Seventeen artists have been chosen to compete for the first Bulgari Contemporary Art Award, a partnership between Dubai Culture and luxury brand Bulgari. Three artists will be shortlisted for the award, and one winner selected overall.
The artists’ artworks are exhibited at the Van De Goudenberg Art Gallery in the Dubai International Financial Centre from February 3 to 8.
The award was launched in July 2021 with the support of the Italy Pavilion at Expo. It is an initiative to mark the 50th anniversary of the United Arab Emirates and the first Universal Expo held in the Arab world. It aims to provide an innovative platform to support local talent in the field of contemporary arts.
This year theme chosen by the Bulgari Contemporary Art Award organisers is Beauty Connects People. The award has three categories in visual arts: drawing and painting, photography, and sculpture.
Chief Executive of the Arts and Literature Sector at Dubai Culture, Dr Saeed Mubarak bin Kharbash, commented that the award offers artists a “new platform” to “express themselves creatively”. He noted that the selected names “demonstrated a deep understanding of the award’s subject matter and presented innovative and highly expressive works”.
Lucia Boscaini, Bulgari Brand Curator, said, “We are impressed by the rich inspiration of all the participating artists that led to such an interesting dialogue between Rome and Dubai, fueled by the powerful energy of colours. This award represents an important commitment as supporting contemporary artists means investing in a future of ideas, talent and passion. Visiting this exhibition means plunging into an enthralling universe of unbridled creativity, an ode to research and experimentation that perfectly matches Bulgari’s DNA.”
The winner will be announced on February 9. The winning work will be exhibited in the Italy Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.
