SIKKA Arts and Design Festival attracts more than 200,000 visitors in its 14th session
Dubai, February 12, 2017 – The 14th edition of the SIKKA Arts and Design Festival, which was held under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairwoman of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, achieved qualitative results that strengthened its position as one of the most prominent cultural engines in the emirate.
The Authority announced that the festival attracted more than 200,000 visitors, with the participation of more than 1,000 creative people from the UAE and the Gulf countries, including 426 artists and 12 curators, in addition to a music program in which 350 musicians participated, more than 80 workshop presenters, and 86 speakers and experts, in addition to a number of stores, tasting destinations, and chefs participating in the festival’s activities.
Kholoud Khoury, Director of the Design Department at the Authority and Director of the SIKKA Arts and Design Festival, said that what the festival has achieved reflects its role in supporting the cultural and creative industries system, and opening new horizons for pioneering and emerging artists by providing platforms for display, interaction, exchange of experiences, and building professional networking.
The 14th session came under the slogan “Dubai Visions Narrate Our Future Identity,” and included the display of more than 250 artistic works distributed among 16 houses specialized in various creative fields, including the Gulf House, the Urban Culture House, the Design House, the Photography House, the Visual Arts House, and the Culinary Arts House, in addition to the International House, the Art and Technology House, and the Ceramics House.
The festival witnessed the implementation of 13 artistic murals whose themes were inspired by Dubai’s identity and cultural memory, in addition to outdoor installation artworks in the historic Shindagha neighborhood, in support of Dubai’s strategy for art in public places.
The festival program also included organizing more than 950 workshops, providing more than 40 dialogue and presentation sessions, hosting about 55 live musical performances, in addition to 10 orchestral and choir performances and musical marches, the participation of 43 local food and beverage projects, 52 local stores, and the organization of 9 dinner clubs under the supervision of a group of elite chefs.
The current session reviewed the outputs of the SIKKA Platform programs for the year 2025, which included interactive installation works and 10 short animated films, in addition to the first evaluation contributions of three participants within the Foundations of Artistic Evaluation programme, while volunteers played a pivotal role in organizing events, guiding visitors, and making the 14th session of the festival a success under the umbrella of the Dubai Art Season.
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