Plans to stage the world's biggest ever art competition in Dubai could see the Emirate firmly placed at the centre of the international arts scene

By Alex Phillips
Pictures by Dino Metropoulis

By this time next year Dubai could be as well known in the arts world as it is in the sporting arena if American artist Professor John Dishman has his way. His idea is to stage the world's biggest art competition in the emirate for professional artists with a massive one million dollars in commission prize money - and it won't cost the government a penny!

If it comes off the Dubai Millennium International Arts Prize will be the talking point in the arts world for years and is sure to go down in the history books as the world's biggest ever competition. The idea is simple - ask ten major companies in Dubai to each contribute $100,000 making a cool one million dollars available to commission ten top pieces of art which would then form the basis of a major art collection for the emirate.

Judged by major artists and critics selected from both the west and east ten artists would receive $100,000 for a commissioned piece which would then be exhibited, along with all the other works, in a huge exhibition in Dubai. Dishman believes that the lure of the massive prize money and the chance of exhibiting in the world's largest competition for professional artists would attract many of the top figures in the art world and would firmly place Dubai at the centre of the international arts scene.

And the idea is not as far-fetched as it may seem. Already Dishman has at least two of the ten companies lined up and waiting for the go-ahead. He's now working hard to get eight more businesses to sign up and then his dream will begin to take shape.

The Dubai Millennium International Arts Prize is not the only turn of the century arts project Dishman is involved with. He is also one of the UAE judges of the Winsor and Newton Worldwide Millennium Painting Competition which offers a total of sterling 100,000 prize money. Five winning artists from the UAE section of the competition will be considered at the final judging along with work from artists from more than 50 countries in the UK in the year 2000.

These two competitions are an example of the way in which Dishman has single-handedly raised the profile of Arab artists during the seven years he has made Dubai his home. The international exposure for budding UAE artists in the Winsor and Newton global competition will benefit the burgeoning local art scene and give support and confidence to many young up and coming Arab artists.

And if the 'Million Dollar Art Show' is established as Dishman envisages then the presence of major works of art from around the world right in the heart of Dubai will make Dubai the City of Art in addition to the City of Gold. It should also give further encouragement the development of Arab art because of the close proximity of so many internationally recognised works of art.

If the event became annual then in 10 years the companies will have demonstrated their loyalty to the country and Dubai will have a collection of 100 modern art pieces to rival anything in the world. The collection will increase in value over the years and become a real tourist attraction for the emirate of Dubai.

Dubai really would benefit asserts Dishman because of several factors. Money would come into the emirate in a number of ways. First if the competition gets the necessary funding Dubai would be featured in newspapers, radio and television around the world prompting first an influx of journalists, then artists and later tourists who would be stimulated to visit by all the publicity and to look at the exhibition.

"This would draw the attention of the cultural world to Dubai as the four million dollar horse race has drawn the attention of the sports world. So Dubai would be sure of a place in the history books," says an enthusiastic Dishman.

"This show will be given for the people of the country by the people and will show to everyone that the business community here is standing behind and supporting the people of Dubai.

"I love this country so much that I want to give something back which will become part of the country's heritage. The concept I came up with was an art show that's worthy of the country's heritage. The body of work will remain here for years to come, increasing in value and always be available to the people of Dubai."

The Winsor and Newton Worldwide Millennium Painting Competition is set to go in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's largest competition so far with more than 50 countries taking part. Each country's entries were judged at the end of December with the top five being forwarded to London for final overall judging in June 1999 with the outright winner being presented with a cheque for sterling 10,000 in January 2,000.

The competition's theme was 'My Country in the Year 2000' and was open to all age groups working in a variety of media including watercolours, oils, acrylic, gouache and pastels. Artists were free to interpret the theme in any way which suits their specific painting styles be it landscape, seascape, abstract, still life or figurative.

Organisers estimated that at least 2,000 artists from all over the UAE submitted slides of their work to the competition organisers by the closing date of December 31.

"The judges are myself, leading Arab artist Abdul Rahem Salem, Chairman of Emirates Fines Arts Society and Mohamed Al Murr, a leading art critic and author. I think we have achieved a good balance on the judging panel as we have two artists, one national and one international and a well known art critic," commented Dishman.

Winsor and Newton are long established artists materials suppliers and each of the country's five winners will receive Dh 2,000 worth of artists materials. All the winning entries will be published in a special edition Winsor and Newton Millennium calendar and all paintings will be referenced in a dedicated exhibition catalogue.

The five winning paintings from the UAE will be among the others which will tour to London, Stockholm and New York following the judging.

His Royal Highness Charles the Prince of Wales has expressed willingness to open the exhibition when it reaches London and may even be on the final judging panel.

An added boost to the artists taking part from the UAE is that thanks to the Dubai National Bank the best of the five winning entries from the UAE will also receive a Dh 50,000 top prize - not that much less than the sterling 10,000 the global winner will receive in London from Winsor and Newton.

Warner Bros in Dubai have also donated Dh 25,000 prize money. The second, third, fourth and fifth prize winners will each receive Dh 5,000 with Dh 5,000 being used to purchase one other painting taken from outside the winning five. The top 30 entries were due to be exhibited at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, one of the UAE's other local sponsors, in early January.

Dishman has again been instrumental in jacking up the prize money to encourage local artists that the wider community, especially in Dubai, are keen to support the young, but vibrant, Arab art scene.

When he heard that the National Bank of Dubai wanted to become involved he persuaded them to give all the money to the winning artist - not to split it between the top five as the bank had originally envisaged doing.

He also talked to Warner Bros and asked the Ritz Carlton to sponsor the UAE exhibition and reception in order to boost Arab artists. " The prize money available for this country in this competition is probably the best in the world.

"The Dh 50,000 put up by the Dubai National Bank is probably the largest ever in the middle east and shows the commitment the bank has made to the arts community here in the UAE.

"This show represents the feeling the community is showing for the arts. Such a large financial incentive is a great boost to the Arab artists who are finally beginning to believe that their own community has faith in them.

"The exposure that the five winning pieces representing the UAE will receive in the international community is beyond any price. The winning artists will receive international recognition and will travel to London with their work which will be shown alongside works from all over the world.

"There will be art critics, journalists, tv crews, radio and magazines and all this massive publicity will give the UAE artists huge exposure. It's a fantastic opportunity for those winners to have access to international recognition so quickly.

"The artists I know in the UAE, and I know almost all the good ones, have been really excited by the announcement of the prize money and with the competition itself.