Business & Money | Sunday 7 June, 2015 7:05 am |

Art Jameel, in Partnership with the Crossway Foundation, Launches Competition to find 18-25 year-old Creatives. Winners Invited To Japan in November.
4 June 2015, Dubai UAE | Art Jameel and the Crossway Foundation are pleased to announce their partnership on the Jameel Journey to Japan 2015. The two organisations are launching a competition to find talented young artists, designers, photographers and filmmakers to win the creative journey of a lifetime to Japan.

This year’s competition is open to 18-25 year old nationals and residents of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and the United Kingdom. Eight winners will have the opportunity to travel to Japan in November 2015 where they will experience one of the most inspiring cultures in the world.

Kuwaiti visual artist, Dr Monira Al Qadiri, has been appointed Artistic Lead on this project. She says: “It has always been my dream to share my knowledge and experience of Japanese art and culture with younger practitioners from the region. Being in Japan can stimulate the mind of any artist in a myriad of ways, and this journey can become a gateway to endless sources of inspiration for years to come.”

To mark the online launch of the competition, Art Jameel and the Crossway Foundation have commissioned an exclusive online trailer celebrating contemporary and traditional Japanese culture. The trailer can be viewed here: https://vimeo.com/129001902

The application form on the Crossway Foundation website will open on 2 June 2015: www.crossway-foundation.org. Applicants must submit a creative project that relates to the theme: ‘Encounters with another World’ (the project can either be pre-existing artwork or devised especially for the competition).

Imogen Ware, Managing Director of the Crossway Foundation says: “Discovering new and unfamiliar ‘worlds’ can greatly enrich the creative process. Whether these new worlds exist in a different country, within your local community, in the maze of the Internet, or even simply inside your own mind, their physical shape is of little importance. What is important, however, is to allow yourself to look outside the everyday and find new territories in which to plant and nurture your imagination.”

Fady Jameel, President of Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiatives (ALJCI) International, says: “This initiative marks Art Jameel’s commitment to making a meaningful investment in the next generation of creative talent in the Gulf. It is also timely because it marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Distributor Agreement between ALJ and Toyota.”

COMPETITION WEBSITE: WWW.CROSSWAY-FOUNDATION.ORG
TRAILER: https://vimeo.com/129001902
Website: www.artjameel.aljci.org
Facebook: Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiatives | Crossway Foundation
Instagram: @ALJ_CI | @CrosswayUK
Twitter: @ALJCI | @CrosswayUK #JOURNEYTOJAPAN2015 | #ARTJAMEEL | #ALJCI


ART JAMEEL
Art Jameel, one of the Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiatives, fosters and promotes contemporary art and creative entrepreneurship across the MENAT region. In partnership with arts organisations worldwide, Art Jameel is developing two arts centres and cultural exchange programmes to encourage networking and knowledge sharing. In partnership with the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, it awards the biannual Jameel Prize for contemporary art and design inspired by Islamic traditions. Additional projects include: Art Jameel Photography Award; Jeddah Sculpture Museum, a public park established in collaboration with Jeddah Municipality; Art Jameel Olympics, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia; and Art Jameel Programme for Traditional Arts and Crafts in Fustat, Egypt, in collaboration with the Prince’s School of Traditional Arts.
ALJCI was established in 2003 to promote positive social change through the establishment of long-term partnerships with international institutions, and the creation of initiatives in the fields of Job Creation – Bab Rizq Jameel; Global Poverty Alleviation; Arts and Culture – Art Jameel; Education and Training – Education Jameel; and Health and Social – Social Jameel. For further information, please visit www.aljci.org


CROSSWAY FOUNDATION
The Crossway Foundation is a UK-based charitable foundation delivering arts and education initiatives for young people in the Middle East and the UK. The Foundation focuses on delivering international creative journeys for young people, as well as running a public programme that is free and open to all.
The Crossway Foundation has been delivering life-changing journeys since 2007, working with young artists in Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan and Malaysia. www.crossway-foundation.org

MONIRA AL QADIRI
Monira is a Kuwaiti visual artist born in Senegal (1983) and educated in Japan. In 2010, she received a Ph.D. in inter-media art from Tokyo University of the Arts, where her research was focused on the aesthetics of sadness in the Middle-East region stemming from poetry, music, art and religious practices. She is also part of the artist collective GCC, who has recently held a solo exhibition at MoMA PS1 in New York (2014). www.moniraalqadiri.com

OFFICIAL AIRLINE PARTNER
ETIHAD AIRWAYS
Etihad Airways is the Abu Dhabi-based national airline of the United Arab Emirates. Created in 2003, the airline now flies to 63 destinations in Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, the Middle East and North America, operating a fleet of 53 of the most modern, environmentally-efficient aircraft. Etihad employs more than 8000 members of staff from more than 120 nationalities. www.etihadairways.com