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The Abraaj Group Art Prize 2014 Guest Curator Announced

Nada Raza, an experienced curator, was announced today as the guest curator for the sixth edition (2014) of The Abraaj Group Art Prize by its Selection Committee. Raza joins the internationally recognized committee which will finalize the five winning artists. Once they are selected, she will collaborate with the artists as their ambitious projects evolve. Raza will then present the finished works in a specially curated exhibition at Art Dubai in March 2014.

The Abraaj Group Art Prize is globally unique in awarding talented artists on the basis of proposals rather than completed works, with hundreds of artists each year submitting proposals.
Previous winners have gone on to achieve further global recognition as their works have been exhibited in major international biennials, such as The Venice Biennale and Sharjah Biennial 11 and international museums such as the Victoria and Albert Museum, London and the Smithsonian Museum of Asian Art, Washington D.C. Artworks from the collection are currently on loan to key institutions in Europe, the US and Asia.

Nada Raza is from Karachi, currently based at Tate Modern in London where she is Assistant Curator focusing on South Asia. Raza holds an MA in Critical Writing and Curatorial Practice from the Chelsea College of Art and has previously worked with Iniva and Green Cardamom in London where she contributed to curatorial projects including ‘Lines of Control’ (Herbert F. Johnson Museum, Cornell University 2012) and ‘Social Fabric’ (Iniva, 2012). She has lived and worked independently in the UAE, where she maintains strong links. She writes regularly for regional and international publications.

Speaking of her appointment, Raza commented: “The Abraaj Group Art Prize is a unique platform for emerging artists from the region, allowing complex and ambitious projects to be realized with critical support from a curator. I look forward to engaging with each selected artist in the process of articulating conceptual ideas through to the production of compelling works of art, bringing them to regional and international audiences.”

Frederic Sicre, Managing Director at The Abraaj Group added: “Not only is the regional art scene expanding rapidly but the Abraaj Group Art Prize has also grown to become one of, if not the, largest art prize in the world. Nada Raza brings a wealth of broad expertise to her role as the tenth guest curator for our prize and her experience of working directly with artists, galleries and institutions from the region will help evolve the prize and develop new perspectives. In the six years since the prize was launched, we have lent artworks to over 25 institutions worldwide, commissioned 5 publications, and this year’s winners will bring the number of works in the Abraaj Corporate collection to 26.”

The Selection Committee includes leading experts in the field of the visual arts including: Antonia Carver, Director, Art Dubai; Dana Farouki, Patron; Salwa Mikdadi, art historian and curator; Jessica Morgan, Daskalopoulos Curator, International Art, Tate, London and Glenn Lowry, Director, the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Savita Apte, Chair of the committee, said the following: “Nada brings an institutional curatorial perspective as well as a wealth of experience working in the region to the Abraaj Group Art Prize. She will be working closely with the artists to develop their projects, while evolving new forms of documentation that draw on her experience with new media platforms. Nada’s unique approach will be unveiled at Art Dubai in March.”

The winning artists for The Abraaj Group Art Prize 2014 will be announced later this year.
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Notes to Editors:
About The Abraaj Group Art Prize
The aim of the prize is to empower potential and give often under-represented, contemporary artists the resources to further develop their talent. Artists are invited to submit proposals for new artworks they would like to produce. Once chosen by the Selection Committee, the artists go on to produce the works. It is also aimed at artists collaborating with an internationally renowned curator. Previous winning guest curators include Sharmini Pereira (2011), Nat Muller (2012) and Murtaza Vali (2013). The prize reflects Abraaj’s own investment philosophy, which is to take viable businesses with great potential, and create regional and global champions. To date, the 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 & 2013 works were unveiled at Art Dubai and artworks have been exhibited at several venues in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Gulf and the US.

For more information about the Abraaj Group Art Prize:
Email: abraajprize@artdubai.ae
Visit our website: www.abraajgroupartprize.com
https://twitter.com/AbraajArtPrize
http://www.facebook.com/AbraajArtPrize

Telephone: +9714394 2007
Abraaj Switchboard: +971 45064400

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The Abraaj Group Art Prize’s Fifth Edition Unveiled at Art Dubai 2013

Dubai, March 19 – Today sees the unveiling of the highly anticipated fifth Abraaj Group Art Prize exhibition, with all five artist winners and guest curator present for interviews.

The winners, Vartan Avakian and Rayyane Tabet from Lebanon, Iman Issa from Egypt, Huma Mulji from Pakistan and Hrair Sarkissian from Syria have been working closely with guest curator Murtaza Vali for the past six months on their ambitious projects, which come together in the exhibition ‘extra | ordinary’, on show at Art Dubai from March 19 – 23, 2013.

Now in its fifth edition, The Abraaj Group Art Prize is globally unique in awarding talented artists on the basis of proposals rather than completed works. The number of artworks that have been created during the first five years and go on to form The Abraaj Group Art Collection has now grown to twenty-one. Since its inception the prize has evolved considerably and the artworks are increasingly exhibited in major international biennials, such as Sharjah Biennial 11 and The Biennale of Sydney; and world-class museums such as the Victoria and Albert Museum, London and the Smithsonian Museum of Asian Art, Washington D.C.

