Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), the emirate’s dedicated entity for culture, arts and heritage, has successfully concluded Sikka Art Fair 2018, which was attended by a record number of over 45,000 visitors, and saw more than 1,500 people participating in over 50 workshops.  

 

The eighth edition of the fair was inspired by the ‘Year of Zayed’ and held under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice chairman of Dubai Culture, from March 17 to 26 at Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood.

 

Following the success of this edition, Dubai Culture has also announced that Sikka will host year-long activities through ‘Sikka Around The City’ initiative, extending the fair’s programme beyond its official home of Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood.

 

Saeed Al Nabouda, acting director general at Dubai Culture, commented: “The eighth edition of Sikka Art Fair was particularly momentous as it coincided with the ‘Year of Zayed’, taking inspiration from the late Founding Father’s belief in cultural diversity, human development and advocacy through the arts. During this important year, the fair united the community under his values, fulfilled our mandate to provide platforms where local talent can flourish and grow, and brought happiness to all segments of society in line with our government’s vision of making Dubai the happiest city in the world. It was the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan who planted the seed for this vision and we are proud to be continuing his legacy.”

 

He added: “Year on year, we have also been proud to see that Sikka Art Fair not only generates a high level of regional interest, but goes beyond to attract international art enthusiasts and talents. This is the result of our ongoing efforts to grow SIKKA Art Fair on a regional and global level each year in line with our vision of establishing Dubai as a global, creative, and sustainable city for culture, heritage, arts and literature, and strengthening these sectors to bring happiness to our society.”

 

Sikka Art Fair is the flagship event of Dubai Art Season and the largest contemporary artist-led fair in the region to commission new works from Emirati, UAE and GCC talents. This year, the fair further strengthened the culture, heritage, arts and literature sectors with a rich series of new partnerships and initiatives, and also welcomed more than 20 Champions of Happiness from Smart Dubai in line with its mission to spread joy throughout the community, as well as a number of VIP guests.  – TradeArabia News Service