Dubai: If you fancy self-expression and street art, why not do it as part of a collective celebration of the UAE’s 43rd National Day and make your way into the record books this Saturday and Sunday (November 29-30)?
Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, has directed the implementation of an art and cultural project in the form of a graffiti or what in pop culture is deemed street art.
The graffiti, which will be called ‘Our Journey’, will depict the country’s rich past, its present achievements and promising future. It will resemble the UAE’s map featuring the seven emirates.
Planned to be the world’s longest graffiti at 2,180 metres — or almost three times the height of the Burj Khalifa — the UAE’s graffiti aims to break the current longest graffiti scroll made in Argentina in September last year. The record is held by Cencosud for the graffiti that measures 1,981 metres, according to the Guinness World Records.
The project is in response to the directives of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to make Dubai an open air gallery that reflects the city’s unique experiment and outstanding achievements.
“‘Our Journey’ is an artistic documentation of UAE’s unity with a contemporary view. A host of the world’s most renowned graffiti artists and most distinguished local artists will participate in the artwork,” Saif Bin Markhan Al Ketbi, Director-General of the Office of the Crown Prince of Dubai, said.
Esmail Al Hashemi, Chairman of the Organising Committee of ‘Our Journey’, said they are expecting around 150 artists to take part in completing the graffiti.
“Once completed, it is expected to enter Guinness World Records as the world’s longest graffiti. The team includes 100 of the world’s finest graffiti artists, 30 Arabian artists and 20 Emirati artists. Moreover, participation is open to the public, especially students,” Al Hashemi said.
The event will take place on November 29 and 30 near Jumeirah Beach Park. The organising committee will also host cultural and recreational events on the same days from 10am to 5pm.
The committee said UAE citizens, residents and visitors are welcome to take part in the celebrations and in painting ‘Our Journey’ under the supervision of qualified artists. Prizes will be awarded to the most beautiful works.
The graffiti will consume over 7,000 spray paint containers, and these receptacles will be used later in another artwork in order to protect the environment.
To learn how to do graffiti, the committee has provided short training sessions on graffiti principles and safety procedures through the website www.U43.ae.
The public may follow the event via Twitter @RehlatnaUAE.
