• Drawing on the Expo 2020 subthemes of Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability, Sabeel 2020 will produce uniquely- and innovatively-designed drinking fountains for the Expo 2020 Dubai site and its legacy
  • The neighbourhood drinking fountain is a visual marker for the UAE, reflecting the country’s heritage and spirit of hospitality, tolerance and generosity
  • UAE-based designers, architects, artists and creatives – or those abroad with strong connections to the UAE – are invited to submit their designs via an open call, launched today, with a deadline of August 31, 2019●      An internationally renowned jury will select and award up to three winning designs●      A sabeel is a community drinking fountain that provides relief to passers-by and travellers, and that symbolises our collective humanity

Dubai: Art Jameel, an organisation that supports heritage, education and the arts, today announces an open call for proposals to Sabeel 2020, an Expo 2020 Dubai initiative. Designers, architects, artists and other UAE-based creatives, plus international practitioners with a strong connection to the UAE, are invited to submit designs for innovative drinking fountains, inspired by the tradition and spirit of the sabeel.

An internationally renowned jury will select a winning design(s), to be mass-produced for the Expo 2020 site and its legacy. A sabeel is a neighbourhood kiosk or fountain where water is dispensed to travellers and passers-by, at crossroads, in city squares and outside mosques.

Drawing from the Expo 2020 Dubai theme of Connecting Minds, Creating the Future, and its subthemes of Opportunity, Mobility and Sustainability, Sabeel 2020 is an opportunity for UAE-based creatives to design a new icon, one that is set to be a key feature of Expo 2020 and its legacy. The winning design – a new sabeel for 2020 and beyond – will enable visitors to Expo 2020 to access fresh drinking water. The project serves to remind us of the nature of water as a shared precious resource.

Up to three winning designs will be selected by the appointed jury, with Expo 2020 offering AED 100,000 in prize money to each winner. The winner(s) will see their fountain design developed and reproduced across the Expo 2020 district (with more than 45 fountains set to feature on site). Registration for the open call opens today and closes on August 31, 2019.

The esteemed jury, set with the task of selecting the winning design(s), includes: Asif Khan MBE, the London-based key architect of the arrival plazas and concourses in Expo 2020’s public realm; Christopher Turner, Keeper of Design, Architecture and Digital at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Hani Asfour, Dean at Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation (DIDI), Dubai Design District; Manal Ataya, Director General, Sharjah Museums Authority; Marjan Faraidooni, Chief Pavilions and Exhibitions Officer at Expo 2020 Dubai; Nasser Abulhasan, Principal at Kuwait- and Spain-based AGi architects; and Shumon Basar, a Dubai- and Berlin-based writer and curator.

Marjan Faraidooni, Chief Pavilions and Exhibitions Officer, Expo 2020 Dubai, said: “Water is one of our most precious resources and the traditional sabeel water fountains are key features of the UAE’s public spaces, reflecting the important role that shared water sources play in the prosperity and connection of our communities. The fountains provide a source of comfort for passers-by, especially during hot weather conditions.

“Sabeel 2020 is an exciting initiative that is bringing this feature to the Expo 2020 site by inviting the UAE’s creative community to reimagine the traditional sabeel. Through this initiative we aim to show our visitors an important part of our culture and heritage, while at the same time honouring our shared humanity.”

Sabeel 2020 was devised to create a universally recognisable symbol for the UAE that is representative of its rich history of hospitality, tolerance and generosity. Visitors to Expo 2020 from both the UAE and abroad should be able to recognise the Sabeel 2020 fountains for their emblematic design and nature.

Fady Mohammed Jameel, Chairman and Founder of Art Jameel, said: “Art Jameel is delighted to collaborate with Expo 2020 Dubai in a curatorial capacity to realise this dynamic project – a major opportunity for UAE-based designers, architects and artists that also creates a moment of reflection on one of the key concerns of our time. From the Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab at MIT through to the positioning of Jameel Arts Centre on the Dubai Creek, an interest in, respect and concern for water flows through our global philanthropy programme.”

Art Jameel is serving in a curatorial and project management capacity for this initiative. Interested applicants can access the Sabeel 2020 brief here and the online application form here.

Alongside this open call competition aimed at designers, architects and creatives, the Sabeel 2020 programme also includes three commissioned public sculptures that act as drinking fountains, created by UAE-based artists; the selected artists and their works will be announced alongside the competition winners in November 2019.

-Ends-

More on Sabeel 2020 here.
For more information, visit www.artjameel.org and www.expo2020dubai.com and join the conversation:
Press Enquiries
Faisal El-Tannir
faisal@rpr.ae
+971 58 500 1796

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.

About Expo 2020 Dubai
Expo 2020 Dubai is guided by the belief that innovation and progress are the result of people and ideas combining in new ways. For six months from 20 October 2020, Expo will bring together 192 countries and millions of people to celebrate human ingenuity: ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’.

  • During the six months from 20 October 2020 to 10 April 2021, we expect to welcome 25 million visits
  • About 70 per cent of all visitors are anticipated to come from outside the UAE – the largest proportion of international visitors in Expo history
  • We aim to create and deliver an inclusive and global Expo with more than 200 participants, including nations, multilateral organisations, businesses and educational institutions
  • Expo 2020 also has an ambitious volunteer programme, which aims to include more than 30,000 volunteers from a wide range of ages, nationalities, cultures and backgrounds
  • The Expo site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area. It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
  • Expo 2020 Dubai is the first World Expo to take place in the MEASA (Middle East, Africa and South Asia) region
© Press Release 2019

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