Applications for the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Award, presented by NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) and Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation (ADMAF), are now open.
The award is granted to students and young artists who propose artworks intended to be shown publicly and draw from elements of architecture, installation, photography, video and land art, similar to the work of duo Christo and Jeanne-Claude. During their time, the two produced environmental and installation art, often using everyday materials such as plastic and fabric.
University students or those who have graduated within the last five years must submit their applications online, which should include a nomination by a mentor, whether it is a practicing artist, professor or gallerist. Applicants must also provide details about their proposed artwork, including the production process and costs.
The winner or winners will receive $10,000 to create their work, as well as an additional $5,000 from Christo’s estate. The work will then be presented to the public at NYUAD’s campus in November 2021 before touring other public spaces in the capital.
Last year's winners were students from the American University of Sharjah, Falwah Alhouti, Ibrahim Abdellatif, and Omer Al Raee, who created Sila, a black and white installation inspired by the Emirati folkloric dance Al-Ayyalah, where men dance to drum beats and poetic chanting. This sense of unity and rhythm was visually translated in the work, which comprised of two rows of units with alternating heights that tapered towards each other, giving the illusion of movement.
Established in 2012, the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Award is supported under the patronage of Sheikha Shamsa bint Hamdan Al Nahyan. It is named after artists Christo Vladimirov Javacheff and Jeanne-Claude Marie Denat, whose ambitious public works include the wrapping and draping of historical buildings such as the Pont Neuf in Paris and the Reichstag in Berlin in the mid-1980s and 1990s.
The artist Christo Yavacheff, centre, meets with Liwa residents Khalfan Al Qubasi, left, Saeed Al Falahi, right, and Obaid Al Mazrouei, front right, in October 2012, to discuss his plans to construct The Mastaba, a pyramid of 410,000 barrels. Antonie Robertson / The National
The couple had a special relationship to the UAE, where they intended to install a massive mastaba, or Mesopotamian mud bench, made of 410,000 oil barrels in Abu Dhabi’s Liwa desert. Though the work never came to fruition in the artists’ lifetimes – Jeanne-Claude died in 2009 and Christo in June – they developed a love for the UAE landscape, with Christo in particular travelling to Al Dhafra and Madinat Zayed for research and art workshops.
This appreciation for the emirates also led to his development of the award, which aims to nurture emerging artists in the UAE. Christo would often meet with the students and artists, and in 2018 took two award winners to London to see his work The London Mastaba in Hyde Park. Consisting of 7,506 red and blue barrels, the piece was a smaller-scale version of his Abu Dhabi aspiration.
Before his death, Christo was developing L'Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped, which planned for Paris's Arc de Triomphe to be wrapped in 25,000 square metres of blue fabric and 7,000 metres of red rope. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the work is now scheduled to be unveiled in September 2021.
Applications for the ninth edition of the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Award are open until February 4, 2021.
See more images of Christo in the UAE in the gallery below:
Christo Vladimirov Jaacheff at the unveiling of 'Dunescape', an installation by Anna Kurkova, at NYUAD in Abu Dhabi in 2017. Delores Johnson / The National
Maram Kassab, Christo, Huda Kanoo, WHO, and Mariam Ayoub in front of the 2018 Christo and Jeanne-Claude Award-winning pavilion
Christo visits the UAE in 1979 to explain the preliminary engineering concept for The Mastaba to officials of the Ministry of Construction.
A 2009 drawing showing the concept for Christo's 'The Mastaba' project in the UAE. Photo by Wolfgang Volz
Christo and Jeanne-Claude scout for locations for the site of 'The Mastaba' in October 2007. Photo by Wolfgang Volz
Christo and Jeanne-Claude looking for a possible site for 'The Mastaba' in February 1982. Photo by Wolfgang Volz
A collage, from 1979, showing how 'The Mastaba' would appear in the Liwa desert. Photo by Wolfgang Volz
Christo meets with Liwa residents Khalfan Al Qubasi, left, Saeed Al Falahi, right, and Obaid Al Mazrouei, front right, in October 2012, to discuss his plans to construct 'The Mastaba', a pyramid of 410,000 barrels. Antonie Robertson / The National
Christo in his studio with a preparatory drawing for 'The Mastaba' Courtesy Christo and the Maeght Foundation
Christo with Mohammed bin Azzan Al Mazrouei, the director general of the Western Region Development Council. Delores Johnson / The National
Christo Yavacheff (centre), meets with Liwa residents Khalfan Al Qubasi (L) and Saeed Al Falahi (R) to discuss his plans to construct in Liwa a pyramid of 415,000 oil drums that will be bigger than the main pyramid of giza. Antonie Robertson / The National
Christo Yavacheff sketches out his plans to construct in Liwa a pyramid of 415,000 oil drums that will be bigger than the main pyramid of giza. Antonie Robertson / The National
Christo with Khalfan Al Qubasi, left, Saeed Al Falahi, right, and Obaid Al Mazrouei, front right, in Liwa. Antonie Robertson / The National
Christo meets with Liwa residents Khalfan Al Qubasi, left, and Saeed Al Falahi, right. Antonie Robertson / The National
Christo Yavacheff (centre), meets with Liwa residents Khalfan Al Qubasi (L) to discuss his plans to construct in Liwa a pyramid of 415,000 oil drums that will be bigger than the main pyramid of giza. Antonie Robertson / The National
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally • Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered • Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity • Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Afghanistan fixtures
v Australia, today
v Sri Lanka, Tuesday
v New Zealand, Saturday,
v South Africa, June 15
v England, June 18
v India, June 22
v Bangladesh, June 24
v Pakistan, June 29
v West Indies, July 4
Alita: Battle Angel
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Stars: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Keean Johnson
Four stars
Copa del Rey
Semi-final, first leg
Barcelona 1 (Malcom 57')
Real Madrid (Vazquez 6')
Second leg, February 27
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Multiply Titans 81-2 in 12.1 overs
(Tony de Zorzi, 34)
bt Auckland Aces 80 all out in 16 overs
(Shawn von Borg 4-15, Alfred Mothoa 2-11, Tshepo Moreki 2-16).
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
Gender equality in the workplace still 200 years away
It will take centuries to achieve gender parity in workplaces around the globe, according to a December report from the World Economic Forum.
The WEF study said there had been some improvements in wage equality in 2018 compared to 2017, when the global gender gap widened for the first time in a decade.
But it warned that these were offset by declining representation of women in politics, coupled with greater inequality in their access to health and education.
At current rates, the global gender gap across a range of areas will not close for another 108 years, while it is expected to take 202 years to close the workplace gap, WEF found.
The Geneva-based organisation's annual report tracked disparities between the sexes in 149 countries across four areas: education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment.
After years of advances in education, health and political representation, women registered setbacks in all three areas this year, WEF said.
Only in the area of economic opportunity did the gender gap narrow somewhat, although there is not much to celebrate, with the global wage gap narrowing to nearly 51 per cent.
And the number of women in leadership roles has risen to 34 per cent globally, WEF said.
At the same time, the report showed there are now proportionately fewer women than men participating in the workforce, suggesting that automation is having a disproportionate impact on jobs traditionally performed by women.
And women are significantly under-represented in growing areas of employment that require science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, WEF said.
* Agence France Presse
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
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