Sole DXB partners with Motivate to launch new magazine
Cultural festival Sole DXB ventures further into the world of publishing this year, with the publication of magazine. A key-content element of the annual Dubai festival, the magazine has evolved into a stand-alone project with a longer format that will explore and promote global street culture through fashion, music, art and urban sport features curated by internationally recognised contributors. Sole DXB is partnering with Campaign’s publisher, Motivate Media Group, to publish and drive the magazine to reach “a young and influential audience that craves an independent, smart and free-spirited editorial venture with the values of a cherished hand-crafted art object”.
For its first issue the magazine focuses on independent talent from South Africa, India, Turkey, the UAE and further afield. The inaugural issue has two different covers of South African rapper Sho Madjozi – one photographed by Maxwell Aurelien James and another by Andile Buka of The Sartists.
The cover story, shot in Johannesburg with the support of Mac Cosmetics Middle East, encapsulates Sole’s journey within South Africa, says the festival. It is produced by emerging South African designers, creatives and curators. They “exemplify Sole’s cultural exploration of people and stories found in countries peripheral to the Middle East that are not often given a platform to speak. Mac Cosmetics Middle East portrays these same ideals of inclusivity for all ages, all races and all genders,” it adds.
The magazine has a 10,000-copy print run distributed across the region and internationally. Its first issue also features photo essays, interviews with headline artists and ‘sneakerheads’ and opinion pieces.
“We’re very happy to have witnessed the evolution of Sole over the past decade. As the festival grew, it was important for us to see its con- tent expand, too, in the form of a stand-alone magazine. With two issues per year, the publication will help us build more bridges between the communities and the sub-cultures we’ve been striving to shed light on,” said Hussain Moloobhoy, co-founder of Sole DXB.