Art’s all about exploration, isn’t it? November 9 is celebrated as Go to an Art Museum Day, and many museums around the world participate in the same. We understand that at times, many of us, art enthusiasts and beyond, get intimidated and believe that ‘art is only in museums and galleries’ and hence hold ourselves back from exploring the art. This November, we’re here to change that as local artist Zahra Goulamhoussen shares with us her journey of creating an 11 ft x 10 ft mural, and invites us to take a moment to explore the arts at a theatre community space in Dubai. An art museum or an art gallery is a space for the display of visual art, although it may be used as a venue for performing arts, poetry readings, music concerts, and other artistic activities.

The 11 ft x 10 ft mural takes design inspiration from traditional Indian and Islamic Architecture dating back to the 12th century, and it took Zahra over 250 hours and some very intense ladder-balancing skills to complete the masterpiece in September 2020.
Zahra painted one of her classic ornate lions to transform the entrance lobby of one of Dubai’s theatre spaces for performing arts, The Junction, Alserkal Avenue. “This 11 ft x 10 ft mural is a fusion artwork, which brings the traditional form of mandala design together with a more pop style of ornate line work. The face of the lion has been completed using the stippling technique adding another layer of complexity and depth,” said the local artist, Zahra Goulamhoussen.

Details of the mural :

By: Dubai-based artist Zahra Goulamhoussen

Size: 11 ft x 10 ft

Completed: Duration of over 250 hours

Inspiration: Traditional Indian and Islamic Architecture dating back to the 12th century

At: The Junction, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, UAE (Mon-Sat, 10 am-5 pm)

WAM

DUBAI, May 30 – The Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award (HIPA) has concluded the April 2022 edition of the Instagram Photo Contest, Lights. Five winners were announced for the competition, which received submissions under the hashtag #HIPAContest_Lights. The contest winners hailed from Indonesia, Australia, and Bangladesh.

HIPA Secretary-General, Ali bin Thalith said, “Light has a special value for all photographers from different schools of photography and specialties. Just small changes in the degree of lighting, angle or reflection take the photo from ordinary to extraordinary. A photo capable of winning and achieving international presence and worthy of praise from the photographer communities.”

DUBAI (WAM) – Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, and Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, reviewed vital technology trends in the Metaverse and issued directives to form a task force to track the latest developments in the digital economy.

The move is part of the directives issued by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, during the previous meeting of the Dubai Council.

Sheikh Mohammed had directed the formation of a higher committee to supervise technological developments in the emirate and oversee developments in the digital economy, contributing to enhancing Dubai’s status as the best city in the virtual space thanks to innovative services and its advanced regulatory and legislative framework.

Sheikh Hamdan said the formation of the higher committee to oversee technological advances in Dubai reflects the farsighted vision of father, who always looks ahead and takes proactive and prompt decisions to harness potential opportunities. The decision would cement Dubai’s status as a key city in the metaverse, he added.

Sheikh Hamdan noted that the committee had started work on key pillars and the objectives of the Dubai Metaverse Strategy. Based on data and information, the strategy aims to increase the contribution of the metaverse sector to Dubai’s economy to US$4 billion by 2030 and increase its contribution to Dubai’s GDP to 1 percent.

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During the meeting, Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Teleworking Applications and Chairman of The Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, outlined how Dubai stands to benefit from the metaverse in a way that enables it to generate business opportunities beyond its physical borders.

The committee aims to implement metaverse technologies that can help improve the performance of resident surgeons by 230 percent and increase the productivity of engineers by 30 percent, in addition to supporting 42,000 jobs to become virtual.

Dubai plans to become a key player in the virtual world and is developing a regulatory and legislative framework for the sector. It is also launching projects and initiatives that will further raise its stature in the virtual world.

The committee is currently working on identifying opportunities and challenges and continuing the development of the legislative framework that covers future requirements of all sectors. In addition, the committee is working on qualifying human capital to be able to excel in the virtual world.

The metaverse is a virtual-reality space where users interact with computer-generated environments and other users. It combines elements of social media, augmented reality, virtual reality, video games, cryptocurrencies, and other advanced technologies.

Current estimates expect business revenues from the metaverse could grow from US$180 billion to US$400 billion by 2025.

Earlier this month, Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) said it had entered the metaverse with the establishment of its Metaverse HQ, making it the first regulator to have a presence in the emerging digital space. Expanding VARA’s resources to a borderless audience is part of Dubai’s strategy to create a prototype decentralised regulator model.

It also aims to make it accessible to government and industry leaders, other authorities and virtual asset service providers to help shape the future digital economy. VARA’s MetaHQ will utilise The Sandbox platform, an Ethereum blockchain-based application that allows users to create, sell and purchase digital assets.