The Abraaj Group are the leading investor operating in the global growth markets of Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. Frederic Sicre, Managing Director at The Abraaj Group said: “To nurture and cultivate the cultural climate across the regions we operate by empowering exceptional artistic talent is important to us. The Abraaj Group Art Prize is the flagship of our arts patronage program and is at the heart of our stakeholder engagement strategies. As the prize turns five, we are delighted to be able to engage with five more innovative art installations in the exhibition this year and bring five more artists into our network of winners, who become ambassadors and act as role models for younger artists.”
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Savita Apte, Chair of The Abraaj Group Art Prize, adds: “Guest Curator Murtaza Vali has worked closely with the winners Vartan Avakian, Rayyane Tabet, Iman Issa, Huma Mulji and Hrair Sarkissian to produce the exhibition ‘extra | ordinary’, which showcases the common themes running through this year’s works and yet highlights the diversity of each creative process. As we have especially extended the deadline for artists to apply for the sixth edition, The Abraaj Group Art Prize 2014, we hope that the exhibition will inspire even more artists from the region to apply”.

Guest Curator Murtaza Vali comments on the curatorial concept behind the exhibition: “The forms and structures of these structures ask us to recalibrate our vision and attention, to lean in and get a better look, scour backgrounds, pay close attention to details, read all the fine print, allow the dense web of information and association embedded within to leisurely unfold. They do not strive to transform or transcend the ordinary. Instead, they humbly remind us of all that is extra in the ordinary itself.”

Vartan Avakian presents A Very Short History of Tall Men, commemorating the forgotten leaders of failed coups d’état through miniature gold statues entombed in clear acrylic spheres. Iman Issa’s Common Elements draws on her interest in autobiographies and museums, using fragments of this research, presented as text panels, photographs and sculptures, to create a collective narrative of a life dedicated to the pursuit of thought, culture and justice. Huma Mulji has created The Miraculous Lives of This and That, a twenty-first century Wunderkammer, or cabinet of curiosities, slightly larger than life, full of objects such as taxidermy animals and porcelain imitations of cheap plastic dolls, meditating on the mortality of all things. Hrair Sarkissian visited and shot hundreds of photography studios in six major Middle Eastern cities—Alexandria, Amman, Beirut, Byblos, Cairo and Istanbul—before selecting the images that form Background, which marks the eclipse of a tradition of studio portraiture integral to the twentieth century history of photography in the Middle East. Rayyane Tabet’s FIRE/CAST/DRAW is a sprawling floor piece comprised of thousands of unique lead pieces, inspired by art history, numismatics, folklore and superstition and the Middle East’s conflict-ridden recent past.

A panel discussion and book launch of the catalogue extra | ordinary with all the winners present will take place on Thursday March 21 at 18.30, Fort Island, Madinat Jumeirah, Art Dubai. Curated guided tours of the exhibition will take place on Wednesday March 20 and Friday 22 at 18.00. Places can be booked at the information desks at Art Dubai.

The Selection Committee for The Abraaj Group Art Prize includes leading experts in the field of the visual arts including: Antonia Carver, Director, Art Dubai; Dana Farouki, Patron; Glenn Lowry, Director, the Museum of Modern Art; Salwa Mikdadi, art historian and curator; Jessica Morgan, Daskalopoulos Curator, International Art, Tate and Julia Peyton-Jones, Co-Director, The Serpentine Gallery.

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About The Abraaj Group Art Prize
The aim of the prize is to empower potential and give often under-represented, contemporary artists the resources to further develop their talent. Artists are invited to submit proposals for new artworks they would like to produce. Once chosen by the Selection Committee, the artists go on to produce the works. The artists collaborate with an internationally renowned curator. This allows them to tap the latest trends, while the prize gives them a global platform to showcase their works and their region. The prize reflects Abraaj’s own investment philosophy, which is to take viable businesses with great potential, and create regional and global champions. To date, the 2009, 2010, 2011 & 2012 works were unveiled at Art Dubai and artworks have been exhibited at several venues in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Gulf and the US including: The National Museum of Carthage, Tunis, Tunisia (2012), the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, India (2012-13), the Biennale of Sydney, Australia (2012); Future of a Promise, collateral event of the 54th Venice Biennale, Italy (2011); Museum of Photography, Braunschweig, Germany (2012), La Triennale, Palais De Tokyo, Paris, France (2012); Parasol Unit, London, UK (2012-13); Museum of Arts and Design, New York, US (2009 & 2010); Arthr M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian’s Museum of Asian Art, Washington D.C., US (2012-13); Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai (2009, 2010, ongoing) and the Maraya Arts Centre, Sharjah (2010), UAE. Applications are open until March 31, 2013 for artists to apply for the 2014 edition. www.abraajgroupartprize.com
Brief Biographies of the 2013 winners:

Vartan Avakian (b. 1977, Byblos) is a multidisciplinary artist, working with installation, video and photography. He has exhibited throughout the Middle East, Asia, Europe and the US. Avakian is a founding member of the art collective Atfal Ahdath and a member of the Arab Image Foundation. He lives and works in Beirut and is represented by Kalfayan Galleries, Athens/Thessaloniki. @vartanavakian vartanavakian.com

Iman Issa (b.1979, Cairo) lives and works between Cairo and New York. She employs a variety of mediums including text, sound, sculpture, photography and video in her work, to raise questions about the relationship between language, history, and personal cognition and articulation. She was recently awarded the inaugural FHN MACBA Award, and is represented by Rodeo, Istanbul. imanissa.com

Huma Mulji (b.1970, Karachi) currently lives in Lahore, and teaches at the School of Visual Art and Design at Beaconhouse National University. Recent exhibitions include Project 88 stand at Frieze Art Fair, UK and ‘Salaam Bombay: Beauty and chaos in the urban environment’, Art Basel Miami, and the Twelve Gates Gallery, Philadelphia. She is represented by Project 88, Mumbai. humamulji.com

