Dubai, UAE, 18 May 2025: Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) has announced the recipients of the inaugural Etihad Museum Research Grant. Launched to position Etihad Museum as a catalyst for knowledge production, the grant offers participants a unique opportunity to delve into the Authority's archives, engaging with and contributing to a diverse collection of artefacts, objects, and narratives. The grant also aligns with the Authority's vision of strengthening the role of museums as central points for knowledge production, education, scholarly inquiry, and the preservation of local heritage.

Artist Asma Yousef Al Ahmed and hiker-photographer Mohammed Ahmed Ahli, together with archaeologist-museologist Annissa Maulina Gultom, were awarded the grant. Their submissions stood out for originality and unique methodologies, offering new perspectives on UAE narratives. The recipients were also selected based on how well their project met the programme's evaluation criteria, which considered relevance to Emirati identity, thematic focus, data-collection methods, audience engagement, and its contribution to activating the museum's spaces.

Asma and Mohammed will collaboratively document the wild mountain plants of the Hajar Mountains through their project 'Rooted in Stone: A Botanical Reflection from the UAE Hajar.' By combining botanical research, oral histories, photography, plant pressing, and artistic interpretation, they will produce a bilingual art encyclopaedia, 'Rooted in Stone,' which depicts the ecological and cultural importance of the UAE's landscapes.

Meanwhile, Annissa will reconstruct H.H. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan's early journeys through her work: 'Offroad Diplomacy: Sheikh Zayed's Domestic Tours Across the Emirates (1966–1976) and the Establishment of E11 as the Nation's Lifeline.' Through archival photographs, infrastructure reports, and cross-referenced historical data, her work will examine how early development efforts, particularly the creation of the E11 highway, laid the groundwork for national unification under Sheikh Zayed.

Over the next 12 months, both projects will engage in a programme of field exploration, research, and documentation. The culmination will be a series of public programmes and interventions integrated into the Etihad Museum's cultural season, ensuring accessible and impactful knowledge-sharing with diverse audiences.

The Etihad Museum Research Grant was launched under the umbrella of the Dubai Cultural Grant, an initiative under the emirate's Quality of Life Strategy. Over ten years, up to AED 180 million will be directed toward empowering professionals across the cultural and creative industries - reinforcing Dubai's position as a global centre for culture, an incubator for creativity, and a thriving hub for talent.