Hannan Arshad wins The Christo and Jeanne-Claude Award 2025
- Last updated: July 12, 2025 | 10:30
Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer
Under the patronage of Sheikha Shamsa bint Hamdan Al Nahyan, New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD), in partnership with Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation (ADMAF), has announced the winning project for The Christo and Jeanne-Claude Award 2025.
The winner of the thirteenth edition of The Christo and Jeanne-Claude Award is Hannan Arshad, under the mentorship of Assistant Professor at the College of Architecture, Art and Design (CAAD) at the American University of Sharjah (AUS), Christianna Bonin. Hannan is a UAE-based Indian artist and graphic designer, who explores storytelling through materials, fabrication and historical research. Focused on political dialogue and cultural memory, her work includes installation, print and digital media, film and photography.
Her interest in Mughal history and materiality began during visits to the Raza Library in Rampur and the Bada Imambara in Lucknow, in India. It later developed into Safekeeping Stories during her senior studio with Assistant Professor Amparo Baquerizas Carreras, at AUS. The project has since expanded to encompass larger sculptural and architectural references along with imagery and text, reimagining the past as something tactile, participatory, and alive. Safekeeping Stories is an interactive installation that aims to preserve Mughal architectural and cultural knowledge. The artist recreates traditional Lakhori bricks, alongside nearly-forgotten brick and mortar Mughal techniques, that incorporate edible materials.
Each brick is etched with the artist’s own interpretation of Mughal miniature paintings, which transforms a historical building block into a medium for visual and written archiving. The bricks are arranged to resemble a library, inviting viewers to engage with history by physically removing each “book” from the structure. Inspired by the urgent need to protect cultural heritage from political and environmental threats, the project highlights the contemporary relevance of historic building practices. The artist plans to expand the installation and collaborate with communities in the UAE and beyond, using art to spark conversations around memory, identity, and preservation.
Huda Alkhamis-Kanoo, Founder, ADMAF and Abu Dhabi Festival, said: “We congratulate Hannan Arshad, the winner of the Award, now in its thirteenth year, under the supervision of Assistant Professor Christianna Bonin from the College of Architecture, Art and Design at the American University of Sharjah. We commend her focus through her winning work Safekeeping Stories, on documenting the rich history of human civilisations, and her dedication to studying and preserving endangered cultural and architectural knowledge, and attempting to revive it through environmentally and nature-friendly building practices.”
Executive Director of The NYUAD Art Gallery and the University’s Chief Curator, Maya Allison, said that “Safekeeping Stories exemplifies the power of art to bridge memory, place, and material tradition. At the NYUAD Art Gallery, we are committed to nurturing emerging artists through mentorship and resources that help bring ambitious ideas to life. This installation is a poignant response to cultural loss, and a compelling example of how historical narratives can be reimagined through contemporary public art.”
The Christo and Jeanne-Claude Award Director Emily Doherty said: “We couldn’t be more delighted to welcome Hannan Arshad as winner of The Christo and Jeanne-Claude Award 2025. The Selection Committee was captivated by her beautiful and thoughtful work. Hannan now enters the production part of her artistic journey with the full support of the professional curatorial, technical, and logistics teams at the NYUAD Art Gallery, along with her nominated mentor, Dr. Christianna Bonin, at AUS. We are looking forward to unveiling Safekeeping Stories at the entrance to Abu Dhabi Art in November this year.”
The selection committee included Huda Alkhamis-Kanoo; Maya Allison; Dyala Nusseibeh, Director of Abu Dhabi Art; Azza Al Qubaisi, Emirati jewellery artist, product designer and sculptor; Awam Amkpa, Dean of Arts and Humanities and Professor of Drama, Social and Cultural Analysis at NYUAD; and guest juror Nadine Maalouf, Vice Chairwoman of Design Council Abu Dhabi and Advisory Committee Member of the NYUAD Art Gallery. Running annually since 2013 under the patronage of Sheikha Shamsa bint Hamdan Al Nahyan, presented by NYUAD in partnership with ADMAF and produced in collaboration with NYUAD Gallery, The Christo and Jeanne-Claude Award serves as a launch pad for artists across the Emirates. It encourages new artwork and offers winners insight into professional life as an artist, from commission to exhibition. The programme is open to UAE-based students and recent graduates.
Established in 2014, the NYUAD Art Gallery is among the only university galleries in the region with a programme of scholarly and experimental museum exhibitions. A book publication programme and an auxiliary venue, the Project Space, which is an exhibition laboratory for UAE-based artists and curators, are also among its core initiatives. For half a century, internationally acclaimed artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude created highly celebrated works of art around the world. Together, they changed the concept of “public art” by creating temporary works that were transitory by design. They were artists noted for their large-scale, site-specific environmental installations. They refused grants, scholarships, donations or public money; they financed their work through the sale of their own artwork. Jeanne-Claude passed away in 2009 and Christo moved on in 2020.
Founded in 1996, ADMAF is one of the first cultural organisations in the Arabian Gulf. Pioneering new artistic practices, it seeks to deepen global cross-cultural dialogue and inspire a renewed interest in the creativity of the UAE and Arab world, in partnership with leading national and international institutions. The Abu Dhabi Festival hosts year-round youth platforms and community programmes.