Global Gate, a colourful work by artist Leon Lowentraut, attempts to spread a message for a better world. The gigantic gate, which is located in Burj Park and is visible from the Burj Khalifa, is covered in designs by a German artist that relate to the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The goals serve as a rallying point for governments to fight poverty, health, education, economic growth, gender equality, peace, and climate change.
Visitors can get a comprehensive understanding of the work by travelling through the five tunnels of the gate and looking at the contents on the walls up close. The Sustainable Development Goals have been articulated in 12 languages to emphasise their worldwide appeal.
The organisers of Global Gate claim that the piece, which is made up of 37 sea freight containers and weighs around 140 tonnes, is the world’s largest transportable artwork. It was unveiled in November 2020 in Frankfurt and remained on exhibit until February 2021. Since its debut, Dubai has been its second stop. Global Gate resembles the neoclassical Brandenburg Gate in Berlin in terms of structure.
Lowentraut is a Dusseldorf-based artist who draws influence for his expressive and vivid style from Picasso, Matisse, and Basquiat. In 2017, the United Nations commissioned him to turn the Sustainable Development Goals into artworks, and the resulting paintings were shown in Paris and New York. The proceeds from the sale of the paintings went towards the construction of a school in Senegal. Lowentraut’s paintings are part of the UN’s #Art4GlobalGoals campaign, a travelling show, which will run until 2030.