Bestowed by His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance… Abu Dhabi, Music and Arts Foundation, Celebrates the Winners of its 2022 Design and Creativity Awards

Abu Dhabi, UAE – March 8, 2022

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.