In a nod to supporting the region’s blossoming art scene, Gallery One this year officially launched the inaugural “Young Creatives” Awards, open to UAE secondary school students aged 12 to 18 years of age. “Young Creatives” is a regionally inspired artistic challenge that celebrates young talent across the UAE, with the goal of promoting a sense of opportunity in the Arts. GEMS Education this week announced its support towards the campaign with the participation of all GEMS schools.
GEMS Education follows a value-driven system with core values – leading through innovation, growing by learning, global citizenship, pursuing excellence – woven into every academic and extracurricular activity. Shifting from traditional methods of teaching, GEMS Education creates an emphasis on enquiry-based approaches to derive creative ways to provide an exceptional learning environment.
Launched under the overarching theme of ‘Brilliant Arabia’, entries are open under two award categories, “Art into Product” and “Design for Retail”. In their submissions, students are asked to portray abstract interpretations of the colour, vibrancy and positivity of Arabia, “from the people, landscapes and buildings in the form of paintings, photography, illustrations, graphics or 3D drawings”.
Further to this, GEMS Education will collaborate with Gallery One on a separate initiative, the Creative Genius Award, which recognises artistic potential with GEMS schools. This will see a winning student from GEMS recognised for their talent and offered an internship at the company’s D3 Design head office.
Dino Varkey, Chief Executive Officer, GEMS Education, said: “Through the ‘Young Creatives’ campaign, we are encouraging students to explore and showcase their abilities and skills to the fullest. At GEMS Education, we believe in a framework that unlocks the untapped potential of every child – a system not just to make the student job ready, but to bring out the genius in every child.”
With entries closing on 26th April 2018, the shortlisted student art pieces will be displayed in a dedicated Gallery One public exhibition, with the winning submissions to be judged by a panel of experts, led by Gallery One Founder, CEO and artist, Gregg Sedgwick. Winning students will have their artwork commercially reproduced and sold in Gallery One stores across the region, earning royalties like all other Gallery One Artists.
Gallery One Founder and CEO, Gregg Sedgwick, said the main objective of the campaign was to give young people a sense of recognition for their talent and awareness of career potential in the Arts.
“I want to encourage students to feel a sense of worthiness and recognition for their creativity and artistic talent. I feel very passionate about empowering young artists to pursue their creative ambitions and understand the scope and potential in making a career out of art,” he said.
Inspired by the retail stores of the world’s greatest galleries and museums, Gallery One launched in the the UAE in 2006 and has since emerged as the region’s leading cultural retailer. Driven by the one core philosophical belief, ‘Art in Everything’, Gallery One has grown into an inspired network of eclectic retail spaces, which showcase and sell accessible and affordable regional artwork within beautifully packaged products and creative gifts, many of which are inspired by regional pattern, motifs, calligraphy and designs.
“Whether it’s a young artist, painter or photographer, or a product designer with a brilliant idea, creativity is a gift to be nurtured and celebrated, and we are proud to offer a highly visible commercial platform for new talent to find its way onto a regional stage. Young Creatives is an opportunity for two lucky students to see their works commercialised across unique Gallery One retail ranges, which exude cultural provenance, beautiful packaging and regional relevance,” he said.
To enter the competition, students must register online at www.youngcreatives.ae, and artwork and design proposals should be submitted online to youngcreatives@g-1.com.
