The Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation (ADMAF) commemorated the winners of its 2022 awards in the fields of arts, design and sustainability during an awards ceremony that took place on Wednesday, March 1 at Emirates Palace.
The list of Emirati winners included artist and Zayed University graduate Ameena Aljarman, winner of the Gulf Capital – ADMAF Visual Arts Award for her digital video entry, “My Grandmother Ameena’s Wishes”; playwright Hamdan bin Shfayan Alameri, winner of Gulf Capital – ADMAF Creativity Award for his play, “Room 2071”; American University of Sharjah architecture graduate Maitha Al Hammadi, winner of TotalEnergies Sustainability Design Award for her project, “Agro-Industrial Tourism”;and jewellery designers and Dubai institute of Design and Innovation students Asma Almarri and Media Alfalasi, winners of the ADMAF Design Fund Award 2022 supported by L’Ecole Van Cleef and Arpels for their ear cuff piece, “Osha”.
The awards were presented by His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance. The ceremony was attended by ADMAF Founder, and Abu Dhabi Festival Founder and Artistic Director, Her Excellency Huda Alkhamis-Kano, as well as representatives from Gulf Capital, TotalEnergies, L’Ecole Van Cleef and Arpels and several senior officials and culture partners.
H.E. Huda Alkhamis-Kanoo, Founder of the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation (ADMAF), Founder and Artistic Director of Abu Dhabi Festival, said: “For over two decades, the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation has been empowering our nation’s youth, investing in their abilities and nurturing their creative talent. We are pleased to partner with our sponsors for the annual ADMAF awards which provide a platform for innovative ideas to materialise, for free creative thinking to thrive, and for dreams and ambitions to be realised.
“This year’s winners have shown exceptional potential in the fields of visual arts, theatre, design and sustainability and rewarding their excellence remains a core pillar of the Foundation, enabling them to launch successful careers and become future leading figures of the UAE’s culture and creative industries,” Her Excellency continued.
The TotalEnergies Sustainability Design Award, which recognises outstanding innovation and achievement by young Emiratis in the fields of sustainable design and architecture, was awarded to Emirati architecture student Maitha Al Hammadi for her project, “Agro-Industrial Tourism” which imagines a sustainable destination that merges agriculture, tourism, soil and aquifer treatment.
Elias KASSIS, TotalEnergies in the UAE Country Chair said: “Fostering culture, dialogue and heritage is one of the key missions of TotalEnergies Foundation. In the UAE, we support young emerging artists by accelerating access to culture through our long-standing partner Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation.”
“TotalEnergies Sustainability Design Award 2022 is aimed as a launch pad for emerging designers and architects with a sustainability mindset across the UAE. This is such a unique opportunity in the UAE’s Year of Sustainability where young Emiratis artists will be able to craft and innovate paving the way for their own sustainable future.”
The Gulf Capital – ADMAF Creativity Award was launched in 2006 to celebrate the creativity of Emirati youth in visual & performance arts, literature, and cinema. The award was presented to playwright Hamdan bin Shfayan Alameri for his play, “Room 2071”, which portrays the pressures faced by scholarship students in achieving the goals and ambitions expected of them by family and society.
Launched in 2013, the Gulf Capital Abu Dhabi Festival Visual Arts Award recognises outstanding Emirati creativity in the visual arts, performing arts, literature, animation, and film. The 2022 award went to artist Ameena Aljarman for her digital video entry “My Grandmother Ameena’s Wishes”, a visual narrative that explores her grandmother’s journeys that have been passed on to her family.
Miray Zaki, Managing Director, Head of Africa, and Head of Sustainability Investment at Gulf Capital commented: “Our longstanding partnership with the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation and Abu Dhabi Festival is part of our core belief to nurture emerging Emirati culture and we are delighted to see the great works by all the participants of both awards. We would like to commend the Foundation’s continuous work in promoting excellence among emerging Emirati talents and congratulate all the winners of this year’s awards.”
Established in 2019, the ADMAF Design Fund with the support of L’École Van Cleef and Arpels aims to foster co-creativity and bespoke designing among emerging artists. This year’s award was presented to Emirati jewellery designers, Asma Almarri and Media Alfalasi, for their ear cuff piece, “Osha”, a tribute to the UAE heritage with a unique design that produces an oud scent when touched.
Marie Vallanet-Delhom, President of L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts said: “Supported and founded by Van Cleef & Arpels as an educational institution, L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts was created with the aim to share the culture of jewelry with the widest possible audience. Our role is the education and transmission of knowledge about all aspects of the jewelry arts, throughout history and from all the different cultures and traditions all over the world. Through our partnership with the ADMAF Design Fund, we are very happy to be able to encourage and reward the creativity of emerging jewelry artists.”
The Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation focuses on supporting culture and arts achievements and sustaining cultural development, by embracing creativity and launching a wide array of initiatives and societal programs to attract various audiences, in addition to cultivating creative talents in the UAE and abroad in cooperation with major local and international cultural institutions.
