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- Since its launch a year ago, ‘Numoo’ has been helping the advancement of performing artists while developing the UAE arts ecosystem
Abu Dhabi: The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) has announced the second edition of the artists development initiative, Numoo, a three-week intensive program to foster the growth of performing artists in the UAE, and contribute to the development of the nation’s arts ecosystem.
Numoo is supported by a grant from the U.S. Mission to the UAE, and is running from June through September 2023. The program aims to nurture artists’ professional skills as well as advance the goals that were set by the UAE Ministry of Culture and Youth in line with the International Year of Creative Industry and the Sustainable Development.
The participating UAE-based artists come from diverse backgrounds and artistic experiences. From poets to musicians, dancers, choreographers, writers, and theater makers, this international group will be exposed to professionals in the field and will be trained in different skills to foster a comprehensive understanding of the arts field in the UAE and beyond.
The 2023 cohort of artists, all based in the UAE, are:
- Salma Abdelaziz
- Safeya Alblooshi
- Noush Anand
- Palm B
- Miguel Destino
- Fahras
- Jindi
- Ayah Mukhalati
- Lillian Castillo Muller
- Shereen Saif
Selected through a mix of nominations and an open call application followed by a collaborative evaluation process, the cohort will receive guidance from The Arts Center staff, invited international arts professionals, and one another. As part of the program, they will also engage with The Arts Center’s public performances and attend Off the Stage workshops and panels. Participants reflect varying degrees of professional experience, with a shared long-term interest in contributing to the UAE’s artistic scene.
The program is tailored toward professional skills and process, rather than being product oriented. Numoo strives to have each artist grow professionally and to build a sustainable artistic community, better enabling them to bring their work to the public in the UAE and further afield.
Executive Artistic Director at The Arts Center Bill Bragin said: “At The Arts Center we are committed to promoting and nurturing the local artistic and cultural scene, fostering an environment where creativity flourishes and where arts and culture can have a positive impact within our society. We believe in the immense talent of UAE-based artists, and Numoo is a platform that realizes in the best possible way our dedication towards supporting the young artists’ journeys, helping them showcase their talents and develop their professional skills to become internationally recognized forces in their respective fields.
“More widely, we actively engage in international collaborations, hosting renowned exhibitions, festivals, and cultural events that attract artists and enthusiasts from around the world. Through these exchanges, we not only expose our local talents to global influences but also showcase the UAE’s rich heritage, fostering intercultural understanding and dialogue.”
The U.S. Embassy’s Counselor for Public Affairs Robin Solomon said: “We are thrilled to sponsor the professional development of these talented individuals and contribute to the UAE’s impressive vision for its cultural and creative industry, one cohort at a time, through Numoo. The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi models the best of American cultural expertise and experience in the performing arts, and we look forward to following these artists’ growth as they make their mark in the UAE and expand cultural partnerships with the United States.”
Curriculum course elements include topics such as defining and communicating an artistic vision; project management and budgeting; rights, royalties, and intellectual property; contracts and negotiation; working with technical production, and touring.
Artist biographies
Salma Abdelaziz
All the way from Cairo to the UAE, Salma Abdelaziz is a trilingual singer, rapper and songwriter who experiments with mixing genres such as Rnb and pop. Her music is strongly tied to storytelling as she takes the audience on an emotional journey through her lyrics, creating an environment for relatability and enjoyment. Similarly, through her film work as a writer, director and producer recently graduated from NYUAD, Abdelaziz merges visual storytelling with music to express her strong passion for advocacy and creativity. She wrote, composed, and recorded her own adaptation of Felukah’s “Mesh Hastana” in her most recent Egyptian short film A’ib-TOK, which she concluded with her powerful song.
Safeya Alblooshi
Safeya Alblooshi is a sound artist who experiments in the realms of found sounds and participatory performance to engage with topics of conceptual narrative, environmental listening and interactivity in performance. Her sound work and collaborations extend to being presented and performed at various venues and cultural institutions in the UAE, such as EXPO 2020 Dubai, the Louvre Abu Dhabi, Alserkal Avenue, Jameel Arts Center and the Sharjah Arts Foundation, as well as internationally at the IRCAM Forum (New York), and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival (Washington DC). Currently, Alblooshi is a Research Assistant under the Kawader Fellowship with the Music and Sound Cultures Research Group at NYUAD, where she also completed her BA in Music with a minor in Interactive Media in 2021. Outside of research and music, she likes to organise gatherings for the sound community in the UAE and is currently working on a zine that focuses on sound art in the UAE across time.
Noush Anand
Noush Anand is an interdisciplinary artist residing in Dubai since 1984. Her practice includes music, video, theatre, and sound. She is a performing musician under the stage name Noush Like Sploosh and has produced performance work in Dubai and Montreal. She holds an MFAIA (Performance Concentration) from Goddard College, Vermont, and currently teaches Experimental Film at the American University of Sharjah.
