• ‘Urban Fabric’ will be available for viewing at NYU Abu Dhabi’s campus in November
  • This year marks the Award’s tenth edition

Abu Dhabi: Under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Shamsa bint Hamdan Al Nahyan, NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD), in partnership with Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation (ADMAF), has announced the winners of the tenth edition of The Christo and Jeanne-Claude Award 2022. NYUAD sophomore undergraduate students Roudhah Al Mazrouei, an Emirati national, Gerald Jason Cruz from the Philippines, and Jennifer Tsai from Taiwan are the winning artists.

Their submission, titled Urban Fabric, is a series of four sculptures resembling pieces of thread. These forms are intertwined and interlaced into the ground, turning the physical environment around the art piece into a canvas that the thread is woven into, linking each piece together. The installation is designed in a way that encourages interaction as it seeks to create a dynamic and thought-provoking space. It will be available for viewing throughout November at NYUAD’s campus.

The winning trio hail from a diverse range of majors, from Civil Engineering to Arts and Art History. They formed a group to combine their expertise of engineering, visual arts, and architecture to create unique and intricate works of design. Al Mazrouei, Cruz, and Tsai were the recipients of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Art Pavilion Prize where their proposal, Impermanence, was built and exhibited during the Abu Dhabi Art Fair in November 2021.

H.E. Huda I. Alkhamis-Kanoo, Founder of the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation, said: “The Christo & Jeanne-Claude Award is an integral part of ADMAF’s commitment to nurturing creativity and innovation among the nation’s youth. The award is a platform for the UAE’s young artists to exhibit their work and provides guidance and support to help them realise their dreams and ambitions. This year’s winning submission, Urban Fabric, by NYUAD students Roudhah Al Mazrouei, Jason Cruz and Jennifer Tsai represents connection, diversity, and the inclusive nature of our beloved city and we are delighted to partner with NYU Abu Dhabi once more to help bring their unique project to life.”

Executive Director of The NYUAD Art Gallery and the University’s Chief Curator Maya Allison said: “Every year I am impressed by the creativity, inspiration, and initiative demonstrated by young talent during The Christo and Jeanne-Claude Award. This year, we are delighted to have NYUAD students being awarded for an art piece that in their own words embodies the overarching idea of interconnectedness. I love the idea of four sculptures that play with the environment of the site, suggesting landscape itself as a kind of fabric. The decentralized nature of the design connects locations that are far away from each other and yet linked through the fabric that is the city of Abu Dhabi.”

The Christo and Jeanne-Claude Award Director Emily Doherty added: “Christo was committed to supporting the next generation of artists and creative practitioners in the UAE. This year is our tenth edition of the Award and in the spirit of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's legacy, Urban Fabric is a public art installation that can be enjoyed by everyone."

The winning artists have been awarded USD10,000 to complete their installation with the guidance of experts including the Award’s Director Emily Doherty, The NYUAD Art Gallery team, NYUAD’s Visual Arts faculty, and the award team at ADMAF.

The Christo and Jeanne-Claude Award was established a decade ago, to cultivate creativity across the emirates.

For more information visit: https://www.nyuad-artgallery.org/en_US/christo-award/about-christo-and-jeanne-claude/

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About NYU Abu Dhabi

NYU Abu Dhabi is the first comprehensive liberal arts and science campus in the Middle East to be operated abroad by a major American research university. NYU Abu Dhabi has integrated a highly-selective liberal arts, engineering and science curriculum with a world center for advanced research and scholarship enabling its students to succeed in an increasingly interdependent world and advance cooperation and progress on humanity’s shared challenges. NYU Abu Dhabi’s high-achieving students have come from 115 nations and speak over 115 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.

About The NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery

Established in 2014, The NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Art Gallery is the Gulf’s first and only university gallery with a program of scholarly and experimental museum exhibitions. The program seeks to map new territories and ideas through presenting exhibitions by internationally established artists, curators, and scholars at its main space. Its auxiliary venue, the Project Space, is an exhibition laboratory for the university community, and for emerging artists and curators. Situated within NYU Abu Dhabi, the community of which hails from over 115 countries, The Art Gallery organizes free public programs and guided tours in conjunction with its groundbreaking exhibitions. It also produces scholarly publications, which are a core part of its curatorial frame and reflect its academic mission. Collectively, with the Gallery’s Reading Room, these welcoming, intimate spaces open up artistic opportunities and initiate regional and international dialogue.

www.nyuad-artgallery.org

About Christo and Jeanne-Claude

For half a century, internationally acclaimed artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude created highly celebrated works of art around the world. Together, they changed the concept of “public art” by creating temporary works that were truly transitory by design. Jeanne-Claude passed away in November 2009, and Christo sadly died on May 31, 2020.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude never accepted any subsidies, royalties, grants, or sponsorships. They funded all of their temporary public works, and the artists’ income was derived from the sale of original works of art by Christo to museums, galleries, and private collectors. For more information, visit www.christojeanneclaude.net

About the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation

Founded in 1996, ADMAF is one of the oldest, not-for-profit cultural organisations in the Arabian Gulf. Pioneering new artistic practices, it seeks to deepen global cross-cultural dialogue and inspire a renewed interest in the creativity of the UAE and Arab world. Often in partnership with leading national and international institutions, it delivers multidisciplinary initiatives for people of all ages, backgrounds and nationalities through the Abu Dhabi Festival, year-round youth platforms and community programmes.

For more information, please visit www.admaf.org