Art Jameel and Dubai Culture Launch UAE-Wide Grants Programme for Creative Projects that Address the Climate Crisis, Aligned with the UAE Year of Sustainability

October 4, 2023 – Art Jameel, an organisation that supports artists and creative communities, and Dubai Culture and Arts Authority announce a major programme offering opportunities for UAE-based artists and multidisciplinary creative practitioners to address climate change in their practice. This second edition of the Art Jameel Research and Practice Platform (RPP), supported by Dubai Culture, launches in association with Al Quoz Creative Zone – an integrated creative hub in Dubai – and has a special focus on addressing the climate crisis, in line with the UAE Year of Sustainability and the lead-up to COP28 in Dubai. 

The programme awards up to twenty grants that range from AED 3,600 ($1000) to AED 22,000 ($6000) each to UAE-based individuals or collective creative practitioners (nationals and long-term residents). Applications will be considered from artists, filmmakers, writers, curators, illustrators, designers, performers and other creative practitioners whose projects are dedicated to or include a particular conceptual or material focus on sustainability and the environment. Applications are accepted from October 4, 2023 through to December 15, 2023.

Nora Razian, Art Jameel Deputy Director (Arts), said: “This second edition of the Research and Practice Platform, supported by Dubai Culture, marks a significant stride towards fostering sustainability within our creative community. Our collective vision is to support UAE-based creative practitioners who embrace sustainability across various disciplines, exploring the intersection of culture and climate change in pressing global conversations surrounding our shared future. With a forward-thinking ethos and a commitment to innovation, the UAE has become a thriving hub for artistic and creative expression. The first edition of the Research and Practice Platform was so enthusiastically received, and we have no doubt that this edition continues the momentum and passion for investigating all the ways in which culture is embedded in pressing global conversations surrounding the environment we share.”

Khulood Khoory, Director of the Projects & Events Department at Dubai Culture, commented: “At Dubai Culture, we are dedicated to fostering creativity and issue-based engagement, and this partnership with Art Jameel exemplifies our commitment to innovation and sustainability. By supporting UAE-based creatives in addressing climate change, we continue to position the emirate as a thriving hub for artistic and cultural expression, contributing to Dubai’s vision of becoming a global centre for culture, an incubator for creativity and a thriving hub for talent.”

The Art Jameel Research and Practice Platform, supported by Dubai Culture, launches in association with Al Quoz Creative Zone – an integrated creative hub in Dubai. This edition builds upon the success of the 2020 Research and Practice Platform programme, a collaboration with Dubai Culture that responded to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The second edition continues the joint commitment to supporting and nurturing the artistic and cultural landscape of the UAE.

The Research and Practice Platform 2023-24 runs in parallel with the MENA-wide programme Anhar: Culture and Climate Platform, a collaboration between Art Jameel and the British Council. While UAE-based individual practitioners are encouraged to apply to the Research and Practice Platform, organisations are welcome to send their proposals for decarbonisation strategies and collaborative projects to ‘Anhar’.