JEDDAH — Art Jameel and the Crossway Foundation have jointly launched the Jameel Journey to Japan 2015, a competition to find talented young artists, designers, photographers and filmmakers to win a trip to Japan. This year's competition is open to all 18-25 year old nationals and residents of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and the United Kingdom. Eight winners will have the opportunity to travel to Japan in November where they will experience one of the most inspiring cultures in the world. Kuwaiti visual artist, Dr. Monira Al-Qadiri, has been appointed Artistic Lead on this project. She says: “It has always been my dream to share my knowledge and experience of Japanese art and culture with younger practitioners from the region. Being in Japan can stimulate the mind of any artist in a myriad of ways, and this journey can become a gateway to endless sources of inspiration for years to come.” Al-Qadiri was born in Senegal in 1983 and was educated in Japan. In 2010, she received a Ph.D. in inter-media art from Tokyo University of the Arts, where her research was focused on the aesthetics of sadness in the Middle-East region stemming from poetry, music, art and religious practices. She is also part of the artist collective GCC, who has recently held a solo exhibition at MoMA PS1 in New York (2014). Applicants must submit a creative project that relates to the theme: ‘Encounters with another World'. The project can either be pre-existing artwork or original work for the competition. Imogen Ware, managing director of the Crossway Foundation says: “Discovering new and unfamiliar ‘worlds' can greatly enrich the creative process. Whether these new worlds exist in a different country, within your local community, in the maze of the Internet, or even simply inside your own mind, their physical shape is of little importance. What is important, however, is to allow yourself to look outside the everyday and find new territories in which to plant and nurture your imagination.” Fady Jameel, president of Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiatives (ALJCI) International, says: “This initiative marks Art Jameel's commitment to making a meaningful investment in the next generation of creative talent in the Gulf. It is also timely because it marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as the 60th anniversary of the signing of the distributor agreement between ALJ and Toyota.”
