Tashkeel - Tashkeel

Overview

Established in January 2008, Tashkeel is an independent resource for artists and designers living and working in the United Arab Emirates.

Tashkeel is committed to facilitating art and design practice, cross-cultural dialogue and creative exchange.

To be able to access the studios at Tashkeel one must be a registered member. Members have access to studio facilities which are: fine art, photography studio and darkroom, printmaking, textile printing, MAC suite, jewellery and 3D studios. In addition to the studio resources, there is an up to date journals and reference library as well as a member's room and a gallery open to the public.

Tashkeel also organizes workshops in creative practice led by practicing artists which is open to both members and non members.

History

The Tashkeel building has been adapted for various purposes since its construction in 1990. Adjacent to the Nad Al Sheba Clinic, the building was once a supermarket for the local residents, later providing childcare facilities as a nursery school before being opened as Latifa College, a satellite campus of Zayed University. It is situated in an idyllic, rural setting, a creative oasis away from the noise of the city.

Tashkeel opened on January 14th 2008 and began preparation for its first exhibition ‘Vibrations Within’ which ran from March 15th/April 17th 2008.

May 2008 saw the first Tashkeel international exchange, with 4 Italian artists coming from the Volume Foundation in Rome, working at Tashkeel for one week, to produce work for an exhibition titled, ‘Space-tacular’. The second stage of this exchange involved 4 artists from the Emerson Gallery, Berlin, resulting in the ‘Fusion’ exhibition.

Photography, Oil Painting and a course to study contemporary Arabic typography - Khattography, formed the first of Tashkeel’s regular workshops with tutors, Mark Pilkington, Janet Bellotto, Colleen Quigley and Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFares.

Souk Al Bahars’, Rivington Grill approached Tashkeel to select artwork for the new restaurant that opened December 2008, the artists showing there include Gita Meh, Jalal Abuthina, Hussain Al Numairy and Tashkeel director, Lateefa bint Maktoum.

The one year anniversary for Tashkeel witnessed an exciting exhibition of female artists, ‘Point of Encounter’, featuring work by two emerging Emirati artists, Alia Al Shamsi and Muna Al Ali, and two established international artists, Janet Bellotto and Patricia Millns.

Tashkeel was involved with Art Dubai 2009 in collaboration with the children’s charity, START, facilitating workshops led by internationally successful artist Sacha Jafri. We also had an international exhibition in Berlin during the summer of 2009, showcasing Emirati artists from Tashkeel. The show was titled ‘Emirati Visions’ and was initiated by the Dubai Ministry of Culture.

Several Tashkeel artists exhibited in ‘Across the Gulf’ at the Brisbane Biennale, which took place in September 2009.

January 2010 brought the second year anniversary for Tashkeel, and the arrival of the 100th membership! We also began working with the new Bloomingdales store in Dubai Mall, which has a unique gallery section of the home store, featuring exclusive work by selected Tashkeel artists.

Tashkeel looks forward to the exciting events and opportunities that the future will provide and will continue to facilitate and support its members while growing, expanding and evolving.

Fast Facts

Tashkeel a Hub for the Creative

8.00am – 10.00pm

Saturday – Thursday

Membership Application Necessary

Multi-disciplinary Workshops Available

Regular Gallery Exhibitions

7 Well-Equipped Studios

Friends of Tashkeel

ART DUBAI

Over the last three years Art Dubai has created a defining platform for current art practice in the Middle East, setting the business of art within a context that is intelligent, stimulating and relevant.

Art Dubai's third edition attracted an audience of over 14,000 visitors from across the Middle East, South Asia and beyond, including leading curators, museum directors, artists, 80 museum groups and over 300 international Press. Art Dubai also hosts the Abraaj Capital Art Prize which was launched in 2008, as an award for artists from the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia. The next Art Dubai is due to take place 17-20th March 2010.

Tashkeel became involved with Art Dubai by providing sponsorship for the 2008 Art Park catalogue.

www.artdubai.ae

Bloomingdales

Bloomingdale's is America's only nationwide, full-line, upscale department store. It was founded in 1872 and operates 40 stores across the U.S.

Bloomingdales Dubai is the first store to open outside the States, and can be found on three levels in Dubai Mall.
The store's merchandise assortment, upscale ambience and high level of customer service will be similar to Bloomingdale's in the United States, while being sensitive to local preferences and customs.

