The participants pose for a group photo at the Qatar International Art Festival.

Jamil Khan, Senior Reporter

A group of 20 UAE-based artists have participated in the 5-day Qatar International Art Festival (QIAF) 2021 and made a profound impression on the local art scene through their number of artworks. The artists attended the Doha international event under the banner of Funun Art Group-UAE and took part in the different activities including art exhibition, cultural tour, live painting symposium, artistic fashion show, Master Classes and others.

The art festival started in 2018 by Rashmi Aggarwal, founder and president of MAPS International WLL. This year it marked the 3rd edition with the participation of 300 artists from 65 different countries and displayed and attended art-related activities.

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Shiba Khan, founder of Funun, said that “art inspires us to visit the concept of unity, vibrancy and see ourselves as a part of a bigger universe. Art is a language of its own. We see art everyday but how we see it is different,” she told in an exclusive interview the Gulf Today.

The local artists comprise different nationalities who are already part of various solo and group exhibitions in the UAE and the international art festival in Doha was an extraordinary experience.

“The art lies at the heart of Doha. The city is becoming a place where a plethora of art related activities take place every year. QIAF provides a good platform to the artists and from all over the world to showcase their work. The festival aims to introduce artists and promote their work to collectors, art investors and potential buyers,” said Farrah Khan, senior artist at the Funun.

The event was inaugurated by Prof Dr. Khalid Bin Ibrahim Al Sulaiti, General Manager of Katara, Qatar and Rashmi Aggarwal. The opening ceremony was also attended by dignitaries, diplomats including ambassadors of many different countries.

“The experience of participating at the QIAF really left a great impact on all the participating artists and galleries in the festival with the quality of the artwork, organisation, and made all the artists emotional,” said Shiba.

Rashmi Aggarwal, Founder & President of MAPS International WLL said, “This event is the outcome of a very dedicated team, which includes all Katara Team and participating artists. I believe everything is possible if you have a clear vision, strong planning and hardworking team. Art connects people and brings them together on one platform. This was well seen and experienced in the beautifully organised 5-day Qatar International Art festival in the beautiful Katara Cultural Village, which is a hub of creativity, art and culture. This year we had more potential buyers than ever before and we are able to make 70% sale of total artwork exhibited and this makes the show a huge  success,” she said.

Shiba Khan said, “I am so honoured to receive the Brand Ambassador Award for representing India, not only this we received the gallery partner award which is very prestigious for Funun Arts Group. Beside this, there are few more awards which are added to our profile now like Artistic Fashion show award where I walked the ramp with the kaftan printed with one of our artworks and designed by me, I felt as my fashion designing career came up again,” she added.

One of the Funun’s participating artists, Sabah Anees, won the best artist model award while the artists were honoured with the certificate and mementos besides selling 21 artworks.

The artists were also part of the Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav event during the cultural night.

Farah Khan said, “We were the most enjoying group of the event who were experiencing each moment of the festival to the fullest.” She further appreciated the event head Rashmi Aggarwal and said, “Rashmi is a dynamic leader, who has all the qualities of making things beautiful and well organised. She had put her all effort into this art festival to make it a big successful event and her efforts showed up with all flying colours. We learnt a lot, had a great experience and good networking. These types of festivals are, very important for artists where they can interact with artists from different cultural backgrounds. It helps in thinking beyond your own boundaries.”

The participating artists who travelled to Qatar included Shiba Khan, Farah Khan, Rafa Tom, Jasmine Mohammed Rizvi, Raisa Rajan, Dr. Devisree, Sabah Anees, Safaa Saeed, Madhuri Musani, Anuradha Bhalla, Raksha Jesrani, Muffazal Abbasbhai Arsiwala and Mohammad Aslam Hussain. The artists who sent their work were Nada Al Barazi, Nafisa Sayeda, Akshay Arora, Anjani Prakash Laitu, Pari Sagar, Dina Al Baraqi and Soumya Shree.

The artists from different backgrounds and nationalities assured to be part of such global events frequently to promote UAE’s signature values through their artworks.