Hrair Sarkissian (b.1973, Damascus) is a photographer, living and working in London. He has recently been exhibited as part of the 7th Asian Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Brisbane, ‘Ici, Ailleurs’, Marseille-Provence 2013 and ‘Encounter. The Royal Academy in the Middle East’, Cultural Village Foundation, Katara, Doha. He is represented by Kalfayan Galleries, Athens/Thessaloniki. hrairsarkissian.com

Rayyane Tabet’s (b.1983, Ashqout) work is concerned with researching hidden histories that are transformed and retold through objects and installations. Recipient of the special jury prize, Pinchuk Arts Centre, Kiev, he will exhibit with the Future Generation Art Prize at Venice Biennale, 2013. Tabet lives and works in Beirut and is represented by Sfeir-Semler, Hamburg/Beirut.

Murtaza Vali (b. 1974, Sharjah) is an independent art historian, critic and curator, living and working between Sharjah and Brooklyn. A Visiting Instructor at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, he regularly publishes on contemporary art for various publications and has curated exhibitions for commercial and non-profit venues in both the US and the UAE.

For further information, please contact:
Laura Egerton
Curator, Abraaj Group Art Prize
Email: abraajprize@artdubai.ae
Mobile: +97150 956 4021
Tel: +971 4506 4400
Twitter twitter@abraajartprize
Facebook facebook.com/abraajartprize

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Winners of the 5th Abraaj Group Art Prize prepare for the Unveiling at Art Dubai 2013

The five winning artists of the fifth Abraaj Group Art Prize are in the final stages of producing their new artworks which will be unveiled at Art Dubai on March 19.

The winners, announced last year, are: Vartan Avakian and Rayyane Tabet from Lebanon, Iman Issa from Egypt, Huma Mulji from Pakistan and Hrair Sarkissian from Syria. They have been working closely with guest curator Murtaza Vali for the past six months on their ambitious projects, which have required them to experiment with new techniques, travel internationally and undertake new research.

Accompanying the exhibition will be a publication designed by Brooklyn based design agency Project Projects, with commissioned essays from writers such as Haig Aivazian, Adnan Madani Vali Mahlouji, Walid Sadek and Kaelen Wilson-Goldie.

Frederic Sicre, Partner at Abraaj and Head of the Abraaj Strategic Stakeholder Engagement Track (ASSET) said: “Now in its fifth year, we have seen the Abraaj Group Art Prize go from strength to strength, and become a key benchmark for creative excellence in contemporary art practice. The structure and spirit of the prize embodies Abraaj’s commitment to nurturing exceptional talent and empowering potential across global growth markets”.

Savita Apte, Chair of the Abraaj Group Art Prize, adds: “The Selection Committee have consistently showcased creative excellence from the MENASA region highlighting artists who traverse national and regional boundaries with their work. This year's winners Vartan Avakian, Rayyane Tabet, Iman Issa, Huma Mulji and Hrair Sarkissian join an alumni who are already inspirational figures in the global art scene and whose works are shown increasingly in international institutions."

These five new works will bring the total number of artworks created by artists awarded the prize to 21, and will be part of the Abraaj Art Collection following their unveiling at Art Dubai. Works from the collection are frequently exhibited internationally. Currently artworks are on loan to the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Kochi; Parasol Unit, London; The Photography Museum, Braunschweig; The Smithsonian Museum of Asian Art, Washington D.C. and the Museum of Anthropology, Vancouver.

The Selection Committee for the prize includes leading experts in the field of the visual arts including: Antonia Carver, Director, Art Dubai; Dana Farouki, Patron; Salwa Mikdadi, art historian and curator; Jessica Morgan, Daskalopoulos Curator, International Art, Tate and Glenn Lowry, Director, the Museum of Modern Art.

The Abraaj Group, a leading private equity investor operating in global growth markets, launched the art prize in 2008 to foster and reward artistic development.
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About the Abraaj Group Art Prize
The aim of the prize is to empower potential and give often under-represented, contemporary artists the resources to further develop their talent. Artists are invited to submit proposals for new artworks they would like to produce. Once chosen by the Selection Committee, the artists go on to produce the works. The artists collaborate with an internationally renowned curator. This allows them to tap the latest trends, while the prize gives them a global platform to showcase their works and their region. The prize reflects Abraaj’s own investment philosophy, which is to take viable businesses with great potential, and create regional and global champions. To date, the 2009, 2010, 2011 & 2012 works were unveiled at Art Dubai and artworks have been exhibited at several venues in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Gulf and the US including: The National Museum of Carthage, Tunis, Tunisia (2012), the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, India (2012-13), the Biennale of Sydney, Australia (2012); Future of a Promise, collateral event of the 54th Venice Biennale, Italy (2011); Museum of Photography, Braunschweig, Germany (2012), La Triennale, Palais De Tokyo, Paris, France (2012); Parasol Unit, London, UK (2012-13); Museum of Arts and Design, New York, US (2009 & 2010); Arthr M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian’s Museum of Asian Art, Washington D.C., US (2012-13); Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai (2009, 2010, ongoing) and the Maraya Arts Centre, Sharjah (2010), UAE. www.abraajgroupartprize.com

About the Abraaj Group
The Abraaj Group is a leading private equity investor operating in the global growth markets of Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. Employing over 300 people, the group has 33 country offices spread across 7 regional hubs in Bogota, Dubai, Istanbul, London, Mumbai, Nairobi and Singapore. It currently manages US$ 7.5 billion across 25 sector and country-specific funds encompassing private equity (majority and significant minority investments with ticket sizes of between US$ 10 million to US$ 100 million invested across a global mandate) and real estate (primarily yield-generating) investments. To learn more about The Abraaj Group, please visit www.abraaj.com.

