Culture & Education | Sunday 18 January, 2015 2:15 am |

Following the directives of Her Highness Sheikha Manal Bint Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Women Establishment, wife of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, UAE; The Sheikha Manal Young Artist Award today revealed that the newly launched #ClickYAA Competition category will now recognise and reward three winners.

This directive will further increase the total prize money to AED 430,000, with AED 50,000, AED 30,000 and AED 20,000 cash prize for winner, runner up and second runner up, respectively of the four competition categories (Fine Arts, Photography, Multimedia and Design) along with a greater cash prize of AED12,000 for the winner of the ‘People’s Choice Award’. Furthermore, the #ClickYAA Competition category, will award three recipients with a cash prize that will break down as AED 10,000, AED 5,000 and AED 3,000 for winner, runner up and second runner up, respectively.

On the occasion, Mona Bin Kalli, Director of The Cultural Office of HH Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said, “The enhancements to our award value follows the wise directives of Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who has expressed her pleasure at the noted popularity of the recently launched #ClickYAA competition category. In light of the growing reach of social media, which has not only become one of the most powerful tools of communication today but also evolved in a creative medium for the expression of art, our intention behind the #ClickYAA award category is to serve as yet another stepping stone for young emerging talents discover their artistic sides."

The art exhibition of shortlisted entries for 9th edition of The Sheikha Manal Young Artist Award is now open to the public in CITY WALK, Jumeirah at the junction of Al Wasl and Al Safa roads. Members of the public are invited to share their experience of the art show with its new #ClickYAA social media photography contest. Over the course of the exhibition, which will open until 24th January, 2015, participants may creatively capture moments from the exhibition to post on Instagram while using the official hashtag: #ClickYAA. The best three photographs will win.

The open-air exhibition, which is curated by Patricia Millns, Artist and Advisor - is strategically located within the heart of the city's urban arts scene at CITY WALK - the premium outdoor destination by Meraas Holding. Designed for discerning visitors with eclectic taste, CITY WALK has quickly become an urban cultural hub of the city, making it the ideal location to host the 9th edition of the Exhibition of 50 Shortlisted Artworks of The Sheikha Manal Young Artist Award.

Moreover, the public voting component of ‘The People’s Choice Award’ is now open through the website’s online voting feature. The People's Choice Award is distinctive in that it is the only award that is not conferred by the jury. Rather, it is bestowed on the finalist artist whose work receives the most public votes. To view the 50 shortlisted entries and to submit your vote for ‘The People’s Choice Award’ please visit www.youngartistaward.ae.

The distinguished panel of judges for the 2014 edition of the Award comprises of industry professionals and practicing artists from the local and international art community, which includes Dr. Lamees Hamdan, Commissioner of the National Pavilion of the United Arab Emirates at La Biennale di Venezia 2013, Fatma Lootah, Emirati Artist, Reem Fadda, Associate Curator of Guggenheim Museum Abu Dhabi, Antonia Carver, Fair Director of Art Dubai, Cyril Zammit, Fair Director of Design Days. The winning artists will be announced during the Gala Award Ceremony to be held in late-January 2015.

Held under the royal patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Women Establishment, wife of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Presidential Affairs, UAE; The Sheikha Manal Young Artist Award has been around since 2006 as an annual visual arts competition which aims to encourage, recognize and promote emerging artists from the UAE and is especially popular amongst university students majoring in Art, Design and Multimedia.