Dubai Culture has produced a ‘Creative Sector Resilience Portfolio’ in the form of what is described as a new AED 1 billion support package for the creative sector.
The broad outlines have been published, but there’s nothing on the detail – no PDFs, no open calls or ‘how to apply’ docs, no specific informational websites. We don’t know how the AED 1bn is calculated – a lot of the Portfolio’s content seem to come in resources and discount deals rather than hard cash. There’s no timescale over which the AED 1bn is expected to be distributed. And on the face of it, it seems probable – desirable, indeed – that a number of existing initiatives will be rolled into the Portfolio of offers and products.
For now, we just have an enthusiastic press release and accompanying social media graphic that promise initiatives across five ‘pillars’. Of those, the two big ones relate to spaces (studios and production spaces, presentation/performance areas, office-type facilities for white-collar creativity) and money (grants, commissions, other types of funding). There’s a nod towards exposure (exhibition spaces, marcomms) and another ‘pillar’ covers talent identification and professional development. The fifth seems a somewhat opportunistic bolt-on to put more public art around the city.
So, from the top:
Cultural Infrastructure — affordable and free spaces. Multipurpose venues and dedicated spaces will be delivered through partnerships with Dubai Municipality, Dubai CommerCity, Dubai Holding, DIFC, and Dubai South, all of whom have commercial property available; there’s the House of Arts at Expo City Dubai, too, which is more specifically geared to creative endeavours with studios, exhibition spaces and rehearsal rooms.
But there are so many questions: how appropriate will those options be? Making sculptures can be a messy, noisy, affair: rehearsing an art-noise opera might fit badly with other tenants. Just how many dedicated spaces for exhibition or production studios will be available, and how does that compare to demand? Are they equipped or bare? How long would a tenancy normally last? How would insurance and liabilities work? Are they really free?
As for the ‘affordable’ option, it seems that will be offered via Letswork. When we checked a couple of days ago, Letswork had around 150 coworking ‘spaces’ in the UAE, a mix of hotels, cafés, and seats in business centres. Now, back in 2021 Dubai Culture did a deal with Letswork that gives creatives free credits to use in Letswork workspaces, and while there’s currently no mention of this on the Dubai Culture website it is still live here. It’s easy to sign up; and it gets you AED 75 worth of credits, good for a day pass or two (but if you want a fully equipped studio, expect to pay more like AED 2,000 a day). This arrangement will presumably be included in the Portfolio mix – and will hopefully be extended: one day isn’t much.
Potentially more exciting is the line that “Dubai Culture will also make dedicated space available within its own assets”. We’re not sure exactly what assets those might be; Dubai Culture doesn’t have masses of spare office and studio space of its own … but there is the possibility of below-market-rent space in the Al Quoz Creative Zone, which does promise that multipurpose studios and workspaces will become available. That’s not directly in the gift of Dubai Culture; the Creative Zone is being developed and managed by wasl Asset Management Group, which doesn’t seem to be among the partners listed in the Portfolio press release. Dubai Culture is providing strategic input and pump-priming, though, and maybe the strategy could include discounts or freebies.
On the downside, it’s clear that the Al Quoz Creative Zone is a long way off its original 2025 completion target. The master plan envisioned growing the number of creatives in the zone from 900 to 20,000, expanding creative spaces eightfold, and building housing for over 8,000 residents. The end-of-year review slipped out a few numbers for progress since the Zone’s launch in 2021 – incentive packages worth over AED 68 million to support creative businesses, more than 3,500 new business licences, more than 6,400 creative jobs (though some of those will have come from other areas so shouldn’t count as new jobs). But clearly the spades-in-the-ground bit has been limited to the (admittedly impressive) transport infrastructure works by RTA, and we don’t expect any great influx of low-cost Alserkal-style spaces any time soon.
Creative Production — support delivered via grant funding and commissioning. This includes the previously-announced Dubai Cultural Grant, AED 180m allocated over 10 years – the first-year rollout included 18 grants totalling AED 12m – for projects in a variety of creative fields.
There’s also …
– a micro-grants programme with Art Jameel (small-scale project funding for artists, writers, curators and creatives for production, research and short-term projects – probably a continuation of existing Art Jameel grant programmes, though the Art Jameel Research and Practice Platform referenced here has apparently been folded into the Dubai Cultural Grant programme)
– a micro-commissioning programme with Luxuriant Design (small-scale design projects to support local designers and makers. We know nothing about Luxuriant, but we found this company which appears to be a specialised decorative homewares business: not sure how that works)
– an exhibition grant in partnership with Art Dubai (scope undefined – does it mean subsidised space within Art Dubai? Or is it the existing programmethat provides up to 50% funding for Dubai galleries to participate in international art fairs?) Again, there are no details about exactly how these grants will be delivered, let alone where how and when to apply …
Participation & Audiences — promotional/media support and retail/exhibition opportunities. This seems to refer primarily (maybe solely) to Majid Al Futtaim’s Ma’an programme. This provides complimentary retail/exhibition spaces in the company’s malls for small businesses of any kind. As for promotions and the like, there don’t seem to be any Portfolio partners that might be geared to specific marcomms support.
Talent Development — training and professional development. Workshops, activation programmes and training courses, and continuation of Dubai Culture’s e‑learning initiatives in partnership with LinkedIn. Several of the first-year Dubai Cultural Grant awards are for training and talent identification, but maybe there will be a more systematic approach to professional development in the creative/cultural sector …
Cultural Impact — public art. This seems to relate to a deal with PHI Advertising to use outdoor billboards as sites for murals and similar creative works. PHI also has several digital-screen sites and giant bridge banners, which could be interesting. Dubai Culture has run other public art projects for specific sites in the past, and maybe there’ll be more of these – the press release does after all talk about “turning Dubai into an open-air gallery”, and we don’t think PHI has more than 400 or so sites in the city most of which will be taken by paying customers.
The Portfolio appears to be the principal outcome of the Creative Sector Resilience workshop run early last month by Dubai Culture and Dubai Future Foundation at Etihad Museum. At that event Hala Badri, Dubai Culture DG, emphasised the need for adaptability but also said that the workshop reflects the Authority’s efforts to build innovative frameworks and actionable solutions – “through this workshop, we are working to translate dialogue into practical steps that support continuity, strengthen performance, and ensure long-term growth”.
All of which is of course highly desirable; let’s see how practical the steps are, and whether practicality extends to a click-here-to-apply button. We’ll report when we know more.
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