Consolidating the values and principles of the late Sheikh Zayed in the minds and souls of future generations in the UAE 

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 02 April 2018:   Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), the Emirate’s dedicated entity for culture, arts and heritage, has supported the ‘Zayed Painting Contest 2018’, which was launched by Infinity Event Management and aims to assemble student contributions from 100 schools across the UAE. One winning painting was selected from each school and entered a grand competition, which included a total of 100 paintings.

The contest reflects the values of the ‘Year of Zayed 2018’ initiative by educating students and creating a higher level of understanding about the life of the late His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the Founding Father of the UAE, on the occasion of his centennial birthday. The contest also encourage emerging artists by allowing them to present their work to the general public and a wider audience that is interested in the UAE’s artistic landscape.

Khalil Abdulwahid, Acting Director of Fine Arts Department at Dubai Culture, commented: “Our support of the ‘Zayed Painting Contest 2018’ is aligned with our mission to encourage emerging talent and create opportunities for their work, especially as it is based on an honourable national goal — to highlight the values and achievements of the father and founder of the UAE, the late Sheikh Zayed. Additionally, we wanted to strengthen our relationship with the private sector to support the UAE’s growing artistic and cultural landscape.'

The winning paintings will be presented through a special art exhibition that will be held for six days in Dubai. Upon the contestants’ completion of the artworks, the paintings will be collected for publication in a book to congratulate the talents for what they have created and promote their creativity across the nation. 

Dubai Culture aims to enhance Dubai’s cultural scene and draw attention to the Emirate’s rich heritage with a variety of initiatives that take place throughout the year. The Authority’s mandate is to build bridges of constructive dialogue between different civilisations and cultures through enriching initiatives that benefit the Emirate’s citizens, residents and visitors.