Bloomingdales Dubai will house a unique Gallery section to feature exclusive work by selected Tashkeel artists.

www.bloomingdales.com

brownbook

brownbook magazine is a quintessential urban guide to the Middle East, published in Dubai and distributed to 75 cities throughout the region and internationally.

Established in 2007, brownbook has developed into a niche magazine in the Middle East covering design, architecture, fashion, culture and travel.

brownbook endeavors to unearth unique and compelling stories and document the creative and urban scene of the region.

Tashkeel hosted a brownbook event in June 2008 to launch the ‘Urban Artist Issue’, and was awarded the 2009 brownbook urban award for ‘Workshops’.

www.brownbook.ae

FontLab

www.fontlab.com

Rivington Grill

Rivington Grill serves a simple seasonal British menu of familiar and some not-so-familiar dishes centered around well sourced produce, harvesting responsibly from land and sea. Located in Souk Al Bahar, Dubai, the terrace of Rivington Grill enjoys unparalleled views of the iconic Burj Khalifa with breathtaking waterways and fountains in the foreground.

David O’Brien and Emmanuel Sabater from Caprice Holdings approached Tashkeel to provide a collection of artworks by Dubai based artists, the selection includes work by Gita Meh, Jalal Abuthina, Hussain Al Numairy and Tashkeel director Lateefa bint Maktoum.

Rivington deem it to be distinctly important to work with cutting edge local artists which coincides with the Rivington Shoreditch and Rivington Greenwich restaurants in London.

www.rivingtongrill.ae

Shelter

Shelter is a first of its kind community workspace that allows individuals from various creative disciplines to engage in an environment that nurtures entrepreneurial small businesses. Shelter is a medium for forward thinkers, creatives and intellectuals to connect and exchange ideas; converting those interactions into commercial services and products through subsidized work spaces.

Tashkeel has a reciprocal arrangement with Shelter, offering 10% membership and workshop discounts to members of shelter.

www.shelter.ae

Shufflegazine

Shufflegazine – published by Centimetercube Dubai, UAE – is a bi-lingual magazine covering all aspects of an Apple lifestyle in the Middle East, including Mac, iPod, iPhone, and related technologies, accessories, software, and more. We do this by informing, educating, interacting, and entertaining Apple fans and users around the region, in print as well as online.

Omran Al-Owais, director of Centimetercube and Editor-in-Chief of Shufflegazine, was one of Tashkeels first members, and is a regular workshop participant and exhibitor. Tashkeel hosted the Mac Users group from Spring 2008-August 2009.

www.shufflegazine.com

START

Tashkeel Director, Lateefa bint Maktoum is the honorary patron of START. START is a programme that links child development with arts education.

Launched in March 2007 START brings art into the lives of socio-economically and culturally deprived children throughout the Middle East, and uniquely encourages artists to become volunteers in the field of humanitarian aid and education. START uses art as a means to heal, educate and empower the younger generation in disadvantaged areas in the Middle East and elsewhere by giving them a voice through the universal expression of art, by engaging them with their communities and their peers, and by teaching them a sense of self-worth.

In March 2008, Tashkeel worked with START and the artist Sacha Jafri to provide a series of workshops, ‘Painting My City’. The first two of these workshops were held at Tashkeel, with three further workshops being held for young visitors at Art Dubai. Tashkeel has also contributed sponsorship to the children’s ‘Art Festival in Palestine’, held in December 2009.

www.startworld.org

The Delfina Foundation

The Delfina Foundation facilitates artistic exchanges and dialogue between the UK and the Middle East & North Africa via a programme of artistic residencies and related public events. Our public programme (including talks & exhibitions) provides platforms for artists to explore common areas of practice, showcase their work and look at the link between the arts and civic society.
Renowned art patron Delfina Entrecanales established the foundation as the successor to Delfina Studios Trust. Over its 20-year existence, Delfina Studios became Britain’s largest artist residency space and earned an unprecedented reputation in the arts world. As a charitable and non-political organisation, The Delfina Foundation aims to develop the next generation of international artists.

www.delfinafoundation.com

Thinking Cloud

Laura Trelford of Art Dubai, & Sonia Brewin, Director of START conceived Thinking Cloud in 2007. It is a free discussion forum focusing on the visual arts open to all. Discussions are regularly held, each in a different location in the UAE with a new topic to be discussed by diverse panelists. There was also a Thinking Cloud event held in London, October 2008 during Freize at the Photographers Gallery.

Tashkeel provided sponsorship for three scholarships for Thinking Cloud’s Cross Cultural Project, between UAE students and students from London during Freize, October 2009.

www.thinkingcloud.org