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- Winners to create 53 fountains to offer fresh drinking water to millions at Expo
- Sabeel 2020 captures UAE spirit and highlights value of water for sustainable living
DUBAI: – Two UAE-based design teams have been selected to showcase their innovative blends of contemporary art and Emirati heritage through creative interpretations of the traditional drinking fountain – sabeel – that will offer fresh drinking water to millions of visitors across the Expo 2020 Dubai site.
The designs, chosen by an international jury as winners of the Sabeel 2020 design contest, were submitted by Architecture + Other Things and design team Faissal El-Malak and Alia Bin Omair. Multidisciplinary firm Tinkah also received an honourable mention in the competition.
Each of the winning teams will receive a prize of AED 100,000, and the designers will have the opportunity to work with worldclass Expo 2020 architects and engineers to adapt their interpretations into 53 fountains across the Expo 2020 site, imaginatively capturing the spirit of the UAE and the region’s cultural values, while highlighting the importance of water for sustainable living.
Launched in July 2019 as part of a collaboration between Expo 2020 and Art Jameel, the Sabeel 2020 initiative called on the regional creative community to submit concepts that reimagine the sabeel – to celebrate a cultural icon in the region and provide fresh drinking water to visitors during the six months of the World’s Greatest Show.
Providing relief to passers-by and travellers and symbolising our collective humanity, the community drinking fountain is a visual marker for the UAE, reflecting the country’s heritage and its spirit of hospitality, tolerance and generosity.
Marjan Faraidooni, Chief Pavilions and Exhibitions Officer at Expo 2020 Dubai, said: “Through the unifying power of water – one of our most precious resources – the innovative and creative designs will shed light on one of the most unique traditions of UAE culture. Sabeel 2020 is also a great opportunity for us to showcase UAE design talent to the world and work with the winning designers to bring their visions to life on an incredible global platform.”
The collaboration between Expo 2020 and Art Jameel aimed to engage designers, architects, artists and other UAE-based creatives, plus international practitioners with a strong connection to the UAE. Through the open call, Expo 2020 received more than 100 proposals.
Seven internationally respected jurors from the world of art, design and architecture, assessed 20 shortlisted submissions based on criteria such as the strength of the concept, both artistically and technically; consideration of the architecture and environment of the site; visitor usability; interpretation of the sabeel concept; and technical and budgetary feasibility.
Antonia Carver, Director at Art Jameel, said: “We’re thrilled and honoured to collaborate with Expo 2020 Dubai to curate Sabeel 2020, and we congratulate this set of talented UAE-based designers on their dynamic reinventions of the drinking water fountain. We also thank our stellar international jury for their time, rigour, and dedication to nurturing the UAE creative scene.
“Art Jameel has a particular interest in water and confluence; Sabeel 2020 is another expression of our commitment to both exploring water as the most precious resource, and to the UAE itself.”
From 20 October 2020 to 10 April 2021, Expo 2020 Dubai will welcome the world to celebrate creativity, innovation and culture. Its theme, ‘Connecting minds, Creating the future’, reflects Expo 2020’s vision for a better future for our planet. With 192 participating countries and an expected 25 million visits, it will be the largest event ever held in the Arab World.
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About Expo 2020 Dubai
Expo 2020 Dubai will bring together millions of people for the World’s Greatest Show, celebrating human brilliance and achievement under the theme ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’.
- The six months from 20 October 2020 to 10 April 2021 will be a moment in time to be part of an unparalleled event. We are extending a warm Emirati welcome to the world:
- 25 million visits are expected, with many visitors expected to come more than once
- 70 per cent of visitors anticipated to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 168-year history of World Expos
- An entertaining global celebration with something for everyone, Expo 2020 will wow visitors with 60 daily events across 173 days, showcasing the best of music, technology, creativity and culture, while 200 F&B outlets will feature famous chefs and cuisine from every corner of the world
- Expo 2020 will be an endless journey of discovery. Visitors will have access to the latest innovations and breakthroughs, with more than 200 participants – including 192 nations, multilateral organisations, businesses and educational institutions – coming together to highlight real-life solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges
- Expo 2020’s sub-themes of Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability will inspire visitors to make a conscious effort to think and live differently, and give them renewed optimism that, through collaboration, it is possible to make a lasting change to the world
- The first World Expo to take place in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) will be located on a 4.38 sqkm site adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
Media are invited to register for access to the Expo 2020 Dubai Media Information System, Tawassul, at https://media.expo2020dubai.com . Tawassul, meaning ‘connect’ in Arabic, is an essential operational tool connecting media to important information and updates on elements such as media accreditation, licences and permits and content assets. If you have not already submitted an expression of interest for media accreditation, please register for Tawassul to access the expression of interest form. For enquiries, email: media.services@expo2020.ae/
Visit: www.expo2020dubai.com
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About World Expos
In 1851 the Crystal Palace was the centrepiece of London’s Great Exhibition – the first World Expo. It celebrated the man-made industrial wonders of a rapidly changing world. Architecture, contents and a theme, ‘Industry of All Nations’, were combined to create a big idea of nations meeting nations in shared technological and commercial progress. In more recent years, participants in World Expos, including governments, international organisations and companies, have gathered to find solutions to universal challenges and to promote their achievements, products, ideas, innovations, their national brand, and their nations as destinations for tourism, trade and investment.
World Expos are held under the auspices of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the intergovernmental organisation responsible for overseeing and regulating international exhibitions (‘Expos’) and for fostering their core values of Education, Innovation and Cooperation. Today, four types of Expos are organised under the BIE’s auspices: World Expos, Specialised Expos, Horticultural Expos and the Triennale di Milano.
About Art Jameel
Art Jameel supports artists and creative communities. Current initiatives include running heritage institutes and restoration programmes, plus a broad range of arts and educational initiatives for all ages. The organisation’s programmes foster the role of the arts in building open, connected communities; at a time of flux and dramatic societal shifts, this role is understood as more crucial than ever. Jameel Arts Centre, an innovative contemporary institution in Dubai, UAE, opened on November 11,
2018; Hayy:Creative Hub, a major complex for the creative industries in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, is set to launch in 2020.
Art Jameel’s model is collaborative: major institutional partners include Delfina Foundation, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Prince’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Locally, the organisation works with individuals and organisations to develop innovative programming that embraces both ancient and new technologies and encourages entrepreneurship and the development of cultural networks.
Art Jameel is positioned alongside Community Jameel and complements its sister organisation’s work in promoting positive social change, job creation and poverty alleviation across the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey
For media enquiries, please contact:
Press Office
On call contact
Email: press.office@expo2020.ae
Tel: +971 56 688 9509
P.O. Box 2020, Dubai, UAE
Rania Moussly | Nora Feidi
ASDA’A BCW
rania.moussly@bm.com | nora.feidi@bm.com
+971 50 5670377 | +971 52 6185723
Dubai Media City, Dubai, UAE
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