Produced annually since 2013, in collaboration with the NYUAD Art Gallery, the thirteenth edition of The Christo and Jeanne-Claude Award serves as a launch pad for artists across the Emirates, encouraging new artwork and offering winners insight into professional life as an artist, from commission to exhibition.
The program is open to those based in the UAE who are current students or who have graduated in the last five years. Entrants are asked to propose a work of public art. They can choose any media in which to work including sculpture, photography, painting, film, illustration, land art and multimedia.
The winning artist or team will be awarded USD 10,000 to complete their installation. Their artwork will be launched at Abu Dhabi Art in November 2025 and then exhibited at New York University Abu Dhabi and Um El Emarat Park, Abu Dhabi.
The winners of this year’s edition of The Christo and Jeanne-Claude Award are Sara Farha and Khaled Shalkha under the mentorship of Assistant Professor at the College of Architecture, Art and Design (CAAD) at the American University of Sharjah (AUS), Christianna Bonin. Their winning project, titled Datecrete Bee Hotel, seamlessly integrates innovative material science with ecological awareness. Its uniqueness lies in the use of a new building material called ‘Datecrete’, made from date pits and free of concrete or resin, which the artists are currently patenting.
Internationally acclaimed artists Christo and his wife and artistic partner Jeanne-Claude had a relationship with the UAE spanning four decades. It was Christo’s desire to support emerging artists in the UAE that resulted in the creation of an award in his name in 2012. Christo and Jeanne-Claude created highly celebrated works of art around the world, changing the concept of “public art” by creating temporary works that were transitory by design. Jeanne-Claude passed away in November 2009, and Christo died in 2020.
To apply, all entrants need to complete an application form, which includes a proposed budget and schedule.
About the NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery
Established in 2014, the NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Art Gallery is among the only university galleries in the region with a program of scholarly and experimental museum exhibitions. Supporting the progress made by other arts institutions within the UAE, the NYUAD Art Gallery and the projects it supports serve the local arts community as a testing ground for new and innovative curatorial approaches that nourish the dialogue around exhibition practice in the Gulf. The program is recognized for mapping new territories and ideas, presenting exhibitions by internationally established artists, curators, and scholars. A regular book publication program is a core part of its curatorial frame within its academic mission. In addition, its auxiliary venue, the Project Space is an exhibition laboratory for UAE-based artists and curators. Situated within NYU Abu Dhabi, the community of which hails from over 125 countries, the Art Gallery, the Project Space, and the Art Gallery’s Reading Room collectively open up artistic and initiate regional and global dialogue.
For more information, please visit www.nyuad-artgallery.org.
About NYU Abu Dhabi
NYU Abu Dhabi is the first comprehensive liberal arts and research campus in the Middle East to be operated abroad by a major American research university. Times Higher Education ranks NYU among the top 30 universities in the world, making NYU Abu Dhabi the highest-ranked university in the UAE and MENA region. NYU Abu Dhabi has integrated a highly selective undergraduate curriculum across the disciplines with a world center for advanced research and scholarship. The university enables its students in the sciences, engineering, social sciences, humanities, and arts to succeed in an increasingly interdependent world and advance cooperation and progress on humanity’s shared challenges. NYU Abu Dhabi’s high-achieving students have come from over 120 countries and speak over 100 languages. Together, NYU’s campuses in New York, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai form the backbone of a unique global university, giving faculty and students opportunities to experience varied learning environments and immersion in other cultures at one or more of the numerous study-abroad sites NYU maintains on six continents.
For more information, please visit https://nyuad.nyu.edu/en/.
About Christo and Jeanne-Claude
For half a century, internationally acclaimed artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude created highly celebrated works of art around the world. Together, they changed the concept of “public art” by creating temporary works that were truly transitory by design. Jeanne-Claude passed away in November 2009, and Christo sadly died on May 31, 2020.
Christo and Jeanne-Claude never accepted any subsidies, royalties, grants, or sponsorships. They funded all of their temporary public works, and the artists’ income was derived from the sale of original works of art by Christo to museums, galleries, and private collectors. For more information, visit www.christojeanneclaude.net.
Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation
Founded in 1996, ADMAF is one of the oldest, not-for-profit cultural organisations in the Arabian Gulf. Pioneering new artistic practices, it seeks to deepen global cross-cultural dialogue and inspire a renewed interest in the creativity of the UAE and Arab world. Often in partnership with leading national and international institutions, it delivers multidisciplinary initiatives for people of all ages, backgrounds and nationalities through the Abu Dhabi Festival, year-round youth platforms and community programmes.
For more information, please visit www.admaf.org.
