Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) announced the launch of the first edition of the Dubai Festival for Youth Music 2022, which is scheduled for 24 November 2022. The festival will reflect the ideas and musical compositions of the youth. It will be inaugurated in a distinctive musical evening, with performances from the young citizens and residents of the UAE.

The organization of the festival, which will be held annually in November, is aligned with Dubai Culture’s commitment to supporting a stimulating infrastructure for the cultural and creative industries, enabling a sustainable and thriving ecosystem that supports Dubai’s economic growth and cements its position as a major hub for arts and culture.

Dubai Culture invites young talented musicians, citizens and residents within the country, aged 15 and 35, to participate in the festival with their musical work. Applications open on 7 November and close on 19 November via Dubai Culture’s website, provided that these works are produced by bands or collectives certified in the UAE.

The festival aims to shed light on the creativity of public and private musical arts centres and individual companies located in the UAE, in addition to celebrating individual participation, including public and private school students. It will also provide a valuable platform for introducing young talent and their musical potential, such as singing, composition, instrumentalism, and performance, among others.

Each year, the festival will also celebrate a pioneering and influential musical arts figure.

Dr Saeed Mubarak bin Kharbash, CEO of the Arts and Literature Sector at Dubai Culture, said: “The Dubai Festival for Youth Music is considered a tribute to the artistic and musical sector in Dubai. This is the first edition of the festival and we will work to ensure its continuity and achieve the Authority’s strategic objectives in discovering young talent in these various musical fields.”

As for the details of the festival, Fatma Al Jallaf, Acting Director of the Performing Arts Department at Dubai Culture, said: “Before the closing ceremony of the festival to be held on 24 November, the participants will undergo an evaluation and selection period for less than 1 week, and the winners will be announced and awarded at the ceremony according to the specific categories, which include: Best Singing Award, Best Arabic Playing Award (Oud), Best Classical Playing Award (Violin), Best Piano Playing Award, and Best Integrated Orchestra Award. Based on the Authority’s constant keenness to address underrepresentation, we will also be awarding people of determination in each of the musical categories.”

In order to ensure the quality of the submissions, Dubai Culture has set some conditions, namely:

• Participants must be at least 15 years old and not more than 35 years old
• All participants in the festival must be from inside the country (local and residents) and no participant from outside the country is accepted at all.
• It is stipulated that the duration of singing or playing does not exceed a maximum of 5-10 minutes for a single musical act.
• The musical works participating in the festival must be produced by public or private bands or an individual production documented in the UAE (under intellectual property law) or musical works by well-known producers or composers in the art scene in the MENA.
• In the event that a musical sample attributed to persons or institutions is presented, it must be licensed by the producer of the work or the business owner.
• The organizing committee of the festival in the Department of Performing at Dubai Arts in the Culture and Arts Authority, has the absolute right to accept and reject any musical work that is deemed unworthy of the festival or the emirate of Dubai.
• No band or musical artist may participate in more than one musical work.
• All participating musical works must be recorded and attached in the application form with quality and clarity.