Emirates’ inflight entertainment (IFE) guide will feature a special edition cover with artwork created by Abdulla Lutfi, an Emirati artist represented by Mawaheb from Beautiful People.

Meaning ‘talent’ in Arabic, Mawaheb is a Dubai-based art studio for adults with special needs, also known as ‘the determined ones’ following a directive by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Abdulla worked closely with the IFE team to create the magazine cover for Emirates and it features a lively depiction of a flight with customers tuned into different channels on ice, the airline’s award-winning inflight entertainment system.

“In bringing this cover to life, we held a short briefing meeting where I drew a very rough sketch on my whiteboard to explain what we envisaged. It seems genius to me how he was able to transform such a sparse brief so brilliantly. Abdulla was able to imagine what we wanted and add so much more. It was a pleasure to collaborate with Abdulla and we’re really happy with the final result!” said Patrick Brannelly, Emirates’ Division Vice President – Customer Experience.

Abdulla Lutfi trained and developed his artistic style over the past eight years. Abdulla’s passion for art stems from his amazing attention to detail, his view of the world and his sharp sense of humour. As an artist on the autism spectrum, Abdulla sees and interprets the world in a unique and unconventional way. His distinct black and white drawings usually feature an exaggerated and humorous glimpse of everyday Emirati life.

Despite his young age, Abdulla is an accomplished artist having already had a sold out solo exhibition and giving speed drawing workshops and demonstrations at schools and corporate events. He has fulfilled several commissions from hotels, banks, and a special exhibit at Dubai International Airport. Abdulla has also illustrated a children’s colouring book commissioned by the Embassy of the UAE in Washington D.C.

2019 was proclaimed to be the “The Year of Tolerance” by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, highlighting the country as a global capital for tolerance, and aimed at promoting the values of tolerance, dialogue, coexistence and openness. Under this central message of inclusivity and understanding, the UAE also hosted the 2019 Special Olympics World Games in March, bringing together thousands of athletes from all over the world.

With a global customer base, Emirates offers entertainment in more than 44 languages, as well as movies with Closed Captions and Audio Description soundtracks. The airline recently clinched its 15th consecutive award for the World’s Best Inflight Entertainment at the prestigious Skytrax World Airline Awards 2019 held at the Paris Air Show.

Emirates’ ice magazine, published monthly by John Brown Media, is distributed on board all flights and serves as a guide for customers in exploring the over 4,500 channels of entertainment on offer. The catalogue includes over 1,000 movies, more than any other airline, popular television box sets, Live TV covering international news and sport, and tens of thousands of music tracks, podcasts and games.

ice also features varied content such as Emirates’ own Food and Wine Channels giving customers a behind-the-scenes look at the onboard menus; expert-led LinkedIn Learning courses; as well as TV channels and podcasts about the upcoming Expo 2020 in Dubai.