A.R.M. Holding, Art Dubai and artist Dahlgren join hands for youth project
Swedish artist Jacob Dahlgren.
Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer
May 1 saw the official in-classroom launch of the third A.R.M. Holding Children’s Programme. With a mission to engage the next generation and ignite their interest in arts and culture, it is the country’s most extensive cultural education programme, growing from 1,800 students during its 2021 launch to now reaching more than 8,000 students in 90 schools across the UAE.
Taking place May 1 - June 15, The Flag Project is the third iteration of this initiative, developed by A.R.M. Holding in partnership with Art Dubai. It has been produced with leading Swedish international visual artist Jacob Dahlgren. Designed for children between ages 5 and 17, Dahlgren developed the concept as an extension of his ongoing project, Signs of Abstraction, which aims to inspire creative and abstract thinking about the environment, while also encouraging teamwork.
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Using everyday craft materials and scrap fabrics, students will use their imaginations and collaborate on collages that are sewn together and then transformed into colourful tapestries and flags. A long-standing arts patron that has invested in partnerships to reinforce Dubai’s position as the global capital of culture and innovation, private investment firm A.R.M. Holding had launched the initiative in partnership with Art Dubai in 2021.
It aims to empower the next generation to grow and develop their interest and understanding of the arts and their different practices. Previous participating artists were design duo Studio Sain in 2021 and Kenyan artist Cyrus Kabiru in 2022.
Mohammad Saeed Al Shehhi, CEO of A.R.M. Holding, said: “I strongly believe in enabling the youth who holds the key to tomorrow’s success. With direct engagement and our combined efforts in integrating the arts both inside and outside the classroom, we equip them with tools for innovative thinking and problem-solving.
“Through these valuable life skills, we empower them to reach greater heights which will help create stronger, more inclusive communities. This solidifies our mission to expand the programme year after year.”
Over 6,000 children have participated in the programme since it launched in 2021. The first edition saw 1,800 children from 70 schools in the UAE, and the second edition grew to 5,500 children from 80 schools. Each edition revolves around a different topic, such as creating an alternative living habitat on a fictitious moon or crafting sustainable works of art. This year’s theme, abstraction, will allow children to give a free rein to their imagination with everyday materials available around them.
Benedetta Ghione, Executive Director of Art Dubai, said that “we help deliver this ambitious cultural programming across the UAE by providing cultural content through bespoke workshops. We bring together artists and designers to collaborate closely with local schools. Since the A.R.M. Holding Children’s Programme launched, it has been incorporated as part of Art Dubai’s year-round education programme.
“It is rolled out in two phases, with the first delivered through specially curated workshops during the fair, followed by in-classroom activities in schools across the UAE.” Dahlgren creates art that blends formal abstraction with social culture, transforming everyday objects such as coat hangers and coffee cups, into vibrant and engaging works.
For the past three decades, he has collected over 200,000 photos of abstract details from his daily life - one of his longest art projects involves his commitment to wearing striped T-shirts every day for over 20 years.
“Life consists of lots of abstract experiences, we just have to be receptive,” Dahlgren opines. “The Flag Project breaks boundaries by taking abstract art outside of the canvas and into the real world and proves that anyone can create art regardless of background or experience. Through the workshops, we encourage children to think about their surroundings and work collaboratively to achieve a shared goal.”
He makes reference to artistic styles of the 20th century such as Constructivism, Minimal Art, Pop Art and the Op Art movement. An important theme in his work is how art and everyday life are intertwined. For example, he says that “a pencil is a pencil, but when you put multiple pencils together and organise them in a certain way, they become something else … it is important to me to make a connection to our daily lives.”
A.R.M. Holding is a private investment firm and multi-focused economic enabler that creates synergies and opportunities through local, regional and global investments. It holds equity stakes in some of Dubai’s foremost companies in a variety of sectors including banking, telecom, FMCG, real estate, and hospitality. In 2021, it became the first corporate patron of the Dubai Collection, the first institutional art collection in the emirate of Dubai. Founded in 2007, Art Dubai is a leading platform to see and buy modern and contemporary art from the Global South. Across its Contemporary, Modern and Digital gallery sections, annual artist commissions and year-round collector and education programmes. It champions art and artists from across the Global South, providing an increasingly important alternative to mainstream, largely Western-led narratives.
Art Dubai is held in partnership with A.R.M. Holding. The fair is sponsored by Swiss Wealth Management Group Julius Baer. HUNA, a “platform of curated experiences for makers and storytellers through Food, Art and Culture,” is a partner of Art Dubai. The Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) is the fair’s strategic partner and Madinat Jumeirah is the home of Art Dubai.
