STYLE Edit: Inside the Richard Mille Art Prize ‘Art Here 2022’ – the Swiss watchmaker will award US$60,000 to the winning Middle Eastern artist, with entries on display at the Louvre Abu Dhabi

Dec 28 , 2022

Artist Zeinab Alhashemi. Photo: Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi

Richard Mille is aiming to foster dialogue between local art scenes and the international community as the brand sits ‘at the intersection of watchmaking tradition, art, design and architecture’

This year, artists Ayman Zedani, Dana Awartani and Zeinab Alhashemi shine the spotlight on the region’s environmental, conservation and heritage issues through their works

The second Richard Mille Art Prize “Art Here 2022” will award US$60,000 to the winning artist chosen from a shortlist based in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) group of countries.

Inaugurated in 2021, the art event aims to bring together contemporary talent in the Middle East, starting last year with UAE-based artists and now extending its reach to the pan-regional GCC with a boost in prize money. Last year’s US$50,000 award was claimed by Bahraini-American artist Nasser Alzayani for his installation Watering the Distant, Deserting the Near (2021).

The artists are: Afra Al Dhaheri (Emirati, based in UAE), Aymen Zaydani (Saudi, based in KSA), Dana Awartani (Saudi-Palestinian, based in KSA), Elizabeth Dorazio (Brazilian, based in UAE), Manal Al Dowayan (Saudi, based in KSA), Rand Abdul Jabbar (Iraqi, based in UAE), Shaikha Al Mazrou (Emirati, based in UAE), Simrin Mehra Agarwal (Indian, based in UAE), Vikram Divecha (Indian, based in UAE), Zaineb Al Hashemi (Emirati, based in UAE). Photo: Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi

“Richard Mille has always sat at the intersection of watchmaking tradition, art, design and architecture,” said Peter Harrison, CEO, Richard Mille EMEA. “This season, we foster unprecedented dialogue between the richly nuanced local art scenes of the GCC and the international community.”

The theme of “Art Here 2022” explores the notion of “icon” and “iconic” with 10 works currently displayed within the Forum space of the Louvre Abu Dhabi until February 19, 2023. The prizewinner will be chosen by a five-person jury panel of renowned art collectors, curators and critics.

Inside the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Photo: Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi

Gulf artists shine the spotlight on the region’s current environmental, conservation and heritage issues through their works. Ayman Zedani from Saudi Arabia addresses climate change and the loss of biodiversity in his piece Between Desert Seas (2021). The immersive audio installation is inspired by the language and songs of the genetically distinct and critically endangered Arabian humpback whales.

Fellow Saudi artist Dana Awartani created an installation of earthen tiles made to look like the traditional geometric tile work commonly found in the Middle Eastern world. Titled Standing by the Ruins (2022) the artist has manipulated the manufacturing process such that the tiles can easily deteriorate throughout its exhibition, bringing the viewer into the work as a participant in its slow destruction, evoking the poignant disappearance of the Middle East’s built heritage.

Louvre Abu Dhabi plays host to Art Now 2022. Photo: Hufton+Crow

Echoing the theme of urbanisation, Dubai artist Zeinab Alhashemi captures the rapid transformation of the UAE during its industrial boom in her site-specific monument Camouflage: The Fourth Pillar (2022), a lone metal pillar covered in hides inspired by camels in a desert within a backdrop of industrialisation.

Want more stories like this? Follow STYLE on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.