Make a life: Jameel Arts Centre hosts Creative Career Days in Dubai

Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer

So, you want to work in the Arts? asks Jameel Arts Centre. The independent institution located in Dubai and dedicated to exhibiting contemporary art to the public and engaging communities through learning, research and commissions, is hosting the UAE’s first annual festival devoted to exploring a career in the arts, in partnership with the UAE Ministry of Education and Ministry of Culture (Oct. 23 – 24).

Programmes will highlight a diverse range of creative career pathways; options in tertiary education, locally and internationally; student and postgraduate open calls, residencies, internships and volunteering opportunities, and more. All sessions are free and open to the public.

It is one of the ways in which Art Jameel, Founder and supporter of the Centre, is assisting youth development and emerging talent in the UAE and the region. Creatively-minded youth — families and teachers also — are welcome to the Centre, located on Jaddaf Waterfront. It will feature more than 35 entities and booths manned by leading arts organisations and universities who will walk attendees through the occasion.

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Creative Careers Days, as the initiative is headlined, gives creatively-minded youth, students (and teachers) an opportunity to meet and discuss (art) ideas with key artists, curators and industry specialists. Inspirational talks, informational workshops – including how to create and pitch your portfolio – and behind-the-scenes-at-the-museum tours, run throughout the event.

Students are invited to join career surgery sessions to receive expert advice and guidance on navigating the creative industries. An additional multimedia research zone features behind-the-scenes videos and resources, while the Jameel Library, championing the event, displays a range of resources on pedagogy and arts education for both students and teachers.

Antonia Carver, Director, Art Jameel.

The programme is supported by the Ministry of Culture and Youth and it features the participation of the Ministry of Culture and Youth UAE, Ministry of Education UAE, Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, Abu Dhabi Art, Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation, Alserkal Initiatives, American University in Dubai, American University of Sharjah, Art Dubai Group, Art Studio at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation, Emirates Literature Foundation, Engage 101, Goethe Institute - Gulf Region, Gulf Photo Plus, Higher Colleges of Technology, Institut Francais des Emirats Arabes Unis, Ishara Art Foundation, Khosh Bosh, Louvre Abu Dhabi, Maraya Art Centre, New York University Abu Dhabi, Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, Sharjah Art Foundation, Tashkeel, The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi, The Foundry, The Institute for Emerging Art, The National Pavilion UAE – La Biennale di Venezia, The NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery, The Salama Bint Hamdan Emerging Artists Fellowship (SEAF), Warehouse 421 and Zayed University plus more.

Antonia Carver, Director, Art Jameel, said that “this coming Sunday-Monday, October 23-24, the Jameel Arts Centre is set to welcome more than 35 arts organisations and universities, and thousands of young people and their families and teachers, to Creative Careers Days – the biggest gathering of its kind to ever happen in the UAE - all spurred by a collective commitment to inspiring and informing the next generation of cultural enthusiasts and professionals.

“We would like to thank the Ministry of Culture and Youth - UAE for their support of this new, annual career fair dedicated to the creative sector – the first such festival in the Middle East - and also the Ministry of Education UAE, Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi and Dubai Culture and Arts Authority for their participation, alongside our colleagues from across the creative industries of the UAE.

“It’s affirming to witness the sheer excitement and dedication across the spectrum, from universities looking to encourage teens to apply for arts degrees, to institutions eager to get to know emerging UAE talent, to the dynamic, creatively-minded youth of the UAE themselves, thirsty to gain knowledge and meet the industry in this ever-growing field.

“With the opening of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi projected for 2025, and with the Dubai Creative Economy Strategy setting out its aims to increase the number of creative and cultural companies and enterprises to 15,000, providing 140,000 jobs by 2026, 2022 feels like the right year to launch this major new event boosting homegrown talent development in the creative industries.”

It has been noted that learning about art is very important to education, because it helps us process the world around us. We begin to think more critically about our surroundings when we create or observe visual art, compose poetry or develop a story to tell.  

Studying art also helps us function more cohesively as a society, since working in the arts collaboratively with others, enables us to see perspectives other than our own. Being exposed to different and perhaps conflicting perspectives of the world, helps people learn about people, places, and ideas that exist outside their silos.

Art education has a very broad scope, and equips one with soft skills. They are transferable, and one can apply them in multiple career paths, such as UX design, communications, or entrepreneurship. The rise of digital art and the benefits it provides can lead one to a viable career and since creative pursuits can become profitable, being an artist could be considered a valuable career, on par with engineering and other professions.

It has been established that students who attended arts field trips make more academic gains and score better. These are the reasons and more why one should make his or her way to Jameel Arts Centre on October 23 – 24.