IF: Early

As a fledgling vampire, Dru can't still get the hang of her new timings.
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A quickly sketched, and color-expirimented entry for IF. 

Art Camp for children this summer at The Farjam Collection

The Farjam Collection @ DIFC announces the first year of Art Camp - a summer programme of art and activities for children.  The first summer camp of its kind in the UAE, Art Camp gives children the opportunity to explore their creative talent while learning from some of the finest works of art from the past.  Surrounded by a range of outstanding and rare works including calligraphy, paintings, ceramics, textiles, jewellery and arms, children will spend their summer exploring the fascinating world of Islamic art through worksheets, games and hands-on craft activities. 

The Farjam Collection is partnering with Zayed University to curate an exhibition of Islamic art which will run throughout the summer in tandem with Art Camp. The exhibition will lead on from the first exhibition of highlights at The Farjam Collection @ DIFC, showcasing a different selection of works from Dr Farjam’s remarkable private collection.  Students from Zayed University will coordinate the exhibition under the supervision of Islamic art expert and Associate Professor Dr. Ron Hawker, and the guiding hand of staff from The Farjam Collection. “The Farjam Collection represents a wonderful opportunity for students to work closely with a wide range of stunningly beautiful and historically important objects. The students from Zayed University are relishing the chance to apply their design skills to this context,” says Ron Hawker. 

Art Camp is supported by students from three prestigious academic institutions based in the UK – the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Durham.  Students from Oxford and Cambridge will be involved in producing content and activities for Art Camp based on the art on view.  Drawing on their varied specialities in the arts, these students will contribute their ideas for new and engaging art-based activities for children.  Durham University will support the programme by offering research papers written by gifted students to serve as tools in the creation of both exhibition and activity-related content.  “We have been thrilled with the number of very talented students who have applied to be involved with Art Camp this summer,” said Rebecca Jarvest, Collection and Exhibitions Coordinator at The Farjam Collection.  “As a Cambridge graduate and former intern at The Farjam Collection I am delighted that we are building an on-going relationship with these institutions.” 

 “The philosophy for Art Camp is to create, explore, and enjoy”, commented Emilie Faure, Collection and Exhibitions Manager at The Farjam Collection.  “Art Camp gives children the chance to be an artist for the summer, and at the same time allows them to discover art in all its varieties.  We are delighted to be working alongside esteemed local and international institutions to create a unique summer programme that offers something completely new to children in Dubai this summer”.   

The Farjam Collection’s summer Art Camp marks a further step by collector and patron Dr Farhad Farjam to bring world-class art and high quality educational programming to the region. Recipient of the Distinguished Patron of the Arts Award, Dr Farjam is passionate about the importance of education in the arts at all levels, reaching out to a wide audience on a national and international level through The Farjam Collection space at DIFC.  The Farjam Collection @ DIFC offers a range of educational programmes, free and open to the public, from its popular First Wednesdays series and School and University Programmes to Art Nights @ Gate Village in collaboration with the DIFC and the latest addition to its programming, Art Camp. 

Art Camp Details

What?  Worksheets, games and hands-on craft activities around the fascinating world of art

Who?  Children ages 6 – 12, organized into two age groups: 6 – 9 years and 9 – 12 years When? Art Camp runs for four weeks, from 18 July to 12 August.  Children can participate in any one, two, three or four weeks.  Sessions run from Sunday – Thursday from 8am – 2pm. 

Where? The Farjam Collection @ DIFC 

Fee  500 AED per child per week, including all craft materials and activities 

For further information and booking please visit our website or contact rebecca@farjamcollection.com 
 

Notes to editors

The Farjam Collection @ DIFC
      
The Farjam Collection @ DIFC showcases a rotating series of exhibitions drawn from The Farjam Collection. The foremost ambition of The Farjam Collection @ DIFC is art education.  A programme of educational events, free and open to the public, offers audiences the opportunity to learn more about the works on view and the context in which these were produced.  

The Farjam Collection is open: Sunday to Thursday, 10 am to 8 pm; Saturday 12 pm to 8 pm. Please visit www.farjamcollection.com for updates on events at The Farjam Collection @ DIFC. 

The Farjam Collection @ DIFC is generously supported by the Hafiz Foundation.

