Van Cleef & Arpels Announces Winner of

The Middle East Emergent Artist Prize 2014

Dubai, United Arab Emirates; March 16, 2014:  Van Cleef & Arpels, Tashkeel and Design Days Dubai announced Vikram Divecha as the winner of this year’s The Middle East Emergent Artist Prize.  Divecha’s winning piece ‘Degenerative Disarrangement’ is a process installation composed of pavement bricks uprooted from a public site and relocated to the courtyard of House 33 in Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood (former Bastakiya). The piece reflects a loss of original context and is described by the artist as a comparison to the altering and struggling found in society today.

The Prize, aimed at further developing the recognition and realization of emergent artists in the Middle East, embarked on an initial call to artists and designers to submit original works in progress under the theme ‘Turning Point’ which focuses on the defining moment during the creative process.  Divecha’s ‘turning point’ was a conversation about how masons work within time constraints, which ensured disarrangement in the course of development.  He then borrowed this process from the streets and utilized construction materials and industrial production methods to create his installation.

“Van Cleef & Arpels is renowned for its creativity and virtuoso craftsmanship. With The Middle East Emergent Artist Prize, we encourage creative minds to express themselves and share their vision with the public in the form of artistic work,” said Alban Belloir, Managing Director Van Cleef & Arpels Middle East & India. “Our mission is to transmit the unique heritage and savoir-faire of the Maison and we will be pleased to welcome Vikram Divecha at L’ECOLE Van Cleef & Arpels and the ateliers in Paris where precious secrets of precious jewels reside.”

Over 80 submissions were reviewed by the selection committee made up of experts in their field, including writer and curator Murtaza Vali; Shumon Basar, curator for the Global Art Forum, Art Dubai;  Director of the International Academy of Art Palestine, Dr. Tina Sherwell;  Alban Belloir, Managing Director  Van Cleef & Arpels Middle East & India; Cyril Zammit, Fair Director of Design Days Dubai;  Tashkeel Founder and Director Sheikha Lateefa bint Maktoum; and Anabelle de Gersigny, Strategy and Partnership Development Manager at Tashkeel.

“The caliber of submissions received for The Middle East Emergent Artist Prize reflects the diversity of creative talent developing across the region, and this is the outcome that we hoped to achieve.  We look forward to sharing Vikram’s winning piece with a wider audience,” said Cyril Zammit, Design Days Dubai’s Fair Director.

Divecha’s artwork will be displayed at the Van Cleef & Arpels exhibition within Design Days Dubai, the world’s most diverse design fair that showcases local, regional, and international collectible modern and contemporary design pieces.

“Receiving such a great diversity of artwork for the 2014 prize emphasizes the creative magnitude on offer in the region,” said Anabelle de Gersigny, Tashkeel’s Strategy and Partnership Development Manager.  “In accordance with this year’s prize theme, Tashkeel will hold the ‘Turning Point’ exhibition until April 30th, showcasing some of the shortlisted works for The Prize.  Together, these works capture the specific and fleeting moment in time when the artist transform their source of inspiration into tangible realities.”

Divecha will be awarded with a trip to Paris to attend courses at L’ÉCOLE Van Cleef & Arpels, founded in 2012 with the objective of unveiling the very secretive worlds of jewelry and watchmaking, and sharing the most precious asset of the Maison: its savoir-faire. He will also be among the privileged few to enter the universe of Van Cleef & Arpels workshops where the Mains d’Or™ resides, the master craftsmen who give form to the Maison’s most sophisticated High Jewelry creations.