An illustration by Mai Awwad

Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer 

Visitors to Abu Dhabi International Airport are receiving a colourful welcome to the UAE this month, greeted by artwork created by senior Visual Communications student Mai Awwad of the American University of Sharjah (AUS) and other aspiring and established artists from across the UAE, in an initiative by the Institut Français in the UAE, JCDecaux, Abu Dhabi Airports Company and BB Media.

The Artport challenge and competition was created to celebrate the UAE’s upcoming 50th anniversary, which coincides with Expo Dubai 2020. The featured artists were selected by a panel, including the Ambassador of France to the UAE, CEO of JCDecaux Middle East and Africa, CEO of Abu Dhabi Airport Company, CEO of BB media communication and three art experts.

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The exhibition, which opened on July 14 (Bastille Day or French National Day), aims to echo France’s pavilion at Expo which focuses and responds to the question — “How will we travel in the future?” Awwad’s artwork titled “A Trip to The Moon,” was awarded third place in the adult category of the competition. A student of the College of Architecture, Art and Design (CAAD) at AUS, she aimed to capture the wonder of being in Paris and the heightened experience of little moments of pleasure of the surroundings. She looks ahead to a time when such kinds of pleasures could be experienced at a galactical level.

“The moon is considered through history as a great symbol of love. When we feel connected to someone, we tend to say in a metaphoric manner: “I would get you the moon if I could.”

 Illustrations by Mai Awwad.

“But what if we actually can go on a trip to the moon? It is mind-blowing to think of the possibility of getting so close to the most beautiful celestial body in our small galaxy,” she said. “What if people from all fields like art, design and business get a chance to land on the moon and not limit the access to it for scientists and astronauts?”

As a student at CAAD, Awwad was encouraged by her professors to enter the competition as a means of extending her learning and giving her exposure to wider critique in the commercial arena.

“Special thanks goes to the sponsors of such an artistic and unique challenge. Many thanks also to AUS and CAAD for always encouraging the students to be part of very aspiring competitions and challenges across the world,” she said. In addition to the honour of having their work included in the exhibition, Awwad and the other selected artists will be presented with awards at a ceremony on November 6 at Expo 2020, where their artworks will be exhibited again for a wider audience. Says Varkki Pallathucheril, CAAD Dean: “Design and the arts fundamentally affect the quality of our lives by satisfying in profound ways the needs and desires of individuals and societies.

  Mai Awwad.

“Students and faculty in the College of Architecture, Art and Design (CAAD) are immersed in processes of iterative making and exploring in order to realise the transformative potential of design … Making and testing are an essential part of what we do and how we learn in CAAD; these are intense and challenging endeavors.” CAAD’s success is evident by the many plaudits garnered by its students and alumni. It includes major awards such as the Visual Arts and Design category of the globally prestigious Undergraduate Awards, the Helen Lansdowne Resor Scholarship awarded by the 4A’s Foundation, Inc., the Sheikha Manal Young Artist Award and the Christo and Jean Claude Award given by the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation.

CAAD graduates have gone on to succeed at some of the world’s most prestigious institutions, such as the Architectural Association School of Architecture and the Royal College of Art, both in London; the Harvard Graduate School of Design; Rhode Island School of Design and New York’s School of Visual Arts. The Institut Français in the UAE is the cooperation and cultural department of the French Embassy.

It has the mission of promoting French creativity, thought and language and encouraging cultural, artistic, educational, academic and scientific exchanges and partnerships between France and the UAE. It organises cultural events in fields such as visual arts, live performance and debating issues. It supports French cultural and academic institutions, as well as cultural industries in their development projects in the Emirates.

It also coordinates the French schools network in the UAE and the Alliances Françaises in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) is a public joint-stock company and is part of ADQ, one of the region’s largest holding companies with a diverse portfolio of major enterprises spanning key sectors of Abu Dhabi’s non-oil economy. Created in 2006 to spearhead the redevelopment of the Emirate’s aviation infrastructure, ADAC plays an important role in the Government of Abu Dhabi’s Economic Vision 2030. It offers aviation-related services at Abu Dhabi Emirate’s airports, owning and operating five of them, namely, Abu Dhabi International Airport, Al Ain International Airport, Al Bateen Executive Airport, Dalma Airport and Sir Bani Yas Airport. JCDecaux is the largest outdoor advertising specialist in the world and the only international player of its kind in the Middle East. BB Media has two decades of experience and expertise in the field of digital printing, design and advertising.