a platform

421 is an independent, anti-disciplinary platform dedicated to emerging artists and creative practitioners in the UAE and across the region. A site for research, learning and experimentation, 421 provides a nurturing environment for emergent creative practices and those who want to harness the arts as an agent for social inquiry and transformation.

Madar_39 is a thriving ecosystem of creative and cultural entrepreneurs, learning, growing, and cultivating new things and breakthrough ideas.

Alongside a dynamic community of members – likeminded people, people on similar journeys, some starting, some well on their way – and a year-round programme for personal and professional development, M_39 offers flexible workspaces, dedicated studio spaces, convening spaces, meeting spaces, project spaces, an auditorium, a rooftop, and a podcast recording studio: spaces to grow, develop and, above all, create what comes next.

MAKE is part workshop, lab, studio, and garage with wide range of professional grade machinery, tools, and classes covering the technical, the mechanical and the tactile elements of design, engineering, making, and art.
MAKE is welcoming community of entrepreneurs and experimenters, designers and artists, DIY enthusiasts, hobbyists, learners, and doers. We welcome makers of all ages and capabilities, from absolute beginners to professional designers. It’s a place for young minds and old hands, where people with different levels of creative ability and making knowledge come together to make their ideals real.

The Salama bint Hamdan Emerging Artists Fellowship (SEAF) is an intensive 10-month artistic education and development program for promising UAE based artists run by the Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation (SHF). Established in 2013, the program focuses on the artistic development process, the critique process, immersive studio practice and the cultivation of an interactive online community for participating artists and faculty. In addition to their academic coursework, personal development and studio practice in the UAE, fellows undertake an international study tour that includes meetings with fine arts faculty and students, artists, curators, galleries and academics. The multifaceted mission of SEAF is to boost the academic knowledge and professional skills of participating fellows while also cultivating their ability to analyze, evaluate and discuss their own work in order to prepare them for post-graduate studies and a professional career in the arts. There are presently 24 former fellows who have completed, or are enrolled in, MFA programs internationally with the support of a SEAF scholarship.