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The Abraaj Capital Art Prize turns Five - ACAP 2013 Winners Announced

The Abraaj Capital Art Prize is delighted to announced today the winning artists for its fifth edition, bringing the total number of winners awarded the prize to 21. The Abraaj Capital Art Prize is awarded annually to five artists on the basis of proposals for new artworks, which become permanent additions to the Abraaj Capital Art Collection following their unveiling at Art Dubai. Abraaj Capital, a leading private equity manager investing in global growth markets, launched the Abraaj Capital Art Prize in 2008 to foster and reward artistic development in the region.

The winners have a strong exhibition history regionally and internationally, and have shown works in recent editions of Art Dubai and the Sharjah Biennial. The prize affords winners the opportunity of developing ambitious projects which without the granted funds would not have been possible. The winning artists announced by the Abraaj Capital Art Prize are:
• Vartan Avakian (Lebanon)
• Iman Issa (Egypt)
• Huma Mulji (Pakistan)
• Hrair Sarkissian (Syria)
• Rayyane Tabet (Lebanon)

The artists have already started working closely with the selected Guest Curator for 2013, Murtaza Vali. He has the responsibility of supervising the production of the artworks, their display at Art Dubai (from March 20 – 23 2013), and the publishing of an annual catalogue. Vali’s appointment was announced in May 2012.

The Selection Committee for the prize includes leading experts in the field of the visual arts including: Antonia Carver, Director, Art Dubai; Dana Farouki, Patron; Ali Khadra, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Canvas; Salwa Mikdadi, art historian and curator; Jessica Morgan, Daskalopoulos Curator, International Art, Tate; Elaine Ng, Editor, Art Asia Pacific; Glenn Lowry, Director, the Museum of Modern Art and Nat Muller, ACAP 2012 Guest Curator.

Marking the announcement, Frederic Sicre, Partner at Abraaj Capital and Head of the Abraaj Sustainability and Stakeholder Engagement Track (ASSET) said: “Now in its fifth year, the Abraaj Capital Art Prize has truly come of age. This prize has grown to be a key benchmark for creative excellence in contemporary art practice, and embodies Abraaj Capital’s unwavering commitment to nurturing exceptional talent and empowering potential across global growth markets”.

Savita Apte, Chair of the Abraaj Capital Art Prize, added: “In the five years since we started the Abraaj Capital Art Prize, it has consistently shone a spotlight on diverse creative talent from the MENASA region, and propelled its winners to even greater achievements. The five artists we are announcing today are all actively engaged in pushing boundaries and developing dynamic visual experiences within the arts sector in their respective home countries and abroad; I encourage you all to visit Art Dubai in March 2013 to experience the works when they are unveiled”.

Former winners of the Abraaj Capital Art Prize have subsequently gone on to achieve further accolades, and are recognized as established artists in the international arts world. New artworks by winning artists are being acquired by important collections such as MOMA and Tate, and works from the Abraaj Capital Art Collection are increasingly requested for loan by leading institutions and biennials. Two Abraaj Capital Art Prize artworks, by Shezad Dawood and Kader Attia, are currently on exhibition in the UK for the London 2012 Festival, and Jananne Al-Ani’s artwork is part of the 18th Biennale of Sydney. In May this year, artworks by Kader Attia and Hala Elkoussy were on exhibition at the National Museum of Carthage, Tunis.
About the Abraaj Capital Art Prize:

The Abraaj Capital Art Prize was founded in 2008 and is in its fifth edition. The aim of the prize is to reflect Abraaj Capital’s dedication to empowering potential in the region, giving talented artists the opportunity to break new ground and showcase the rich artistic and cultural heritage of the Middle East, North Africa and South Asian region. It rewards chosen artists on the basis of a proposal rather than completed works-of-art. The winning artists then go on to create the works. The Prize is aimed at curators and artists working together as opposed to a single artist. To date, the 2009, 2010, 2011 & 2012 works were unveiled at Art Dubai and artworks have been exhibited at several venues in the US, Europe, Australia, North Africa and the Gulf including: the Biennale of Sydney, Sydney (2012); Museum of Arts and Design, New York (2009 & 2010); La Triennale, Palais De Tokyo, Paris (2012); City Hall, London (2011); Future of a Promise, collateral event of the 54th Venice Biennale, Venice (2011); The National Museum of Carthage, Tunis (2012), Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai (2009, 2010, ongoing) and the Maraya Arts Centre, Sharjah (2010).
Applications for the sixth edition of the Abraaj Capital Art Prize will be accepted online for curators from 1 October – 31 December 2012 and for artists from 1 November 2012 – 31 January 2013.
For more on the history and future of the prize visit www.abraajcapitalartprize.com
Facebook facebook.com/abraajcapitalartprize
Twitter twitter@abraajartprize

For further information, please contact:
Laura Egerton
Curator, Abraaj Capital Art Prize
Email: abraajprize@artdubai.ae
Mobile: +97150 956 4021
Tel: +971 4506 4400

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Abraaj Capital Art Prize 2013 Guest Curator Announced

The Selection Committee of the Abraaj Capital Art Prize today announced Murtaza Vali as the guest curator for the fifth edition (2013) of the prestigious prize. Vali joins the committee which selects the five winning artists, to be announced later this year. Vali will work with the artists to realize their new projects, to be unveiled at Art Dubai in March 2013 and edit a publication which will be available at the fair.

