CultureSummit 2018 Abu Dhabi: Day 1 Highlights
Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak: Culture is the agent for change, empowerment, tolerance and acceptance, and Abu Dhabi has proven to be a global centre that brings together thought leaders from all over the world to continue an important dialogue about what we can collectively achieve through the power of culture
The annual international convening, CultureSummit 2018 Abu Dhabi, kicked off its working agenda this morning with welcome remarks by CultureSummit’s Steering Committee member HE Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman, Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi followed by a panel discussion titled “Unexpected Collaborations: Globalizing Creativity”.
HE Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman, Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, said: ““On behalf of Abu Dhabi and the CultureSummit, I thank all of you for being here, as each and every one of you plays an influential role in driving change towards a greater understanding of what we can all achieve through culture, and be advocates for the role of art, creativity, education, and technology in empowering cultural understanding.”
“We strongly believe that culture can bring people together through dialogue, exchange of ideas, and simply though tolerance and acceptance despite our differences. The key to the power of culture is education, and this is evident in every programme, event, concert, project that DCT Abu Dhabi organizes and supports. We have seen what cultural dialogue can accomplish through Louvre Abu Dhabi, and we will continue our dialogue and be leaders in utilizing this cultural agency and catalyze positive change in the world.”
“Culture is the agent for change, empowerment, tolerance and acceptance, and Abu Dhabi has proven to be a global centre that brings together thought leaders from all over the world to continue an important dialogue about what we can collectively achieve through the power of culture”, he concluded.” HE Al Mubarak added.
Sarah Douglas, Editor-in-Chief, ARTnews, discussed with HE Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman, Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi; Kristy Edmunds, Executive and Artistic Director, UCLA Center for the Art of Performance; and Nathalie Bondil, Executive Director and Chief Curator, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts – how cultural production is being transformed by ever-expanding global networks, highlighting the diverse ways in which ideas will continue to transcend borders.
The second panel - Creativity Premium: Policies that Promote Creativity and Knowledge - saw David Rothkopf, CEO of The Rothkopf Group and CultureSummit’s Steering Committee member, moderating a discussion about the role of governments in balanced policy building and creative capacity building in today’s interconnected worlds of arts, technology and culture. The discussion featured Michael Ellis, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Digital, Cultural, Media & Sport, United Kingdom; Gantuya Badamgarav, Founder and Director of the Mongolian Contemporary Art Support Association; Nora Halpern, Vice President for Leadership Alliances, Americans for the Arts; and Dr. Webber Ndoro, Director General of ICCROM, International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property.
The “Emerging Trends in the Arts Worldwide: What’s Next” panel was moderated by Rebecca Proctor, Editor-in-Chief, Harper’s Bazaar Art, who discussed the ways emerging technologies are impacting art production with Touria El Glaoui, Founding Director, 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair; Nancy Spector, Artistic Director & Jennifer and David Stockman Chief Curator, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; and Karim Sultan, Director and Curator, Barjeel Art Foundation.
Melissa Gronlund, Arts Correspondent, The National moderated the “Case Studies in Unexpected Collaborations” panel which considered realised ideas and methods that inspire fresh takes on advancing creative partnerships across mediums, sectors, and nations. Participants on this panel were Hope Azeda, Founder, Mashirika Performing Arts; Drew Bennett, Founder and Director of Artist-in-Residence Program, Facebook; and Eduardo Braniff, Executive Director, Silkroad.
New artistic pairings responding to the theme “Unexpected Collaborations” featured a performance by Eldbjørg Hemsing (Norway), Violin and Llewelyn Sanchez-Werner (USA). Special performances and interventions included From the Other End of the Silk Road, Chinese Traditional Music by Sun Yue-bo, (Erhu) and Sun Yi (Pi-pa); and another performance by Silkroad’s Wu Tong (Sheng, Bawu) and Mark Suter (Frame Drums, Shakers).
The Workshop meetings kicked off and were oriented toward exploring how policy, technology/new media, artists, arts institutions and philanthropy communities can create new and effective collaborations to address issues worldwide.
Independently, the 50-60 artists of the Artists Incubator programme started their meetings which aim to identify new creative collaborations.
Running through 12 April, CultureSummit 2018 Abu Dhabi convenes over 400 leaders from 80 countries to discuss the ways that culture can address the world’s most pressing challenges and be a force for positive change, under the theme of “Unexpected Collaborations: Forging New Connections Between Heritage and Innovation, Near and Far, Creativity and Purpose”. The agenda will continue tomorrow with another series of panel discussions and workshops under the theme “Art, Tech, New Media and Culture Redefined”. It is an invitation-only event, but will be live-streamed for the public exclusively on the CultureSummit website and the Abu Dhabi Culture mobile app.
Additional details may be found at www.culturesummitabudhabi.com.
For further information about CultureSummit Abu Dhabi, please contact:
Michael Clyne
[email protected]
Brunswick Arts
Danielle DeMartini, +971 56 503 4852
Muhanad Ali, +971 50 107 4820
[email protected]