The Hafiz Foundation
The Hafiz Foundation was founded in 2008 to support outstanding initiatives within the visual arts, with a special emphasis on the greater Middle East. With the city of Dubai as its base, the Foundation aims to become a centre for production, preservation, and promotion of the arts at large. At the heart of the Foundation’s goals is the development of educational opportunities for young Middle Eastern artists, students, scholars, curators, and art enthusiasts.
As a partner to both local and international cultural initiatives, the Foundation’s recent activities include having supported the founding of the award-winning Middle Eastern arts magazine Bidoun,  support for local arts education programs, as well as the organization of a series of exhibitions displaying selected works from the Farjam Collection.

Distinguished Patron of the Arts 

Owner of The Farjam Collection and founder of The Farjam Collection @ DIFC Dr Farhad Farjam received the Distinguished Patron of the Arts Award in March 2010 for his outstanding contribution to patronage in the region.

ADWC’s Applied Media Students Exhibit at Ghaf Gallery

Under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and Chancellor of the Higher Colleges of Technology, and with the generous support of the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation (ADMAF), Applied Media students at the Higher Colleges of Technology’s Abu Dhabi Women’s College inaugurated their annual exhibition at the Ghaf Gallery, on Sunday.  

 

Desert Rose 2010: The Start, represents the College’s ninth Desert Rose exhibition, featuring works by the College’s Applied Media students. Desert Rose provides an occasion for senior students to showcase their best work to their families, the community, the media industry and prospective employers. The exhibition includes around 100 works the students produced over the previous three years, both as school projects and during work experience. They range from posters brochures and merchandise to documentaries short films, radio and TV commercials.

 

Her Excellency Hoda Al-Khamis Kanoo, Founder of the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation said “ADMAF is delighted to once again support the ninth annual student exhibition ‘Desert Rose’. We are committed to nurturing the creative and cultural ambitions of the nation’s next generation. By fostering originality and innovation, through initiatives such as ‘Desert Rose,’ we are able to expand the horizons of higher achievements.” During the opening ceremony she also announced that the students taking part in the exhibition won the annual ADMAF Creativity Award “It is also a great honor for me to announce today that we will be presenting our annual Creativity Award to this group of talented students, whose work is a promise of a bright future for the UAE art community. In years to come, I look forward to seeing the same young, dynamic women forge successful careers in the fields of graphic design, video, audio, journalism, multimedia and photography.”

Established in 2004, the ADMAF Creativity Award is offered annually to outstanding creative students with the aim of supporting and promoting young national talent from Abu Dhabi’s Universities.

 

As part of Desert Rose 2010: The Start, and under the guidance of HCT- Abu Dhabi Women’s College faculty member Cordula Peters, students from the Applied Media program, , displayed a variety of works demonstrating their skills in graphic design, multimedia, audio, photography, and video. The students also handled the designing of all promotional material related to the event, the layout of the exhibition, and installing the works in the gallery.

 Christine Luscombe-Whyte, Associate Director at the Abu Dhabi Women;s College, commented: “This annual exhibit always leaves us inspired by our students’ creative achievements. The range and professionalism displayed in these works speaks volumes about the rigor of the College’s Applied Media program and about the students’ dedication throughout their years of study.”  

The exhibition will run until 30 May, 2010, at the Ghaf Gallery in Abu Dhabi.

ORIENTALISM – West looking East

Under the Royal Patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Women Establishment and Wife of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, UAE a specialist lecture on Orientalist Art was held last week and by distinguished members of the local art community.

The lecture was presented in conjunction with Dubai Ladies Club, a member of Dubai Women Establishment, and Bonhams, one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art, as part of a dedicated sale of Orientalist Art which included 140 masterpieces from renowned European and American artists from the 19th and 20th Centuries. This exhibition and sale showcased some of the most important examples in private hands.

Muna Bin Kalli, Executive Director of Dubai Ladies Club commented, “As one of the foremost patrons of art in the UAE, and a keen supporter of raising regional awareness of the fine arts, Her Highness Sheikha Manal’s patronage and support reflects her personal belief that incorporating educational components at important art events contributes towards advancing the understanding of art and fulfilling the vision of transforming the UAE into a global hub for art practices.


The lecture on Orientalist Art, which was delivered by Bonham’s specialist Taline Aynilian, explored the artistic exchange between East and West that is the foundation for the Orientalist genre.  She demonstrated how Orientalist art is a reflection of Western artists’ perceptions of Arab life in the 19th and 20th centuries and these artists conquered many logistical and physical challenges to ensure they could present realistic reflections of the Arabic and Bedouin influence. The lecture also included Edward Said's evaluation and critique of the set of beliefs known as Orientalism, which forms an important background for postcolonial studies. His work highlights the inaccuracies of a wide variety of assumptions as it questions various paradigms of thought which are accepted on individual, academic, and political levels. Other topics discussed ranged from portrayal of women to architectural details such as motifs, textile and ceramic tiles.

