Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) and Bulgari, the leading, continue to activate their fruitful strategic partnership to strengthen bridges of cultural and creative interaction between the UAE and Italy.To these ends, Bulgari held a press conference in Rome to inaugurate an exhibition that celebrates the works of the three finalists for the Bulgari Contemporary Art Award, in addition to laying on a very special evening that brought together high-level representatives from both countries.

Running from 16 September until 10 December 2022, the ‘From Dubai to Rome: Art Connects Beauty’ exhibition held at Bulgari’s flagship boutique brought together VIPs and cultural sector representatives of the respective nations. This is in an effort to strengthen the communication bonds between intellectuals, thinkers, talent and influential personalities across both Italy and the UAE,expanding the horizons of Italo-Emirari creative and cultural cooperation.

The eminent Emiratis in attendance included: His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Tolerance; His Excellency Omar Obaid Al Shamsi, UAE Ambassador to the Republic of Italy; Dr Saeed Mubarak bin Kharbash, CEO of the Arts and Literature Sector at Dubai Culture; Noor Al Roumi, Specialist in the Project and Events Department at Dubai Culture; and Kamla Al Olama, Dubai Culture Projects and Events Department Events Specialist.

VIPs from Italy were also to be seen, namely: Lucia Boscaini, Bulgari Brand Curator; Paolo Glisenti, Commissioner General Italy Pavilion, Expo 2020 Dubai; Nicola Bulgari, Vice-President of the Bulgari Group; Beatrice Bulgari, wife of Nicola Bulgari, juror of the Prize and President of In Between Art Film; Luca Lo Pinto, Artistic Director of Macro Museum for Contemporary Art in Rome; and Rosanna Binacchi, Head of the International Relations Unit at Italy Ministry of Culture.

The exhibition, which expresses how art can create fascinating connections in pursuit of beauty, highlights the work of Dubai-based Iranian-American artist NimaNabavi, the main award winner, in addition to the art of the finalists;Emirati artist Juma Al Haj and Jordanian UAE-based artist Kamal Alzubi. A panel of three experts, including Giuseppe Moscatello, NujoomAlghanem and Patricia Millns FRSA, selected the three pieces from among the 15submissions. Nabavi was then crowned the winner during a ceremony at the Expo 2020 Italy Pavilion in February 2022, in the presence of Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of Dubai Culture and Member of the Dubai Council.

The background, techniques and poetics of each of the three artists vary greatly, giving life to an interesting blend of Bulgari’s stylistic codes and Dubai’s aesthetic cultural universe. The winner of the first edition, artist NimaNabavi, enjoys exploring the combination of geometric abstraction and the world of nature. In his displayed work, a rhomboid-shaped frame encloses vibrant, overlapping, uniform shapes, creating a hypnotic composition that invites the eye to immerse itself and contemplate. Nabavi’s intention is to emphasise how, through human ingenuity, complexity can emerge from simplicity, be it a geometric construction or the creation of a piece of jewellery.

Also on display is a painting from finalist Juma Al Haj that utilises a completely different language.Here, the trio of dominant colours are red, green and blue, representing the three main precious stones — ruby, emerald and sapphire — as well as one of Bulgari’s favourite colour combinations, which is also found in traditional Emirati jewellery. The work takes the form of an installation composed of five different paintings, each with a monochrome background and all arranged to reflect the design of a necklace. Embellishing each painting is an Arabic inscription that, decontextualised in its elegant characters, evokes an immediate sense of peace in the viewer.

Coming from a long line of potters, finalist Kamal Alzubi, put himself to the test with a sculpture, creating a circular work that seems to have come from a distant world, its mysterious charm evoking that of the rarest and most precious stones. Curvy bas-reliefs appear throughout the surface as if to signify that each gem encapsulates the millennia of life and the stratifications of natural events.

The award launched by Dubai Culture and Bulgari had three categories in visual arts, including drawing and painting, photography, and sculpture. The annual award aims to inspire talent in the field of contemporary arts among the UAE creative community, and provide a valuable platform to support them and showcase their creativity to the wider public.

The Bulgari Contemporary Art Award asked the group of selected artists to submit work under the theme ‘Beauty Connects People’ by creatively expressing how it does so and how cities like Dubai and Rome are linked by their inspirational beauty and innovation.