Of Indian extraction, Vali is a freelance critic and curator who lives and works between Sharjah, UAE and Brooklyn, USA. He is well known in the Emirates where he has undertaken many successful projects over recent years, including speaking at the Global Art Forum, Art Dubai; serving on the Selection Jury for the 2010 Sharjah Art Foundation Production Programme Grants; editing Manual for Treason, a multilingual publication commissioned by Sharjah Biennial X (2011) and most recently curating ‘Brute Ornament’ at Green Art Gallery, Dubai (2012). He is a visiting instructor at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn and contributing editor for Ibraaz and ArtAsiaPacific. He also contributes to Artforum.com, Art Review, Art India, Bidoun, Harper’s Bazaar Art Arabia, Modern Painters and Nukta Art and has written several monographic essays on contemporary artists from the Middle East and South Asia.

Speaking of his appointment, Vali commented: “The works selected for the Abraaj Capital Art Prize each year use sophisticated conceptual strategies and diverse media to grapple with region specific subject matter. As curator, I hope to provide a discursive framework that allows these elements to surface, while engaging with the process of cultural production by playing the role of interlocutor and collaborator for the selected artists, as they realize their ambitious proposals”.

Frederic Sicre, Partner at Abraaj Capital and Head of the Abraaj Sustainability and Stakeholder Engagement Track (ASSET) added: “We are delighted to have Murtaza Vali as guest curator for the fifth edition of our prize which goes from strength to strength. Being born and raised in Sharjah with Indian roots and a base in the US he is very much aware of how our region sits in the global arts community and we look forward to seeing the results of his collaboration with us and our next group of winning artists.”

The Selection Committee includes leading experts in the field of the visual arts including: Antonia Carver, Director, Art Dubai; Dana Farouki, Patron; Ali Khadra, Publisher and Editor in Chief, Canvas Magazine; Salwa Mikdadi, art historian and curator; Jessica Morgan, Daskalopoulos Curator, International Art, Tate; Elaine Ng, Editor, Art Asia Pacific and Glenn Lowry, Director, the Museum of Modern Art. Savita Apte, Chair of the committee, said the following: “Each year we embark on a journey of discovery through a fresh curatorial perspective. Murtaza Vali brings a mature regional sensitivity coupled with international experience working with artists on new commissions, as well as with publications. We look forward to another excellent edition next March.”

The Abraaj Capital Art Prize 2013 winners will be announced later this year, alongside a publication documenting ‘Spectral Imprints’, the 2012 Abraaj Capital Art Prize.

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Abraaj Capital Art Prize 2012 Unveiled at Art Dubai

Five winning artworks form the fourth edition of the prestigious Abraaj Capital Art Prize

Dubai, March 20 – Today sees the unveiling of the highly anticipated, ambitious artworks of the 2012 Abraaj Capital Art Prize, the world’s only art prize to focus on the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region. The winning artists Taysir Batniji from Palestine, Wael Shawky from Egypt, Risham Syed from Pakistan, Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige and Raed Yassin from Lebanon were announced in October 2011. In a departure from earlier formats used in Art Dubai, the winning artworks will be displayed together in a unified exhibition curated by Nat Muller from The Netherlands, the selected Guest Curator for 2012.

The Abraaj Capital Art Prize, which is globally unique in that its awards are given on the basis of proposals rather than completed works, is now in its fourth edition. Since its inception at Art Dubai 2009, the prize has evolved considerably and this year the prize reaches a new level of maturity. The artworks become part of the Abraaj Capital Art Collection, and are often loaned to prestigious international institutions, for example the Venice Biennale (Nadia Kaabi-Linke, Jananne Al-Ani), Sydney Biennial (Jananne Al-Ani), La Triennale, Paris (Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige) and Modern Art Oxford (Shezad Dawood).

Frederic Sicre, Partner, Abraaj Capital comments: “The Abraaj Capital Art Prize is a key initiative in the Abraaj Strategic Stakeholder Engagement Track (ASSET). To empower talented artists with the resources to realise ambitious projects which take their practice to a new level of recognition is our core mission. As the Abraaj Capital Art Collection grows year upon year, we are proud to watch it diversify and see our previous winners attain further success on a global platform. Today, as we unveil the fourth edition of the prize, I am delighted to share with you the truly innovative methods the artists have employed to develop their ideas and utilised the resources we offer them to produce groundbreaking work.”

Savita Apte, Chair of the Selection Committee adds: “With the five artworks displayed in the same location at the fair, visitors to Art Dubai will have the chance to appreciate the works individually as well as experience them collectively. Guided tours will allow for greater insight into the creative responses of the artists, and the Live Review will encourage critical discourse. We want this exhibition to inspire even more artists from the region to apply for 2013, which they can do until the end of March.”

