At the ARM Holding Children’s Programme, which has been conducted throughout Art Dubai and is currently taking place at Madinat Jumeirah until Sunday, empty plastic bottles, cans, corks, and scrap paper are being refashioned into art items.
On the fair’s final day, artist Cyrus Kabiru will lead the final of 12 workshops in which he will teach youngsters how to reuse everyday materials to make models of glasses, robots, vehicles, and whatever else they can think of.
Kabiru says, “I want to show them how to give trash a second opportunity.” “The objective is to show children that a bottle isn’t just a bottle when they see one.” They have the ability to see things in new ways.”From April to June, Kabiru and the Art Dubai team will distribute kits to 80 schools in the UAE, reaching about 5,000 pupils who will be able to imitate the Kenyan artist’s style. The kits include the artist’s instructions and a video guide, as well as a list of supplies that can be utilized in upcycling projects.
While children’s workshops had been held at the fair in previous years, the ARM Holding Children’s Programme was only expanded to schools in 2021.
Other educational opportunities have also been made possible by Art Dubai. It also offers the long-running Campus Art Dubai programme, which has been split into two strands this year, the first of which is a series of month-long traineeships in which participants can work in disciplines such as communication, production, and sponsorship relevant to the fair.
The second exhibition is Campus Art Dubai, which is the product of an eight-week development and mentorship programme with 12 UAE and international artists interested in exploring digital art and non-fungible tokens, or NFTs.