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Applicants for arts grants selected

ABU DHABI — The Emirates Foundation has selected the first lot of applications for art grants, according to Fawz Kabra, programme coordinator at the Foundation.

“Around 17 applications were received from UAE artists since the grants were announced a month ago,” she told Khaleej Times. “One application was so perfectly done, we awarded it on the spot, but we also plan to offer grants to several others.”

She explained that some of the best art grant seekers had very good ideas, but lacked knowledge in determining their project’s budget. “We are going to invite around five of these applicants to the foundation to teach them how to calculate their budget, then we will offer the awards,” she said.

The applications which impressed the judges most included a film production and an art book about Emirati artists, a subject that hasn’t yet been published in the UAE. “Other artists required funding to organise an exhibition or even to travel to Europe to see a particular art exhibition,” Kabra said.

Even though the Emirates Foundation is set in Abu Dhabi, it operates nationwide, encouraging UAE nationals from all emirates to apply for the grants. “This time we received applications from Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah,” said Kabra.

She also pointed out that with each application the judges were able to see the artist’s portfolio, which shows how dedicated and passionate he or she is. “This help us to assist the local artists, as we aim at raising the standard of art in the Emirates and bring it at par with the art centres such as New York, London and Paris, “ Kabra added.

The grants offered by the foundation vary from Dh10,000 to Dh100,000. The applicants could be either individual artists or organisations based in the UAE that create artistic works such as theatre companies, art museum, public galleries, orchestras, art centres, publishing houses and film organisations. The next evaluation meeting will take place in September and it will focus on film/media, while the last grants this year will be offered in December, mostly for literature.

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