Palm B
Performing from the roots of writing and literature, Palm B now performs lyrics with meaning and depth, accompanying instrumentals provided by a range of producer styles. Ranging from spoken word to mellow jazz, from lofi beats to hip-hop, Palm B produces content within the genre of conscious rap; at times solo, or by collaboration. He has produced over 30 singles within his arsenal, and over the span of five years he has touched the hearts of a wide audience demographic in Abu Dhabi.
Miguel Destino
Miguel Destino is an independent musician from the UAE. Often describing himself as a flamenco guitarist, his latest album The Wolf’s Howl showcased a wide range of experience and influences. Perhaps the most innovative aspect of his music is the infusion of flamenco with Arabic oud music. The result is a unique style, which he set out to create many years ago when friends suggested that he play Arabic music on guitar to appeal to the local audience.
Fahras
Fahras is an aspiring music producer who is working to bridge Khaleeji percussions and sounds with electronic music production. Harnessing a wide and eclectic library of samples he has collected over the years, Fahras hopes to work with emerging local talent to create unique Khaleeji soundscapes informed by the environment and culture of the region.
Jindi
Jindi is building a bridge through his rhythmic Afro-Sudanese style of music. From his debut dance hall single “By your Side” to his versatile debut EP, 1995, Jindi has proven his diversity by delivering world sounds over the past years from pop, funk, reggae, and dancehall to afrobeat. The award-winning singer-songwriter has enjoyed success in the Gulf and North African region. The “FIYA FIYA FIYA” artist has been coming up with cross-cultural records such as “Midnight Love” Featuring the legendary Zimbabwean artist Mc Smylie, and his latest release titled “HASSA” produced by Africa’s giant producer, MasterKraft. Jindi’s collaborations span different regions from the Middle East and Africa to the Caribbean, delivering world-inspired sounds.
Lillian Castillo Muller
A Mexican artist of German descent based in Abu Dhabi, Muller experiments with the body, somatics, sounds and images. She articulates between the senses, action and reactivity, creating immersive worlds. Muller draws on philosophical and social themes as inspiration with her art practice, showing a deep interest in improvisation processes to ignite a multiplicity of interpretations from the audience. She earned a Bachelor in Contemporary Dance and continued dancing in Europe and Latin America. Her specialized training in Pilates, Yoga, the Franklin Method and biomechanics boosts her awareness of bodily movements.
Ayah Mukhalalati
Ayah Mukhalalati is a professional dancer, choreographer, and dance teacher based in Abu Dhabi. She started dancing at the age of three and had rigorous training in classical ballet, contemporary, lyrical, modern, jazz, and hip-hop, continuing her training in the United Kingdom. Her commitment to the art form extends beyond the stage, as she passionately shares her expertise through teaching and her YouTube channel, reaching thousands of aspiring dancers in the Arab world. Her high levels of passion and creativity towards dance has made her a sought-after choreographer and teacher in the region.
Shereen Saif
Shereen Saif is an Indian-born, UAE-bred, multi-disciplinary artist with a practice that spans dance, theatre, storytelling and conceptual art. She is an Indian classical dancer conversant in Bharatanatyam, Mohiniyattam, and Kathak, and her craft as an actor draws from her training in India at Natanakairali and Adishakti Laboratory for Theatre Art Research. An alumna of the Salama bint Hamdan Emerging Artists Fellowship (SEAF, 2021-22), Saif is a founding member of Star Too, Dubai’s first experimental theatre project, and was an artist collaborator in Trance-Forms, an initiative of the Emirati-French Cultural Programme: Dialogue with the Louvre Abu Dhabi.
About The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi
Presenting music, theater, dance, film and interdisciplinary performances that defy definition, The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi is a performing arts center that presents distinguished professional artists from around the world alongside student, faculty, and community productions. The Arts Center draws on the resources of NYUAD to create a dynamic space for research, investigation, and the active pursuit of knowledge and wisdom for audiences as well as visiting artists.
About NYU Abu Dhabi
www.nyuad.nyu.edu
NYU Abu Dhabi is the first comprehensive liberal arts and research campus in the Middle East to be operated abroad by a major American research university. NYU Abu Dhabi has integrated a highly selective program with majors in the sciences, engineering, social sciences, arts, and humanities with a world center for advanced research. Its campus enables students to succeed in an increasingly interdependent world, and to advance cooperation and progress on humanity’s shared challenges. NYU Abu Dhabi’s high-achieving students have come from some 125 countries and speak over 100 languages. Together, NYU's campuses in New York, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai form the backbone of a unique global university, giving faculty and students opportunities to experience varied learning environments and immersion in other cultures at one or more of the numerous study-abroad sites NYU maintains on six continents.
For more information please visit: http://www.nyuad-artscenter.org. The Arts Center at NYUAD is an internationally renowned performing arts center that presents distinguished professional artists from around the world alongside student, faculty, and community productions.
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