For all ambitious artists, do not miss the oppertunity by Ayyam Gallery! After the enormous success this comeptation made, bringing out the ‘hidden gems’ of talented Arab artists, Ayyam Gallery presents it’s first Pan-GCC Shabab Ayyam New Media Competition ‘Kunooz’ (Arabic word means Treasures).

As a continuation of its groundbreaking Shabab Ayyam Project, an incubator programme that has catapulted the careers of nearly a dozen young painters since 2007 such as Mohannad Orabi, Elias Izoli, and Oussama Diab, and the 2011 Shabab Ayyam Photography Competition, which discovered the talents of Lara Zankoul, Lara Atallah and Mohamad Badr, Kunooz will further support Ayyam Gallery’s dedication to promoting burgeoning artistic talent in the Middle East.

Open to residents or citizens of the GCC of Arabic origin, this competition provides an unprecedented opportunity for emerging artists born in 1975 or after who have not yet held a solo exhibition and are not yet represented by a gallery to vie for the First Prize of a traveling solo exhibition to be held at Ayyam Gallery Jeddah, Beirut and Dubai. Second and Third Prize winners will be awarded a joint exhibition, which will also travel to Ayyam Gallery Jeddah, Beirut and Dubai.

Submission Deadline: 30 April 2013

Competition Guidelines

• To be considered, participants must submit a proposal for their solo exhibition, enclosing 10 to 15 works of either photography, digital art, video art, or a combination thereof. This body of work must form a coherent theme and be accompanied by an outlining essay of the proposed exhibition.

• All submitted portfolios must be titled ‘Kunooz Shabab Ayyam New Media Competition’, include an artist statement, biography, CV, and correct caption details (artist name, title, date, medium, dimensions, edition) on all files. Files must be of high enough resolution to be printed 100 cm x 100 cm without distortion (a minimum tiff file of 300 DPI/inch).

• As this is an initiative for young artists in the GCC, it is imperative that submissions also include evidence of residency or citizenship and date of birth.

Electronic submissions are not accepted and those submitted past the deadline of 30 April 2013 will not be considered. All submissions must be mailed to either the Ayyam Gallery Jeddah or Ayyam Gallery Al Quoz locations, as following:

Ayyam Gallery Jeddah
Bougainvillea Center Jeddah
Third Floor, King’s Road
Al-Shat’ta District
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
+966 555 5170000

Ayyam Gallery Al Quoz
B11, Alserkal Avenue, Street 8
Al Quoz 1
PO Box 283174
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
+971 4 323 6242

For further information regarding the competition, please contact: 

Lee Ann Biddle
leeann@ayyamgallery.com

Maryam Beydoun
maryam@ayyamgallery.com

About Ayyam Gallery

Founded by collectors and cousins Khaled and Hisham Samawi in Damascus in 2006, Ayyam Gallery sought to nurture Syria’s burgeoning and dynamic contemporary art scene through landmark non-profit initiatives such as the Shabab Ayyam Project, an incubator for emerging artists. Expansion into Beirut and Dubai enabled Ayyam Gallery to broaden its scope from the promotion of work by Syrian artists to those from the wider Middle East region. In doing so, Ayyam Gallery has established itself as one of the foremost exponents of Middle Eastern contemporary art to the international community. 

Today, Ayyam Gallery is recognised as a leading cultural voice in the region, representing a roster of Arab and Iranian artists with an international profile and museum presence, such as Nadim Karam, Safwan Dahoul, Samia Halaby, Sadik Alfraji, Afshin Pirhashemi and Khaled Takreti. A number of non-commercial exhibitions, as well as the launch of Ayyam Publishing, Ayyam Editions, and The Young Collectors Auction, have further succeeded in showcasing the work of Middle Eastern artists with the aim of educating a wider audience about the art of this significant region. Ayyam Gallery Damascus currently functions as a studio and creative haven for artists who remain in the war-torn city. In January 2013, Ayyam Gallery launched a new space in London, with a second to open in Jeddah in late-February.

Cheers