Concours artportchallenge

“Showcase your artwork at Open Air Museum at Abu Dhabi International Airport” A partnership between Abu Dhabi Airport Company, the Institut français in United Arab Emirates, BB Media, and JCDecaux Middle East and Africa

As part of the UAE 50^th anniversary celebrations, the Abu Dhabi Airport Company, the Institut français in the UAE, BB Media and JCDecaux Middle East and Africa have joined forces to showcase local cultural creation by launching a call to graphic creation open to all people. For the first time in the world, amateur and professional artists are given the unique opportunity to exhibit their art in all the advertising billboards of a major international airport.

Through this unique initiative, the partners wanted to emphasize and support cultural life in Abu Dhabi, by transforming Abu Dhabi International Airport into a first-of-its-kind open-air museum, using JCDecaux’s outdoor advertising billboards.

The public was asked to create state-of-the-art visuals answering the question: “How will we travel in the future?”.  The competition inspired many applicants from across the UAE. The nine laureates include three children (6-12 year old), three teenagers (12-18 year old) and three adults.

The nine winners are rewarded by the exhibition of their work of art on the 70 outdoor advertising billboards of the Abu Dhabi International Airport, one of the most iconic landmarks of the UAE’s capital, from 14 July until the end of August 2021. A ceremony was held today, 14 July, at the Abu Dhabi International Airport.

The selection board was composed of H.E Xavier Chatel, Ambassador of France to the UAE; Shareef Al Hashmi, Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi Airports; Martin Sabbagh, Chief Executive Officer of JCDecaux Middle East and Africa; and Abdun Najeeb, Managing Director of BB Media. The board also included three art experts: the Emirati artist Afra Al Dhaheri, the Dubai-based street-artist eL Seed; and Olivier Peyricot, designer at La Cité du Design (The City of Design) at Saint-Etienne, France.

Through this competition, the four partners encouraged the local creation and development of artistic skills. They also wanted to celebrate the UAE’s 50^th anniversary and its long–term vision, by creating a major cultural event.