six permanent heritage centres within schools here; one was established in 2018 at Zayed University. We need to be on the ground with students, encouraging them to tap into that creative side.”