Describe the main features of the measure/initiative:
Jameel Arts Center (Art Jameel) is a complementary, independent organization that fosters and promotes contemporary art, cultural heritage protection, and creative entrepreneurship across the Middle East, North Africa, and beyond.
Library Circles is a series featuring research, talks and experimental interventions by UAE practitioners in the Jameel Library and Jameel Arts Center. The program explores alternative research methodologies and representations with a focus on ‘thinking in public’.
Participants come from a wide range of practices, such as artists, designers, researchers and writers.
The program targets a wide range of audiences, beyond young people. The diverse range of topics and mediums appeal to many types of audiences and also draw in universities, who organize seminars with the Jameel Library.
Website of the measure/initiative, if available:
What are the results achieved so far through the implementation of the measure/initiative?:
Since opening its doors on November 11, 2018, Library Circles has put on the following:
• 6 installations/research exhibits
• 7 collaborators
• 5 public talks
• 2 commissions
Each Library Circles contributor leaves a lasting impact on the Library by recommending book titles to be acquired by the library, which are then purchased, become part of a reading list and become available to a wider audience.
The program has been measured qualitatively and the following impacts have been observed:
● Supporting homegrown research practices and promoting knowledge exchange
● Providing spaces to less established practitioners
● Developing emerging practitioners’ practices and nurturing them: One example is, after Rand Abdul Jabbar, the first Library Circles collaborator, presented her research on conservation and archaeology in Iraq, her research was developed into an installation that was part of ‘Phantom Limb,’ an Art Jameel-curated exhibition that explores the theme of material heritage.
● Practitioners who work with the Library have been instrumental in building the collection of the library
Working with a wide range of practitioners strengthens the creative sector, academic research coming out of the UAE and exposes audiences to voices that may not be accessible otherwise.