Describe the main features of the measure/initiative:
Founded in 2015, Warehouse421 is a home-grown arts and design center dedicated to showcasing and nurturing creative production from across the region. Working in collaboration with local, regional and international entities, Warehouse421 contributes to the development of the UAE’s creative ecosystem through learning, research and commissions.
The Center is committed to supporting emerging talent from the UAE and the Middle East and South Asia, and takes a collaborative approach in hosting and curating exhibitions, presenting and contextualizing local and regional research and cultural practices in an anti-disciplinary space. It hosts a range of public programs and learning opportunities that support creative practices, artistic exchange and stimulate critical discourse. It also provides a wide range of engaging learning opportunities for children, students, educators, artists, and creative professionals to develop their creative practices and inspire innovation.
Warehouse421 has the following institutional objectives:
• Foster a space of multi-modal learning that is inclusive of various community groups and their needs
• Produce exhibitions that explore nascent discourse across creative disciplines
• Cement Warehouse421 as the public’s accessible gateway to the wider Mina Zayed development
• Suffuse art, design, and creative discourse through the general public
• Widen public access into the arts and foster general learning through creative disciplines
• Build capacity for arts and culture operations in the local workforce
• Support emerging creative practitioner in their growth as cultural leaders
• Bolster sustained long-term creative practices locally and regionally
• Push creative practitioners to engage at a deeper level with their community of creatives
• Respond dynamically to the growth of the creative community
Website of the measure/initiative, if available:
What are the results achieved so far through the implementation of the measure/initiative?:
• As of October 2020, Warehouse421’s program included 27 exhibitions, presented works by more than 500 creative practitioners from the MENASA region.
• Warehouse421 has attracted 700-800 visitors to the 8-10 screenings it hosts yearly as part of its regular film program.
• Warehouse421 hosted over 600 public programs since its opening.
• As the world continues to grapple with the COVID-19 Pandemic, Warehouse421 launched a Homebound Residency Program. The program supports 8 regional creative practitioners in the region in producing new work and exploring digital forms of community engagement in their practices while socially isolating. The residency program will offer residents a production budget that can go up to AED 30,000 that will go into the equipment and materials for the realization of their projects in their own spaces.