The third edition of the Noon Arts Award awards seven exceptional female artistic talents in the UAE

Seven winners of the third edition of Noon Arts Award, held under the theme ‘After the Rain’, were honored by Her Excellency Khawla Al Serkal, Director General of Sharjah Ladies Club (SLC) at a ceremony held at the Kunooz Ballroom at SLC yesterday (Monday).

Organized by the Collage Talent Center at SLC, Noon Arts Award is dedicated to promoting UAE-based women’s artistic capabilities.  Two artists each in the painting and photography categories, and one artist in the newly introduced Digital Art category, were awarded at the event. In addition, two winners were chosen from amongst the Noor Gallery students. 

The winners, selected from among 340 shortlisted entries out of a total of 469 submissions across the UAE, were judged across two age groups – 18 to 24 and 25 to 40. With a near double increase in submissions since its launch in 2017, Noon Arts Award has grown both in size and stature, and now attracts the participation of a high caliber of artists in the nation. 

Amongst the prominent guests at the awards ceremony included Her Excellency Sheikha Nawar Al Qasimi, Director of the Sharjah Art Foundation; Her Excellency Khawla Al Serkal, Director General of Sharjah Ladies Club; Sheikha Aisha Khalid Al Qasimi, Director of Sajaya Young Ladies, Spouse of the Consul General of Sudan, Spouse of the Consul General of Philippine, Spouse of the Consul General Of The Republic Of Indonesia, Nada Askar Al Naqbi, Director General of Sharjah Women Sports, Marwa Al Aqroubi,  Sharjah World Book Capital Project Manager, Muna Al-Safari, Director of THATI program, Hesa Mubark Al Hasawi, Managing Director of Radisson Blu ResortSharjah,Sheikha Al Suwaidi, Manager of Collage Talent Center; and number of representatives from governmental entities and institution. 

In the painting category, the Noon Artist Award winner was Farah Amjed Hameed Hammo Alyousef while Melika Soheil Shahin received the Noon Rising Star Award. In the photography category, Sonu Sultania received the Noon Artist Award for her work titled ‘Spring in her Steps’ while Sara Ebraheim Esmaeil Alkhaaldi received the Noon Rising Star Award for a black and white portrait titled, ‘Grandma & Mother’. Olga Karpova’s ‘Fearless’ won her the debut award in the Digital Art category.

Noor Gallery students Alia Abdullah Al Alili and Shamma Sultan Ali Alsuwaidi won the first and second prizes respectively in the Student Award category.

HE Khawla Al Serkal, Director General of SLC, said: “For 37 years, Sharjah Ladies Club (SLC) has been a leading entity supporting and empowering the UAE’s women, nurturing their talents and skills in all cultural and artistic fields. Today, we celebrate art in the emirate of Sharjah with a host of talented artists from different nationalities, who channelled their unique cultures and civilizations into their artworks to reflect the one theme that Noon Arts Award celebrates this year.”

Sharjah has always embraced art and creativity, she added. “The emirate has become a vibrant hub for creative people from all fields, in line with the vision of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah and Chairperson of the Sharjah Ladies Club (SLC), who wanted young adults and women to raise the banner of arts.” 

“At the Noon Arts Award, we were keen on ensuring that all entities cooperate in this year’s edition through conducting inclusive workshops and programmes for Sharjah Girl Guides members to nurture their artistic and creative skills and participate in our award. Also, members of Sajaya Young Ladies of Sharjah participated with unique artworks” Al Serkal added. 

Sheikha Nawar bint Ahmed Al Qasimi, Director of Development at Sharjah Art Foundation said: “Art, including paintings, sculptures, decorative columns, and more, are humankind’s permanent legacy. These continued practice of these creative works are the best way to explore and learn about any civilisation’s past, present and its view of the future. The Noon Arts Award has revealed the exceptional and unique talents of contemporary female artists in the UAE”.
 
“The award is an ideal platform to discover new artists, recognise their craft, and encourage them to add value to Sharjah’s art landscape. We highly appreciate the efforts of Sharjah Ladies Club for promoting art as a central medium for the expression of one’s creativity and individual identity,” she added. 

Sheikha Al Suwaidi, Manager of SLC’s Collage Talent Center, said, “We have organized the Noon Arts Award for the third year in a row in line with our dedication to nurturing and encouraging cultural and artistic exchange in Sharjah. It reflects our role at the Collage Talent Centre’s Noon Art Gallery in nurturing the artistic talents of women and girls and offering them an opportunity to showcase their creative artworks.”

“This year, the award chose a symbolic theme, ‘After the Rain’, to capture one’s intensified feelings after a spell of rain. The submitted artworks reflect the barrage of emotions that spring up within, and which the artists have conveyed eloquently through the social and humanitarian messages in their artworks. The ensuing works of art have astonished us with their creativity and finer artistic details.”

“Since its launch, the rate of submitted artworks has tripled, from 110 artworks in the 2017 edition, 240 in 2018 to 340 submitted artworks this year. This steady growth in numbers attests to the significance of this award as a platform for aspiring artists from 37 nationalities. This ongoing success of the Noon Art Gallery reflects the award’s significance,” Al Suwaidi added.

The works of the prize winners and other selected artworks will be on display from November 18 – 21, 2019 at the Kunooz Ballroom at SLC.