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10th edition of Sikka Art and Design Festival runs 15 to 24 March

Under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) and member of Dubai Council, the Authority has announced the program for the 10th edition of the Sikka Art and Design Festival, which will take place from March 15 to 24, 2022. Organized under the theme “Celebrating Art, Celebrating Growth,” the festival will present a series of unique creative events and activities in the historic Al Fahidi neighborhood.

This year’s festival, which celebrates its 10th anniversary, is being held under the new umbrella of the Sikka Art and Design Platform, which is designed to support the professional growth of emerging creative talents. The works presented this year have been chosen to create a compelling narrative of the festival’s journey over the past decade.

The Sikka Art and Design Festival is the flagship event of Dubai Art Season (DAS), an annual comprehensive art celebration organized by Dubai Culture in February and March to celebrate the emirate’s growing creative and cultural landscape. Dubai Art Season brings together a variety of creative events and activities in public spaces, as well as art projects, interactive initiatives, workshops, exhibitions, discussion sessions and performing arts.

This year’s Sikka Art & Design Festival exemplifies the growing dynamism of Dubai’s art scene, which has become a force to be reckoned with on the global cultural map. There is a new creative energy in the city’s arts sector, driven by intense investment and support for cultural development in the emirate.

Her Excellency Hala Badri, CEO of Dubai Culture, said: “Through the Sikka Art and Design Festival, we aim to provide local and regional artists with a unique opportunity to present their work to a wide local and international audience in Dubai under the supervision of experts. This reflects our mission to attract, inspire and encourage up-and-coming talent to succeed, which in turn will further strengthen Dubai’s position as a global cultural center, an incubator of creativity, a thriving center of talent and a global capital of the creative economy.”

Badri said the concept for this year’s new visual style of Sikka is based on its most important element, the people, and the community of tenants, artists and visitors.

“This year, visitors will enjoy a variety of activities that include visual arts, theater, music, film and singing, featuring young talent from the UAE and the GCC. We invite art lovers to visit the festival and experience the wide variety of art and design,” Al Badri added.

The 10-day festival will feature emerging Emirati and UAE artists presenting artworks that interpret the theme of the event in unique and creative ways. Three houses in the historic Al Fahidi neighborhood have been set aside for this purpose. The festival will also feature an exhibition titled “NFT Space,” curated by Giuseppe Moscatello.

The festival will be open to visitors daily from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays, from 2 p.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday and from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Sunday.

To keep up with announcements and other details, follow the official Sikka Art and Design Festival Instagram account @sikkaplatform.

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