If you ask Mohammed Abedin what he does, the 26-year-old says he is an urban arts enthusiast, a fan of Asian culture and history, a designer and collector of toys and a lover of games. Even that list fails to adequately describe the full range of his interests.
In November last year, Abedin was named as one of the inaugural candidates for the Abu Dhabi Art UAE Designer Programme, an accolade that will see him design a prototype product that will be unveiled at the capital's art fair later this year. It's a project Abedin manages to balance with his day job as a senior executive for projects and events with the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority.
"Before this I used to work in a bank," Abedin laughs. "But this job fits me perfectly. It's fun to have a job that allows me to be me."
Abedin has curated Art Wars Dubai, an exhibition of 21 pieces of artist-modified Star Wars memorabilia that has just opened in Dubai Mall (see our Oasis on pages 8-9).
"In a way this is a continuation of things I've done before, but it's also a bit nerve-racking. This is a high-profile event and we're dealing with a lot of names and a lot of established people. You have Andrew Ainsworth, the creator of the Star Wars Stormtrooper mask, you have Damien Hirst's helmet that's worth US$100,000 (Dh367,250)coming through, we also have some of the most iconic Emirati artists working on the exhibit."
Despite the workload and the pressure, Abedin has even more projects on the drawing board and sees his ideal job as an opportunity to give something back to Dubai.
"I love this country and I love this city – it's my home – and instead of just doing stuff for myself I want to give something back to the community as well. There's a lot of local talent to represent here and it's an extremely exciting time to be working in the arts."
* Nick Leech
Company%20profile
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
FIXTURES
Thu Mar 15 – West Indies v Afghanistan, UAE v Scotland
Fri Mar 16 – Ireland v Zimbabwe
Sun Mar 18 – Ireland v Scotland
Mon Mar 19 – West Indies v Zimbabwe
Tue Mar 20 – UAE v Afghanistan
Wed Mar 21 – West Indies v Scotland
Thu Mar 22 – UAE v Zimbabwe
Fri Mar 23 – Ireland v Afghanistan
The top two teams qualify for the World Cup
Classification matches
The top-placed side out of Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong or Nepal will be granted one-day international status. UAE and Scotland have already won ODI status, having qualified for the Super Six.
Thu Mar 15 – Netherlands v Hong Kong, PNG v Nepal
Sat Mar 17 – 7th-8th place playoff, 9th-10th place play-off
Biography
Favourite drink: Must have karak chai and Chinese tea every day
Favourite non-Chinese food: Arabic sweets and Indian puri, small round bread of wheat flour
Favourite Chinese dish: Spicy boiled fish or anything cooked by her mother because of its flavour
Best vacation: Returning home to China
Music interests: Enjoys playing the zheng, a string musical instrument
Enjoys reading: Chinese novels, romantic comedies, reading up on business trends, government policy changes
Favourite book: Chairman Mao Zedong’s poems
Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
