Art installations add colour to Jumeira bus stops

Our Correspondent

Brand Dubai, the creative arm of the Government of Dubai Media Office (GDMO), in collaboration with the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), today unveiled a series of public art installations that form part of the second phase of the ‘Jumeira Project’.

Created under the theme ‘Memories of Jumeira’, the initiative features eight installations that celebrate the spirit of one of Dubai’s most prominent neighbourhoods. Developed by international artists, the artworks have been installed in select bus stops along Jumeira Road stretching from the Dubai Canal to Jumeira Al Naseem.

The Jumeira Project is aimed at further raising the neighbourood’s profile as a cultural hub in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. Brand Dubai recently activated a brand identity campaign for Jumeira, which highlights its unique character as a destination that offers diverse creative, aesthetic and social experiences for residents and visitors.

Shaima Al Suwaidi, City Branding Manager of Brand Dubai, said the Jumeira Project “contributes to realising the broader vision to transform Dubai into an open-air museum that celebrates creativity and aesthetic excellence.”
“The art experiences at the bus stops take viewers on a unique storytelling experience by highlighting memories from Jumeira’s past. The unique installations enrich public spaces in Jumeira and provide residents and visitors opportunities to closely engage with art and creativity,” Al Suwaidi noted.

The installations were designed to appeal to all age groups and communities and add beauty and colour to the streets of Dubai.

Some of the artworks evoke nostalgia for Dubai’s past while others celebrate its futuristic aspirations. An artwork titled Pink Flamingo is inspired by the shapes of colourful floaties commonly found in small shops across Jumeira Road. Another installation features jellyfish which is abundantly found in Jumeira beach waters during the summer.

Installations featuring colourful chicks, a cassette player and a Teela, a glass ball similar to a marble used by Emirati children to play a popular traditional game, reconnect people with their childhood. There are artworks featuring coffee cups, a paper boat, and robots made using metal cans that honour Dubai’s heritage and celebrate its vision for the future.

The international artists who participated in developing the artworks included Polish artist Martin Kot; French architect and digital artist Cyril Lancelin; Massimo Sirelli, founder and art director of a creative studio and a professor at Istituto Europeo di Design di Torino (IED); and Viacheslav Heyderikch, a Ukrainian artist of functional and 3D graphics and animation.

Launched in 2018, the first phase of the Jumeira Project was implemented along the Jumeira Road stretching from the Dubai Canal to the Burj Al Arab. It featured 23 distinctive murals created by local, regional and international artists to enrich public spaces in the area and provide residents and visitors opportunities to experience memories from the neighbourhood’s past.

Apart from public art, the Jumeira Project encompasses a range of activations that aim to celebrate the identity of Jumeira. The Project is being implemented in partnership with the RTA, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, Dubai Municipality, Dubai Tourism, Dubai Culture and Arts Authority and Dubai Sports Council.