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Sharjah / Emirates Business
After assessing hundreds of pieces of art from children around the world, the Organising Committee of the fifth edition of Sharjah Children Biennial (SCB) announced the winners in each of its three categories of Environment, Architecture Design, and Fantasy & Reality. The biennial had received entries from 1,663 children from around the globe, only 785 of whom qualified to have their artworks exhibited at the Sharjah Art Museum from January 15 to February 15.
The results were announced during the closing ceremony of the Biennial, which took place at Mughaider Children’s Centre, attended by Reem BinKaram, President of SCB, Dr Najat Makki, Artist, and SCB Jury Member, Huwaida Al Sharqi, from Sharjah Media Corporation, SCB’s Media Partner, Abdulrahman Al Hammadi representing Sharjah International Airport, SCB’s Bronze Sponsor, Hamed Al Zarouni from Souq Al Haraj for Cars, and a representative of Sharjah Social Empowerment Foundation, SCB’s Support Sponsors, along with the winners and their families.
An overwhelming turnout of more than 7,300 visitors, the largest in SCB history, viewed the month-long exhibition and participated in its activities, held under the patronage of the wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs.
Announcing the winners in the individual submissions, the winner of the Environment category was Fatima Soraj Alman from India, while Zamzam Al Akhdar Bel Tayyeb from Algeria came second, and Fatima Issa Mohammed bin Qadeeb of the UAE won third place.
The UAE topped the list of winners in the Architecture Design category, where Shorouq Othman Ali Al Hammadi won first place, while Aisha Ali Ahmed Mohammed came in second place and Mariam Ali Jaber Ali came in third.
In the Fantasy and Reality category, Hind Abdalla Al Mail from the UAE clinched the first place; Mariam Fatima Adeeb Khan from India secured the second place, and Nada Saud Rabee Al Anizy from the UAE came third.
With regards to the group submission in the Environment category, the first place award went to 74 children from the UAE who participated in the workshop ‘In the Wilderness’ conducted under the supervision of artist Ali Murad.
Meanwhile, a group of children from Za’atari Refugee Camp in Jordan won the second place for the painting they created during the workshop ‘Thousands of Miles below the Sea’, supervised by artist and curator of this edition of SCB, Dana Al Mazrouei. In the same category, 15 children from the Dar Zayed Orphanage in the Maldives secured the third place for their group artwork from the workshop organised under the supervision of artist Hessa Saif Al Mazrouei.
In the Architecture Design category, five children from Dibba Al Hisn Children Centre won first place. The winning children participated in the workshop ‘My Fantasy City’ under the supervision of artist Inas Atef. The second place went to two children from Kalba Children Centre for their creative artwork during their participation in the workshop ‘My Journey to the Stars’ under the supervision of artist Abdul Qader Attiya. Twenty-one girls from Sajaya Young Ladies of Sharjah won third place for their artwork during their participation in the workshop ‘My Eco-Friendly City’ supervised by artist Ali Murad.
In the Fantasy and Reality category, eight children from Kalba Children Centre won first place for the group art piece they created during their participation in the workshop ‘Beautiful Faces’, supervised by artist Abdul Qader Attiya. The second place was secured by 12 children who participated in the workshop ‘Children Art School’ in Ukraine, while in third place came two girls who engaged in the workshop ‘My Role Model’, which took place in the Wadi Al Helo Children’s Centre, conducted by artist Ayman Sabry.
The submitted artworks were evaluated by a jury of renowned art experts, including Sheikha Nawar Al Qasimi, Development Manager at Sharjah Art Foundation and a graduate of the American University of Sharjah; artist Najat Makki who holds a PhD in Fine Arts from the College of Fine Arts in Cairo; Ola Khalaf, Research and Development Specialist at the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Awards; and James Matthews, artist and art instructor, who holds a Master’s degree in Fine Arts from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Ensuring that children’s voices and opinions could be heard, this edition provided young visitors with the opportunity to select and vote for their favourite art pieces to win the Children’s Choice Award. More than 550 children participated in the voting to select their favourite artworks.
Kholoud Jassim from the UAE won the Children’s Choice Award in the Environment category, while Samah Mahmoud Judah also from the UAE secured the award in the Architecture Design category. Meanwhile, four children from Al Ma’arifa International Private School in Sharjah, UAE, won the Children’s Choice Award in the Fantasy and Reality category.
Over the course of its fifth edition, SCB conveyed a message of hope, peace and love to the entire world by embracing artworks created by children from the Za’atari Refugee Camp in Jordan and the Dar Zayed Orphanage in the Maldives. Competing with their peers from around the world, these children secured two of the top three places in the group submissions of the Environment category. Through their artworks, the children sent heart-warming humanitarian messages that reflected their love for their countries, dreams about the family and their hopes to learn and live in peace.