Emirates sends volunteers to Venice

Emirates airline, in partnership with the UAE Pavilion for the Venice Biennale, sent off the first set of volunteers to Venice, Italy on 31 May 2009. Volunteers will participate in the UAE’s first national pavilion at the international Venice Biennale, a major international exhibition, showcasing the contemporary art of more than 70 countries and expected to host over 900,000 visitors.

Once there, the volunteers will serve as gallery managers and assistants in the UAE Pavilion. The exhibition will take place June 7-November 22 in Venice, Italy.

The UAE’s national pavilion will be titled “It’s Not You, It’s Me,”- a playful and provocative look at the world’s most prestigious contemporary art event.

The sendoff of this first set of volunteers marks the beginning of many sets of volunteers who will travel to Venice; all coordinated by donations of Emirates airline.

“The Volunteer programme is a critical part of how we showcase the up coming talent of the contemporary art, design and architecture of the UAE. The pavilion will be a place at which international visitors can take away with them a unique experience of interacting with UAE nationals or residents; these volunteers are our ambassadors and the custodians of their very first national pavilion,” said Dr Lamees Hamdan, Commissioner of the UAE Pavilion.

“We are delighted to have Emirates airline be our partners and enable us to fly our volunteers to Venice. We have a programme that will run from late May through to November 2009 and this support is invaluable to our programme.”

“Emirates is delighted to sponsor the UAE Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Emirates has always been committed to working closely with our local UAE community and we are honored to be able to coordinate the travel of the many volunteers involved, helping to fulfill their dreams of working at this prominent cultural event. The UAE Pavilion is an important initiative and we look forward to further extending our partnership in the future,” said Sami Aqil Abdulla, Vice President Airports Services at Emirates Terminal 3.

Initiated and supported by His Excellency Abdul Rahman Mohammed Al Owais, UAE Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, the UAE Pavilion is being developed and presented under the leadership of its Commissioner, Dr. Lamees Hamdan, a member of the Board of Directors of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority. Serving as curator for the UAE Pavilion is Tirdad Zolghadr, an internationally respected curator, critic, professor and filmmaker.

A high-level delegation from the UAE comprising His Excellency Abdul Rahman Mohammed Al Owais, UAE Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, Omar bin Sulaiman, Governor of the Dubai International Financial Centre, Paolo Dionisi, the Italian Ambassador to the UAE and his wife Tala Slim Dionisi and number of distinguished persons will also travel with Emirates later this week to participate in the UAE’s first national pavilion. In all, there will be 62 volunteers travelling and represent the UAE at the event.

Built in a large and prominent location in the Arsenale, one of the two main areas of the Venice Biennale—the UAE Pavilion will combine scenographic elements and architectural design by the partnership of Rami Farook (founder of the UAE’s Traffic design gallery) and the Belgian architectural collective D’haeseleer & Kimpe & Poelaert, known for its collaborations with visual artists.

The UAE Pavilion at the Venice Biennale is initiated by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Community Development, and is supported by the Emirates Foundation and the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (DCAA).