It’s a riot of remarkability. A medley of music. A cascade of creativity. Say hello to the Sikka Art Fair.
It’s being organized on the fringe of Art Dubai by Dubai Culture in cooperation with the Jam Jar. The PR and promotional material says it “will feature artworks by upcoming Emirati and UAE-based artists, galleries, and institutions, and is open for the public.”
A press release quotes Dr Salah Al Qassim, Advisor to Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, as saying: “Over the years, Emirati and local artists have created a rich artistic heritage in Dubai. With the Sikka Art Fair, the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority is creating a robust new platform that showcases their creativity, thus opening doors for them to a wider audience.”
Brilliant. Just what we’ve all been screaming all along.
Sikka’s already started. It kicked off on Saturday the 12th of March, at Bastakiya. If you haven’t been, don’t fret it, for activities run till the 21st, pretty much non-stop.
I’m involved in a couple of events. On the 15th, the Poeticians, curated by Hind Shoufani, are going to be reciting loud and proud in the Bastakiya area. The agenda is somewhat different this time around – less doom, gloom and ideologies going boom; more crowd-pleasing, light airy, populist stuff.
In honour of the occasion, I’m trotting out the guitar, which I can barely play, to accompany some classical poems of the funny, whimsical or downright depressing sort. Haven’t decided yet.
On the 16th, I’m taking the Art Bus to Sharjah, and shall be tweeting all the sights and sounds from there. I’ll be using the hashtag #ArtBus to spam all your timelines. Be warned.
And this year, not only are the Art Buses heading to destinations cultural, they’re also looking spiffy while doing it. Emirati artists Zeinab Al Shamsi, Sheikha Bin Thaher and Saeed Al-Madani have had their creative way with the buses’ exteriors. Very avant garde, very chic.
Then on Saturday the 19th, I’m taking part in a panel on Social media and art, at 12:30 noon. Others on the panel include Alexander Mcnabb of SpotOn and Geekfest fame, Hind Mezaina of the Culturalist blog, Rachael from the Jam Jar, and a couple of others. I hope there’s fisticuffs, or at least a noonday shootout. There’s almost certain to be.
Here’s a list of Sikka performances as a rough guide:
Sat 12th: Noush Like Sploosh
Sun 13th: Neel Patkar & Rami Kayyali Duo
Mon 14th: Mussallam Varela Amarshi Trio
Tues 15th: The Poeticians
Wed 16th: Behold the Locus
Thurs 17th: As per Casper, and Chris Ryan (busking)
Fri 18th: Dubai Drama Group - Plays about Dubai
Sat 19th: Jam Session with Nabil, Gayathri, Chris, Noush, Neel, Rami, Noura Sedaka
Sun 20th: People playing music
Mon 21st: Gayathri & Manjit
Sikka Art Fair updates can also be found from the imaginatively named twitter account @SikkaArtFair. So what are you lot waiting for? Sikka it to them!
You make it sound like awesome fun! I’m regretting not staying to see some of the performances.
Sounds like it was awesome fun! Wish I’d stayed to see some of the performances now.
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