Art Dubai will offer an array of creative and educational workshops for children and teenageers throughout the four days of the Middle East's biggest art event.

Talented children and teenagers will have a chance to work alongside practising artists with a wide range of workshops led by the renowned Start team. Meanwhile adults will enjoy a range of events, tours, talks and exhibitions designed for both experienced and first-time visitors to the fair.

“Art fairs are an important community event and this is reflected in Art Dubai’s public programme,” said John Martin, director and co-founder of Art Dubai.

“We want to encourage people from all walks of life to attend Art Dubai and understand that the event is more than a chance to view beautiful artworks from all over the world - it is a meeting of minds and a springboard for creativity. It is particularly important for the younger generation to participate in art early in their lives and realise that they have the potential to be the artists of the future, “added Martin.

Open to university students, schools and families, the workshops will cover photography, graffiti, design and large-scale drawing.

With the support of the British Council and Tashkeel, Start have commissioned several artists to lead workshops.

Start was established by Art Dubai and the Al Madad Foundation in 2007 to link child development with arts education, reaching out to refugee and orphaned children in the Middle East.

For an older audience, Art Dubai offers Art Park, the converted car park underneath the galleries at Madinat Jumeirah, which returns for the third year with a range of film screenings, special projects and talks.

Art Park Talks have a focus on the relationship between archives and art, film, music and books.

Art Park’s 2010 agenda will include The Big Idea, a special evening event that sees artists, designers and architects from the UAE and beyond 'pitch' new projects in a dynamic forum of ideas.

Visitors to Art Dubai can also stay updated through the Canvas Daily newspaper. The English-language daily paper will report on the activities of the fair and feature breaking news, exclusive interviews and reviews.-TradeArabia News Service