Marwan Sahmarani, 2010 Abraaj Capital Art ...

Dubai | 28/07/2010

Lebanon’s Marwan Sahmarani Wins Popular Vote in 2010 Abraaj Capital Art Prize.
Famed Lebanese artist Marwan Sahmarani won the popular vote from among the three winners of the 2010 Abraaj Capital Art Prize, the world’s only art prize that rewards artists from the culturally rich and diverse Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region as a single block.
Hundreds of people -- including leading international and regional curators, critics, artists and collectors -- attending Art Dubai and a subsequent exhibition of the Abraaj Capital Art Prize at the Dubai International Financial Centre cast their vote by card, email, SMS or through the Abraaj Capital Art Prize fan-page poll on Facebook.
Almost half picked as their favourite Sahmarani’s The Feast of the Damned, a monumental work which evokes the pain and suffering caused by conflict in the Middle East. Mahita El Bacha Urieta curated.

The other winners of the 2010 Abraaj Capital Art Prize are renowned Algerian artist Kader Attia with Small History of a Myth: The Dome of the Rock -- curated by Laurie Ann Farrell from the United States -- and Egyptian national Hala Elkoussy with The Myths and Legends Room: The Mural, a 9 metre by 3 m (27 feet x 12 ft) collage of specially constructed photographs of contemporary Cairo. Jelle Bouwhuis from the Netherlands curated.

“After the selection committee has made its choice, it is crucial that the public has the opportunity to comment on the prize and its winners, thus giving them a greater sense of involvement in this initiative,” says Frederic Sicre, Executive Director at Abraaj Capital and a member of the Abraaj Capital Art Prize Selection Committee.

“We were overwhelmed by the number of people who voted -- the mass of cards, emails and SMS that flooded in, the fans on Facebook and the followers on Twitter. This clearly shows that the prize, though still in its infancy, is gaining real traction in the region and beyond, and resonating as a prize for the region and of the region.”

Artists typically submit their proposals in October with applications closing in January. Chaired by internationally recognised art-specialist Savita Apte, the selection committee of international and regional art experts deliberates long and hard before making its choice. Working in secret, artists then have roughly six months to create the works before they are unveiled in March at Art Dubai.

So far, there have been two editions of the Abraaj Capital Art Prize. The 2010 works will next exhibit at the Museum of Arts & Design in New York from August 31.

More info: http://www.abraaj.com/acap