About the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation (ADMAF)
Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation (ADMAF) was established in 1996 as one of the earliest cultural foundations in the Gulf region and Arab world. ADMAF supports the sustainability and creativity of the cultural industry and contributes to enriching Abu Dhabi as a cultural beacon by offering a wide array of initiatives, often in partnership with leading national and international institutions, including Abu Dhabi Festival and several youth and societal programs and platforms, to support creative talents in the UAE and abroad.
For more information, please: www.admaf.org
About Abu Dhabi Festival
Under the Patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Shamsa bint Hamdan bin Mohamed Al Nahyan
Founded in 2004, the Festival was generously granted the patronage of the President, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, from 2007 to 2011. The first Abu Dhabi Festival was held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the then Minister of Information and Culture (currently the UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation).
Abu Dhabi Festival is the festival of “Bilad Al Khayr”, the land of blessings, the land of Zayed, and embraces the values of dialogue, tolerance, respect and peace. The annual Festival commissions, produces, preserves and presents the greatest works of music and art to create rich cultural experiences in the UAE and beyond as part of its commitment to building and sustaining the nation’s creative economy.
For more information, please visit www.abudhabifestival.ae
About Mubadala
Mubadala Investment Company is a sovereign investor managing a global portfolio, aimed at generating sustainable financial returns for the Government of Abu Dhabi.
Mubadala’s $284 billion (AED 1045 billion) portfolio spans six continents with interests in multiple sectors and asset classes. We leverage our deep sectoral expertise and long-standing partnerships to drive sustainable growth and profit, while supporting the continued diversification and global integration of the economy of the United Arab Emirates.
For more information about Mubadala Investment Company, please visit: www.mubadala.com
About TotalEnergies
TotalEnergies is a multi-energy company that produces and markets fuels, natural gas and electricity. Our 100,000 employees are committed to better energy that is more affordable, more reliable, cleaner and accessible to as many people as possible. Active in more than 130 countries, our ambition is to be a world-class player in the energy transition. TotalEnergies puts sustainable development in all its dimensions at the heart of its projects and operations to contribute to the well-being of people.
TotalEnergies is present in the UAE across all elements of the energy sector and, through its many joint ventures, prides itself on being one of ADNOC’s key partners. Moreover, TotalEnergies has operational presence through its affiliates TotalEnergies Renewables Distribution Generation, TotalEnergies Renewables International, TotalEnergies Marketing Middle East, TotalEnergies E&P UAE Unconventional Gas and via its trading branch TotalEnergies Trading & Shipping SA. TotalEnergies operated Total Abu Al Bukhoosh field for 47 years of production until, 8th March 2021.
About Gulf Capital
Gulf Capital is a leading, thematic driven private equity firm with over sixteen years of investment experience from the GCC to South and Southeast Asia, one of the fastest growing investment corridors in the world today. Gulf Capital partners with dynamic entrepreneurs and exceptional management teams to provide them with growth capital, strategic advice and operational expertise to build market leading global businesses. The Firm has a long and proven track record of investing in Growth Markets, having closed 38 investments since inception. It currently manages over $2.4 billion in assets across seven funds and investment vehicles. As a thematic investor, Gulf Capital focuses on resilient, forward-looking sectors such as Technology and Fintech, Healthcare and Healthtech, Business Services, Consumer and Sustainability. Its mission is to build value with world-class governance and ESG best practices, deep focus on operational improvements and sectoral expertise to generate sustainable and superior performance for its key stakeholders.
For more information, please visit www.gulfcapital.com or LinkedIn @gulfcapital
About L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts
Established in 2012 with the support of Van Cleef & Arpels, L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts aims to introduce the public to all aspects of jewelry culture. It is an initiation school, open to everyone, with no special prerequisites: beginners as well as enlightened amateurs, collectors and those with a curiosity for the world of jewelry.
L’ÉCOLE offers courses in three major fields: the history of jewelry, the world of gemstones and the savoir-faire of jewelry-making techniques, taught by approximately sixty teachers, art historians, gemologists, and artisans including jewelers. The classes are practice-based. The students experiment with gestures, skills and tools, guided by their teachers.
L’ÉCOLE also offers other activities: free and monthly live online conversations, book publishing, exhibitions – in Paris and abroad. Creative workshops were also created for children and teenagers.
L’ÉCOLE now has two addresses: one in Paris, and one in Hong Kong.
In Paris, L’ÉCOLE is located in a private mansion a stone’s throw from the Place Vendôme, the historical heart of the French High Jewelry for over a century.
A second school opened in the fall of 2019 in Hong Kong, in Western Kowloon, right in the heart of the design district, in an airy, light-filled space designed by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto.
In 2023, L’ÉCOLE will extend its presence in Asia with the opening of a third permanent campus in Shanghai, a place of cultural effervescence and a popular destination for contemporary art lovers.
Moreover, since its inception, L’ÉCOLE travels abroad, to America, Asia and the Middle East, for travelling programs that last two to three weeks. L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts therefore contributes to the promotion and visibility of jewelry culture on an international scale.
For more information, please visit www.lecolevancleefarpels.com