Muna Bin Kalli added, “We are pleased to collaborate with Bonham’s which offered members of the local art community with a rare glimpse into the history of Orientalism. Some of the pieces in the collection have rarely, if not ever, been exhibited publically before and will most likely never be seen again after the sale.”


Taline Nicole Aynilian, Senior Specialist  added, “It is a real pleasure to bring works of art back to the region from which they came and from where the artists’ works were originally inspired.  To have them displayed amidst the land and culture that embodies the Middle East places Orientalism into context.”


The exhibition and sale showcased museum calibre works from paintings to sculpture and glassware. Highlights from the exhibition included artists such as Edwin Lord Weeks, Edme Alexis Dehodencq, Frederick Arthur Bridgman, Jean François Portaels, Ludwig Deutsch, Aldolf Schreyer, Arthur von Ferraris, Rudolf Ernst and Edouard Wilhelm Richter.

“Ambassadors” exhibition inaugurated at Sharjah Art Museum

Mr Abdullah Al-Owais, Director General of Sharjah Department of Culture and Information, inaugurated the “Ambassadors” exhibition at Sharjah Art Museum, organized by Sharjah Museums Department (SMD) in co-operation with Goethe-Institut (GI) and Robert Bosch Stiftung. Al-Owais toured the exhibition accompanied by senior representatives from Sharjah Museums Department and government officials.

The exhibition held from May 20 to July 31 is part of SMD’s celebration of the International Museums Day under the theme “Museums for Social Harmony”, to spread awareness of the vital role museums play in social development. According to the International Council of Museums (ICOM), museums "are in a position to address the urgent need for safeguarding cultural diversity and bio-diversity as the common heritage of humanity.” 

The “Ambassadors” exhibition explores the concept of museums as mirrors of a given society’s culture. Curators from SMD’s 18 museums have composed, for the first time, a group show following a workshop that evaluated the complex and different interpretations of social harmony as represented in the objects chosen by each curator.  

“This year’s social harmony theme is important both for humanity as a whole as well as for highlighting the value of our diverse cultures. The basis of social harmony lies in cultural dialogue, mutual respect and the celebration of our differences, which is reiterated through the Ambassadors exhibition,” said Manal Ataya, Director General of SMD. 

Susanne Sporrer, Director of Goethe-Institut Gulf-Region, said: “This exhibition reflects the fruitful cooperation between the Robert Bosch Foundation, the Goethe-Institut and the Sharjah Museums Department. The idea to produce new relations between the rich and diverse museums of Sharjah and Germany has created a groundbreaking intercultural project. Since the German cultural institute Goethe-Institut Gulf Region is dedicated to encourage the exchange and the understanding between the cultures I am looking forward to intensifying this cooperation in future. I am very glad that the Goethe-Institut could participate in this process and congratulate SMD’s to realize this event that highlights the humanitarian and cultural bonding.”  

A panel discussion entitled “Social Harmony from a Curators’ Perspective” was held alongside the exhibition. Participants included the curators from each museum. The four-step workshop offered an overview of the concept of social harmony with a time-space journey highlighted through the Holy Quran, which underscores the need for social harmony, peace, love and mercy. 

The Sharjah Museums Department, established in 2006 by His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, aims to promote the emirate’s rich legacy of arts, heritage and culture. For more information on the Sharjah Museums Department, please visit www.sharjahmuseums.ae.

OrangeJar Free Line Arts

Hi there! As part of projects for family fun, we're going to publish OrangeJar line arts here for free. You can download them and get dirty painting.

Kids love coloring! And for adults, why not join the fun? Coloring is therapeutic, it will help you relieve the stress from the office as you spend quality time with your kids.

For this week, we have a deer and an eagle. This is the first installment, but in the future, if you want to look for more free OrangeJar line arts, just click the tags "OJ Line Arts".

Have tons of fun!!!

Visions

There is a new vision in town! Come check this out - Visions by Abdulla Al Jassem at the Gallery 76 located at the Dubai International Art Center (DIAC). The exhibit will be on until June 2.

IF: Equipment

For Muna, her hands are the only equipment she will ever need.

IF: Fearless

When I read the IF word of the week, the first thought that popped into mind was how fearless kids can be. They would run head on to big dogs, they'd climb windows without fear of falling, they'd laugh with glee as their father toss them in the air.

IF: Cocoon

Afraid of all the shadows in the forest, she wrapped herself in her sleeping bag and fell asleep.