Guest Curator Nat Muller has titled the exhibition ‘Spectral Imprints’, focusing on the preoccupations the five projects share with narrating the past and the difficulties of representing something tangible of a moment in time. The artist and performer Raed Yassin, his work always playful, has created a series of vases entitled China, a response to the Lebanese civil war and its aftermath. In her practice, Risham Syed focuses on the traces of cultural inheritance in her native Pakistan; with The Seven Seas she has branched out to the broader MENASA region, charting Victorian trade routes – still relevant today - on quilts. Wael Shawky has built up a body of work focusing on the launch of the Crusades, and A Glimpse of Clean History is a powerful new development in this. Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige have formulated their project A Letter Can Always Reach its Destination after many years of research and documentation, commenting on the spam emails we receive daily. Personal history and memory are most eloquently demonstrated by Palestinian artist Taysir Batniji in his work To My Brother, a series of hand carvings from photographs on paper.

The public can see the works on display at the Madinat Jumeirah, until March 24 as part of Art Dubai. Images are accessible online via the website www.abraajcapitalartprize.com. Public tours of the exhibition will take place at 18.00 on the March 21, 22 and 23 and a live review on March 24 at 12.30 will bring together winners with critics Alexander Provan and Murtaza Vali in the Global Art Forum tent at Art Dubai. (RSVP to abraajprize@artdubai.ae). A comprehensive catalogue designed by Huda Smitshuijzen–AbiFarès, of the Khatt Foundation will be published later this year.

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Open Call — MASS Alexandria | Independent Art Studio & Study Program 2012

Deadline for application: January 12th, 2012

MASS Alexandria
MASS Alexandria is a space founded in 2010 to provide an opportunity for independent study and learning for artists in Egypt. MASS Alexandria is located in the east-Alexandrian neighborhood of Miami. The 440-sqm space is housed in the basement of a residential building. The basement is a shared studio, meeting, screening and performance space. Through its program, MASS Alexandria aims to supplement existing art education programs, with a focus on the conceptual aspects of artistic production. Monthly workshops, seminars and lectures are led by artists, art educators and curators. Focusing on contemporary artistic practices, the program also encourages students to work closely with cultural, artistic and scientific ideas in the fields of art history and theory and inter-disciplinary studies.
In its first year, MASS Alexandria hosted lectures, talks, conversations, workshops, seminars and studio visits from October 2010 to May 2011. Previous lecturers and tutors to the program included Adriano Pedrosa, Alex Freedman, Amal khalaf, Angela Harutunyan, Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, Janna Graham, Judith Wielander, Klaus vom Bruch, Luigi Coppola, Susanne Pfefferand William Wells, amongst others.

The MASS Alexandria Pilot Program 2010/2011 was directed by Wael Shawky, co-programmed with Sarah Rifky.
For the Independent Art Studio & Study Program 2012, 15 artists will be selected; they will have access to monthly workshops, lectures, seminars, tutorials and critique sessions, led by visiting artists, art historians, art educators and curators. Students also will have the access to use the open studios, computers with internet access and also a library (under development).

The program will run from 20 January to 31 July, 2012.

For more information, download attachment.

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Abraaj Capital Art Prize works to travel to Jeddah with Edge of Arabia exhibition

Following its recent success with the first Pan-Arab exhibition of contemporary art 'The Future of a Promise' at the 54th Venice Biennale, the internationally renowned arts initiative Edge of Arabia, with support from Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiatives and Abraaj Capital, will be launching the most significant show of Saudi contemporary art ever held in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Edge of Arabia Jeddah: We Need to Talk, curated by Mohammed Hafiz and co-curated by Stephen Stapleton, will open on 19th January 2012 in a stunning 1000 square meter space in the Al Fursia Marina, a magnificent new development on the Jeddah Corniche overlooking the Red Sea.

Alongside the main exhibition three key works from the Abraaj Capital Collection will be on display: Rhyme & Reason by Nazgol Ansarini (2009(, New Dream Machine by Shezad Dawood (2011 and Gon by Timo Nasseri (2011).

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Abraaj Capital Art Prize 2012 Winners Announced

Press Release


Abraaj Capital Art Prize 2012 Winners Announced

Dubai, UAE, 4 October 2011: The Abraaj Capital Art Prize, now in its fourth year, announced today the five winning artists for 2012. The artists, who were selected from a record number of submissions, have begun working on realizing the artworks they proposed which will be unveiled during Art Dubai in March 2012. The artworks become permanent additions to the Abraaj Capital Collection.

The 2012 winners are an internationally acclaimed and diverse group who combine outstanding artistic ability with a desire to engage and champion the arts throughout the region. All the winners have a strong exhibition history regionally and internationally, and are actively involved in inspiring the next generation of artists from the region to achieve success. The winning artists are:
• Taysir Batniji (Palestine)
• Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige (Lebanon)
• Wael Shawky (Egypt)
• Risham Syed (Pakistan)
• Raed Yassin (Lebanon)

Following a successful precedent established in 2010, the five artists will work with one guest curator, who for the first time was selected through an open submission process. Nat Muller (The Netherlands) was chosen by the Selection Committee as guest curator for 2012 and is working closely with the artists in supervising the production of the artworks, their display at Art Dubai, and the publishing of an annual catalogue which will be designed by renowned designer Huda Abi Smitshuijzen Fares, Director of the Khatt Foundation, The Netherlands.

The Abraaj Capital Art Prize is awarded on the basis of a proposal for art projects submitted earlier in 2011. The Selection Committee includes leading experts in the field of the visual arts including: Antonia Carver, Director, Art Dubai; Dana Farouki, Patron; Ali Khadra, Publisher and Editor in Chief, Canvas Magazine; Salwa Mikdadi, Executive Director, Arts & Culture Program, Emirates Foundation; Jessica Morgan, Daskalopoulos Curator, International Art, Tate; Elaine Ng, Editor, Art Asia Pacific; Glenn Lowry, Director, the Museum of Modern Art; and Sharmini Pereira, ACAP 2011 Guest Curator.

