Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed launches ‘Little Artists Award’

As part of her ongoing support of Dubai's arts and culture scene, Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Women Establishment and' wife of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, launched "Sheikha Manal Little Artists Award" yesterday during the opening of the Ladies Day at Art Dubai 2012.

The Award aims to discover and highlight the talents of children, and the dissemination and development of cultural awareness, as well as to create a spirit of fair competition between them. It is going to be held annually in conjunction with Art Dubai.

Sheikha Manal said: "We are pleased to launch Sheikha Manal Little Artists Award, which aims to support talented children in the UAE, by promoting and developing their abilities. This comes in the occasion of Art Dubai 2012, which is a pioneer event of Contemporary Art in our region and the Middle East".

She added: "The future scene of art and culture of our Nation will be designed by the little talented of today. Through this initiative, we would like to draw the attention of parents to emphasize the abilities in their children, and to encourage them to continue practicing their hobbies, especially drawing, for it builds and preserves their skills. We aspire to the success of this initiative by unifying our efforts with the efforts of Art Dubai and all other institutions working in this field".

During her attendance at the fair, Sheikha Manal was accompanied by Sheikha Fatma bint Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Sheikh Mohammed bin Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan , Mona Al Marri, Chairperson of DWE Board, Shamsa Saleh, CEO of DWE, Muna Bin Kalli, Executive Director of DLC and a number of prominent female artists, gallerists and distinguished ladies from the UAE community.

In addition to visiting the main galleries exhibition space, Sheikha Manal also visited the booth of The Sheikha Manal Young Artist Award, which aims to support and promote young artistic talents in the UAE, to view winning artworks of YAA 2011. Followed by a viewing of artworks created by the five winners of the Abraaj Capital Art Prize. Her Highness then proceeded to MARKER, a new platform for experimental art spaces from Asia and the Middle East, as well as the Cartier exhibition, ‘Cartier Naturellement', a unique high jewellery creation designed in an enchanted setting inspired by nature by the landscape artist Christophe Ponceau.

As an accomplished artist in her own right and truly visionary in her support of the arts, Her Highness Sheikha Manal has consistently sponsored youth-focused cultural and artistic endeavors in the UAE, through her patronage and the establishment of art projects such as ‘The Sheikha Manal Young Artist Award', ‘The Sheikha Manal Art Exchange Program'; plus international art exhibitions such as the ‘Pieces for Peace' CITY Arts project and ‘The Reflective Mirror' art exhibition under the theme of ‘Expression of Womanhood' at the United Nations Head Quarters, New York. She recently extended her patronage to The Nomads Box Project, a moving art space located within a transformed shipping container. In 2009, she was also honored from CITY Arts New York with the ‘Making a Difference through the Arts' Award. She was also awarded for her contributions to the arts at the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Patrons of the Arts awards ceremony in 2010 and 2011.

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