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Luqman Leads Emerging Talent with Another Memorable Trip

ABU DHABI - For the third consecutive year, Jalal Luqman’s art trip is happening again.

About half a dozen emerging artists will be carefully selected to join the trip, meant to inspire them for their first ever art exhibition.

Happening in the second week of February, the location of the one-day trip will be chosen by the artists themselves, but it will be somewhere within the UAE.

Last year the group went to Jazeera Hamra, the “ghost town” in Ras Al Khaimah and the previous year the location was a secluded, lesser known spot in Hatta mountains.

“I always like the sunset in the desert, so in both occasions we stopped somewhere in the desert just for the sunset,” said Luqman.

An accomplished Emirati artist, known best for his challenging digital art, he started the art trips for the sole reason of helping out talented, hard working, but not yet successful artists.

In 2008 Luqman paid for the entire trip himself and last February he managed to get some sponsorship. This year though, he would like to get the government involved, so that the project could be taken to a new level.

“I applied for a grant with Emirates Foundation and, if I get it, it will allow me to take more people along,” he said.

Art trips are hugely popular throughout the western world, as they are a hand-on learning experience. UK’s Royal Photographic Society for example, is organising monthly field trips for emerging photographers, led by a well established professional.

What Luqman does, though, is to take the experience quite a few steps further. After the trip is over he meets with his “students” regularly for several weeks, to help them complete the work, which can be a painting, a photograph, an installation or any other form of fine art.

Often, he brings along other professional artists to comment and talk about their journey to success. Once all the artworks are done, Luqman organises an exhibition for the entire group, where the emerging artists not only get exposed to the world of art, but also have the opportunity to sell their work.

“So far my rate of success is about 20-30 per cent, but I’m not happy with that,” Luqman told Khaleej Times.

He would like all his artists to continue working and become successful after this experience is over, but not all of them do. For this reason, this year the selection process will be much tougher.

Applicants must send a brief description of themselves and their work accompanied by samples to Ghaf Art Gallery at ghafgallery@gmail.com.

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