Marking the announcement, Frederic Sicre, Partner at Abraaj Capital and Head of the Abraaj Strategic Stakeholder Engagement Track (ASSET) said: “The Abraaj Capital Art Prize presents a unique platform for aspiring artists in the region to showcase their work to the global arts community. Heading into its fourth year, this prize embodies Abraaj Capital’s unwavering commitment to the promotion of the arts throughout the region and has become a powerful tool to empower individual potential and nurture exceptional artistic talent.”

Savita Apte, Chair of the Abraaj Capital Art Prize, added: “We have an outstanding group of winners this year who come from incredibly diverse backgrounds and are actively engaged in developing dynamic cultural experiences within the arts sector in their respective home countries. It will be exciting to see how these five artists will work with our guest curator for the collaboration that will be unveiled at Art Dubai in March 2012”.

Former winners of the Abraaj Capital Art Prize have subsequently gone on to achieve further accolades. Nazgol Ansarinia, prize winner 2009 has a solo project at the Istanbul Biennial (along with 2012 winners Taysir Bayniji and Wael Shawky) and Nadia Kaabi-Linke, prize winner 2011 is currently a resident at the Delfina Foundation. The artworks are regularly exhibited internationally, for example Nadia Kaabi-Linke and Jananne Al-Ani in The Future of a Promise in Venice which is open until November 2011 and Hala Elkoussy at City Hall as part of the Shubbak Festival in London.

Abraaj Capital, a leading alternative asset manager, investing in the rapidly growing economies of the Middle East, Turkey, Asia and Africa, launched the Abraaj Capital Art Prize in 2008 to foster and reward artistic development in the region.
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About the Abraaj Capital Art Prize:

The Abraaj Capital Art Prize was founded in 2008 and is in its fourth edition. The aim of the prize is to reflect Abraaj Capital’s dedication to empowering potential in the region, giving talented artists the opportunity to break new ground and showcase the rich artistic and cultural heritage of the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia region. It rewards chosen artists from this region on the basis of a proposal rather than completed works-of-art. The winning artists then go on to create the works. The Prize is aimed at curators and artists working together as opposed to a single artist. To date, the 2009, 2010 and 2011 works were unveiled at Art Dubai and artworks have been exhibited at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York; City Hall, London; MAXXI, Rome; Galleria Civica, Modena; Future of a Promise, collateral event of the 54th Venice Biennale; Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Dubai and the Maraya Arts Centre, Sharjah.
For more on the history and future of the prize visit www.abraajcapitalartprize.com
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/AbraajCapitalArtPrize
Twitter http://twitter.com/AbraajArtPrize
For further information, please contact:
Nicholas Nesson
ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller
Dubai, UAE
Tel: 971-4-3355969
Fax: 971-4-3356080
E-mail: n.nesson@asdaa.com

General enquires about the Abraaj Capital Art Prize:
Laura Egerton, Curator, The Abraaj Capital Art Prize
Email: laura@artdubai.ae; Mobile: +97150 956 4021

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Abraaj Capital Art Prize comes to London this summer

• In Partnership with Shubbak: A Window on Contemporary Arab Culture
• Myths & Legends Room: The Mural by Egyptian artist Hala Elkoussy on display at City Hall, July 4-24
• Global Launch of ‘Footnote to a Project’ and panel discussion with ACAP curators at the Mosaic Rooms, July 7

Dubai, UAE, July 4, 2011: Continuing its international exhibition program, the Abraaj Capital Art Prize (ACAP) will participate in Shubbak, the first ever celebration of contemporary culture from across the Arab world, to be held in London. The event is organized by the Mayor of London and will run from 4 - 24 July 2011.

The Abraaj Capital Art Prize is globally unique in that it rewards artistic proposals rather than finished works of art. So far, winners of the first three Art Prizes have come from Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Tunisia and Turkey. Curators have hailed from Sri Lanka, Iran, the US, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK. Winners of the 4th edition will be announced in the autumn and will unveil their new artworks in March 2012.

“During the past year we have seen the Abraaj Capital Art Prize come of age,” said Frederic Sicre, Partner, Abraaj Capital. “Exhibiting our prize-winning artworks in Venice for the 54th Biennale and in London for the first celebration of Arab culture, fits into our strategy of providing viable global platforms to showcase the talented artists we support.

“At this time of heightened attention in our part of the world, it is essential to give artists from the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia region, the opportunity to display their work and provide an arena to debate the impact that culture can have on all areas of society,” Sicre added.

Hala Elkoussy, an artist based in Cairo, was one of the Abraaj Capital Art Prize winners in 2010. Her artwork, Myths and Legends Room – The Mural, commissioned by the prize and now part of the Abraaj Capital Art Collection, will be on display in the central exhibitions area at City Hall, seat of the Greater London Authority, for the duration of the celebration. Guided tours of the work can be arranged, which through its mesmerizing trail of individual narratives inspired by traditional and contemporary myths and legends, anticipates events that were to happen one year after the work was produced.

Munira Mirza, Advisor for Arts and Culture for the Mayor of London, added, ““Shubbak will be a window on contemporary culture from across the Arab world. There is a real sense of excitement at the prospect of so many Arab artists coming to London, meeting, collaborating and debating ideas with artists based here in London, reflecting the city’s role as a global centre for cultural exchange. I have no doubt the Festival will provide a huge opportunity for London to share in a truly diverse and exciting program of contemporary cultural events from the Arab world”.

