Dubai – Asdaf News:
Up to March 5 in Al Fahidi Heritage Neighborhood, the 11th Sikka Art and Design Festival offers a stage for original ideas and artistic installations. Sikka House and Khaleeji House have been filled with beautiful, inspiring artwork influenced by local and regional heritage by Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), showcasing the richness and diversity of the arts community as well as the remarkable cultural and artistic movement Dubai is currently experiencing.
The artworks on display at Sikka House showcase the inventiveness of Emirati artists. Designer Omar Al Najjar, founder of Velini, used Sikka as a platform to exhibit his love of watches through his Crosshair series, which reflects his enthusiasm for intriguing watch design. Artist Sarah Al Saman had the chance to portray her idea of adventure in all its manifestations, whether it be a place, a book, or even a song, through the artwork ‘They Write Tales About Places Like This.
Salmah Almansoori’s artwork, “Unfolding,” explores her feelings and relationship with her hometown of Ghayathi, which is located in western Abu Dhabi. Salmah Almansoori thinks that the fabrics in these places fold, hold, and conceal the intimacy, identity, and history of the places, and she reflects on the physicality of these places by adding colors intuitively, inspired by her memories, feelings, and experiences. To create her work “so.la.ay,” an experimental thoub line inspired by Arabic poetry and coordinated by ashadasmal, Hamda Al Falahi elsewhere demonstrated excellence in embroidered Talli.
In his work “constructions site,” fashion designer Mayed Abdullah combines traditional items with streetwear inspired by two-dimensional geometric patterns and interconnected lines. Ayesha Hader’s “Portable Installations,” a collection of purses fashioned from a variety of materials like brass, carpets, acrylic, and silver, affirms that art is a kind of community. Artist Amna Albanna’s “BRX Fabrics” brings nostalgia of the 1990s back to the present trends.
The art of jewelry design is also on display in Sikka House, where Misk Jewellery’s “Heritage Collection,” which balances gemstones with 18 karat gold, reimagines the region’s heritage with modern jewelry, and Naraya Jewellery’s “My Lady” collection, which showcases its most recent creations and celebrates the magic and beauty of gemstones by showcasing their unique properties.
The collaborative 3D artwork “Maryat Um Hilal – Before It’s Forgotten” by artists Ayesha Ahmed Almarar and Marie-Clarie Bakker features a necklace made of golden beads and a crescent moon set with pearls and rubies. They hope to establish the “Before It’s Forgotten” campaign in the UAE through it, which emphasizes the value of recording and preserving traditional jewelry.
Gypsophila flowers, which are distinguished by their light colors, were used by FLOWERLAB to create a natural floral installation for Sikka House. Silver and gold are used extensively in the installation to give it contemporary and creative flair.
Visitors are encouraged to explore their nostalgia through the artwork at Khaleeji House during the festival, which is part of the Dubai Art Season. An example of this is the group exhibition “Thekraytna: Down Memory Lane.” The house has three artists from the UAE, Bahrain, and Oman, respectively, with its rich visual artwork.
While Emirati artist Hamdan Al Shamsi creates his work “Untitled,” which explores nostalgia through the mixed media collage pieces of glitched family album photos to provide a sensory experience through items like cassette tapes, radios, and old magazines, Omani artist Hamda Salem illuminates old homes and childhood memories in her installation “Nostalgia.” The installation “Wa Traimboh” by Bahraini artist Yara Ayoub uses a modified version of the English word “white rainbow” to evoke pre-wedding customs in Bahraini culture.
