Dubai approves new long-term visa for artists

Dubai will soon launch a new long-term cultural visa for artists and other creative people.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, made the announcement during a meeting of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority.

He has also approved plans for setting up a creative freezone in Al Quoz as well as a new literary season that’ll include a book fair and related events.

In a series of tweets, Sheikh Mohammed said: “The new cultural vision will utilise and unify efforts of our 6,000 art and culture entities, 5 creative clusters, 20 museums and over 550 annual cultural events that can position Dubai as a global art destination.”

Sheikh Mohammed added that seven cultural centres in Dubai would be turned into “Schools of Life” to equip the younger generation with skills in art, innovation and creativity.

During the meeting, we adopted the first long-term cultural visa for artists, authors & innovators and approved establishing Al Quoz in Dubai as a creative free zone. A new international literature season will feature a book fair & events to attract over 2 million visitors pic.twitter.com/NPAgWWk8cI

— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) October 1, 2019

Hala Badri, Director General of Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, told ARN News that the latest announcements aim to position the emirate as a global centre for culture.

Here's the full list of the new initiatives:

- The World’s First Cultural Residence Visa: In co-operation with the Ministry of Interior, a new immigration policy will be introduced to create the world’s first long-term cultural visa. The aim of the initiative is to attract promising artists and creatives to the city and support the vision of Dubai to become a global incubator for talent.

- A Creative Free Zone in Al Quoz: An initiative that aims to transform Al Quoz into a free zone for creative talent in the culture sector, providing comprehensive facilities and services from the conception stage through to design and production. The free zone will create an end-to-end system for creatives to produce, display and sell their works.

- Dubai Global Literary Season: Dedicated to the love of the written word, Dubai Global Literary Season aims to establish the city as the capital of knowledge development with more than 1,000 literary events hosting the top 100 Arab and international authors and publishers

- School of Life: The initiative, which seeks to transform Dubai’s public libraries into integrated cultural centres under the theme of School of Life, is aimed at boosting the cultural, creative and artistic lives of the Dubai community. 

- A Destination for Land Art: The initiative aims to create a new global cultural tourism destination that enhances the creative capacity of the land. To be launched on the occasion of the UAE’s Golden Jubilee, the initiative also seeks to create new landmarks to document Dubai’s hosting of Expo 2020. Many different nationalities will contribute to its construction. 

- Dubai Global Grad Show: An international exhibition to be organised as part of Dubai Design Week, Dubai Global Grad Show aims to inspire university graduates to find innovative solutions to community problems. 

- Al Marmoum CineMania: An open-air international film festival in the Al Marmoom area to be organised in co-operation with local cinemas. 

- Dubai’s Iconic Architecture: A specialised committee to oversee the adoption of architectural designs that has the objective of making Dubai a destination for architectural innovation.

- Launch of Dubai’s Architectural Identity: An initiative aimed at conceptualising, designing and implementing a distinctive architectural identity for Dubai that distinguishes it from other major cities of the world

- Hatta Cultural Carnival: A cultural carnival to be held in the winter season to stimulate economic and tourism growth in the region, featuring poetry evenings, cultural events, art exhibitions and other events. 

- Zabeel High School: Rehabilitation of Zabeel Secondary School for Girls to preserve the architectural history of the school and transform the building into a multi-functional space that offers a platform for young people to express their artistic talent

- Art for Good: A philanthropic annual international art week that features the participation of local and international artists and businesspersons. The art week will include charity auctions, art performances and plastic arts exhibitions

- Dubai Gold Line: The initiative features a competition to design the Dubai Gold Line, a special gold production line that establishes Dubai as a destination for gold.

- Discovering Hidden Cultural Gems with Uber: A new initiative created in partnership with Uber to help tourists easily find and visit Dubai’s cultural treasures. 

- Dubai Art Collection: The first integrated system created to help art enthusiasts buy, display and exchange artwork. The system will be operated through a partnership between the government and private sector. The initiative will help stimulate the creative economy and create opportunities for the public to engage more closely with art. 

- Dubai Private Collections Season: The Dubai Private Collections Season will enable private art collectors to display their personal collections in public institutions such as Etihad Museum. The season will begin with an exhibition of the personal collection of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. 

- Dubai Festival of National Cultures: The initiative will provide a platform for highlighting the cultures and traditions of various nationalities living in Dubai. The celebrations at the event will showcase the traditions, food and special products of each nationality through an annual calendar of events to be held in collaboration with Dubai Tourism & Commerce Marketing.