Calling out to all Dubai folks, whatever you have planned in for the 20th and 21st of March 2017, cancel it and head straight to Al Bastakiya to enjoy the sounds and sights and the energy of the Sikka Art Fair 2017. I went yesterday along with a fellow art lover and another who for some odd reason believes that art is boring, how weird. Like art can ever be boring.
Our taxi driver himself was unsure as to where Bastakiya was, so imagine how many others would not have even encountered this quaint little oasis of a gem within the city of Dubai.
It is near Al Seef located at the roundabout leading in from Fahidi Street, heading towards Dubai Museum. If further in doubt about the location, please just ask google.
Once there, and going off-topic here but still coinciding with the whole tradition and historic elements of the Sikka Art Fair, I would highly recommend that you step into the Arabian Tea House on your way to the Art Fair, it is an absolute delight of a place with its blue and white decor and celebrating the true Emirati life from the bygone days. With sepia and black and white photos highlighting the past pride, soulful Arabic music playing in the background, the gentle breeze teasing the leaves and flowers within the courtyard, the chirping of the birds and food that match in its deliciousness of ambiance, this is definitely a place and an experience that should not be missed.
Al Bastakiya is undeniably one of the most historically charming spots within Dubai and the perfect place to host the Sikka Art Fair.
Sikka an Arabic term meaning “Alleyway” is exactly why the Sikka Art Fair feels that much more enjoyable. You have to maneuver yourself among the narrow and winding alleyway to stumble upon glorious art scattered over walls and inside small halls with doors that you have to crouch to enter and find yourself amidst talented beings who have brought to the forefront their interpretation of a thought or vision and defined it into a form, a structure, a painting or in a mode that they believe best communicates with the world outside their mind.
It is precisely this alleyway that adds to the beauty of this experience, it is like as though you have been transported into a different era and you are experiencing art away from the white walls and brightly lit rooms with tall ceilings. Each nook and corner is filled with gems of hidden surprises. So feel free to just wander and lose yourself within the Sikka.
There are paintings to ponder upon, movies to watch, workshops to attend and art protruding outside window sills. Among all the art galore, the work that captured my mind belonged to Maysoon Masalha and Bassam Al Selawi an environmentally friendly and thought-provoking work. The 110 Statue, created by using recycled cardboard. Aptly named “Reema Al Qasim - From the Rock Bottom” which talks about a human’s climb up to the top until self-satisfaction and about our hands slipping away from the rope of life and how we still hold on and continue on in this journey to attain our dreams and goals. This piece really resonated with me and I am sure it will for so many others who live, work and prosper in Dubai and UAE and strive each day to get one step closer to one's dreams.
Following this, we reached The Happiness Space, clearly inspired by Dubai Government’s Happiness Agenda, which requires one to participate by illustrating our perfect symbol of happiness. Of course, I plunged head in and created what defined happiness to me and stuck it among the splatter of yellow and white cards. I think my nephew got it right as all he drew was a simple smiley face with the hash tag happiness. And today while at work thinking about it I realized that it was indeed the perfect symbol for happiness because whenever we want to symbolize happiness we automatically think of a smiley face. And here I was creating something complex and unique to symbolize happiness and a ten-year-old simplified its meaning to me.
As we moved away from this space, the sounds of synchronized beating of drums lead us into a courtyard where a drum beating session was in place, we watched in delight as the beats filled the air with a vibrancy of energy. Again joining in and participating in this jamming session with random strangers all beaming with happiness in the experience they were a part of and creating sounds and beats that excited us and which we did not know we were capable of creating with a drum we have never used was one of the best highlights of the event. Post this obviously enough because of the strenuous activity we were quite tired and headed straight to a courtyard to munch some food and listen to live music and rest our stimulated bodies and mind and concluding the evening by describing it as 10 on the happiness quotient. On our way out, I asked my companion if she still thought art as boring, never ever again she said with a smile of pure and sincere joy.
Blissfully from the mind of nive prem approved.