Patrons are advised to reserve their places at the special event celebrating the Abraaj Capital Art Prize on Thursday July 7th at 7pm at the Mosaic Rooms. The event will begin with a panel discussion introduced by Omar Al-Qattan with ACAP curators Laura Egerton, Leyla Fakhr and Sharmini Pereira with Jessica Morgan (The Daskalopoulos Curator, International Art, Tate) discussing the prize within the wider context of the region. This will be followed by the global launch of the publication ‘Footnote to a Project’, a specially commissioned book project conceived by the 2011 guest curator Sharmini Pereira and London-based design studio OK-RM. Created in collaboration with the 2011 winning artists, Hamra Abbas, Jananne Al-Ani, Shezad Dawood, Nadia Kaabi-Linke and Timo Nasseri, the 536-page book is a collection of images, citations and references that support and inform the creation of the five artworks.

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Abraaj Capital Art Prize to showcase in Venice

Three Abraaj Capital Art Prize winners are showcased in The Future of a Promise:
• Jananne Al-Ani (ACAP 2011, Iraq)
• Kader Attia (ACAP 2010, Algeria)
• Nadia-Kaabi-Linke (ACAP 2011, Tunisia)
Awarded annually to artists from the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA), who are given the
opportunity of working with an internationally renowned curator to realise their dream projects. Artists are
encouraged to tap the latest trends, while taking full advantage of a global platform on which to showcase their
works and their region. The prize reflects Abraaj Capital’s own investment philosophy, which is to take viable
businesses with great potential, and create regional and global champions.

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The Future of a Promise

The Future of a Promise will be the Venice Biennale’s largest Pan-Arab exhibition of contemporary art. From
Tunisia all the way to Saudi Arabia, this landmark exhibition brings together more than twenty-five recent
works and commissions by some of the foremost artists from the Arab world. The exhibition is being curated by Lina Lazaar, produced by Edge of Arabia and supported by Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiatives and Abraaj Capital, three newly partnered organisations whose commitment to contemporary art practice in the Middle East is at the heart of a current artistic renaissance in the region.

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ACAP 2012 Applications close April 30th

Final call for ACAP 2012, the fourth edition of the Abraaj Capital Art Prize. Applications must be submitted by April 30, 2011 online at www.abraajcapitalartprize.com.

Following the highly acclaimed unveiling of the 2011 Abraaj Capital Art Prize artworks at Art Dubai last month, ACAP encourages artists working from the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region to apply for the next edition of the prize. 2011 was the first year five artists were awarded, working with one guest curator. Due to this development, the scope and breath of the prize have naturally increased, and the critical reception of the prize was greater enhanced by the launch of a publication, Footnote to a Project*, which documents the six months of artistic production.

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Prestigious Abraaj Capital Art Prize enters its third edition

Prestigious Abraaj Capital Art Prize enters its third edition
Five winning artists, one guest curator and a book project all unveiled at Art Dubai 2011
Today sees the unveiling of the highly anticipated and ambitious artworks of the 2011 Abraaj Capital Art Prize, the world’s only art prize to focus on the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region. Since being granted the prize last October on the basis of their proposals, the artist recipients – Hamra Abbas, Jananne Al-Ani, Shezad Dawood, Nadia Kaabi-Linke and Timo Nasseri – and their guest curator Sharmini Pereira have worked tirelessly to turn their ambitious proposals into reality.

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Abraaj Capital Art Prize 2012 - Call for Applications

The Abraaj Capital Art Prize (ACAP), established by the Dubai-based private equity firm Abraaj Capital, is opening up applications for independent curators and artists to apply for its 4th edition. One of the most generous art prizes in the world, the prize is extending its reach to provide the most dynamic creative collaborations between international curators and artists from the region.

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Abraaj Capital Art Prize 2011 Winners Announced

From a record number of submissions, five artists have been chosen as winners of the third edition of the Abraaj Capital Art Prize. They will work for the next six months to create their new artworks which will be unveiled during Art Dubai in March 2011, before becoming a permanent part of the Abraaj Capital Art Collection.

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Lebanon's Marwan Sahmarani Wins Popular Vote in 2010 Abraaj Capital Art Prize

Famed Lebanese artist Marwan Sahmarani won the popular vote from among the three winners of the 2010 Abraaj Capital Art Prize, the world's only art prize that rewards artists from the culturally rich and diverse Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region as a single block.

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Abraaj Capital Art Prize Applications Soar for 2011

Famed Lebanese artist Marwan Sahmarani won the popular vote from among the three winners of the 2010 Abraaj Capital Art Prize, the world's only art prize
that rewards artists from the culturally rich and diverse Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region as a single block.

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2010 Abraaj Capital Art Prize Works Revealed in Dubai

The 2010 works of the Abraaj Capital Art Prize were revealed to the public in Dubai today at Art Dubai, six months after the winners from the MENASA region were announced, and started working on their projects in secret.

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Abraaj Capital Art Prize Winners honoured at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City

Abraaj Capital Art Prize is showcasing the winning artwork from its inaugural year in New York City at The Museum of Arts and Design. Holding true to its main objective to bring international visibility to artists from the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA), this is a significant achievement in successfully placing the prize in the global spotlight.

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Abraaj Capital Art Prize 2010 Winners Announced

Established to raise awareness of the under-represented work being created by artists from the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region, the coveted Abraaj Capital Art Prize, in its second year, has announced three winning teams of artists and curators for the 2010 prize.

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