Nurturing and developing the UAE’s creative economy

The creative economy. The term refers to the interchange of ideas, intellectual property, knowledge and technology. But it is an ever-evolving concept, and resists being pigeonholed into a single definition.

It has also become a bit of a buzzword in the UAE, especially in the last 15 years as the country has endeavoured to bolster its creative sector. In this time, several cultural institutions have been launched that reshaped the local creative landscape, notably Louvre Abu Dhabi and NYUAD on Saadiyat, Jameel Arts Centre and AlSerkal Avenue in Dubai and the House of Wisdom in Sharjah.

But launching cultural institutions is only the first step. Next comes the challenge of engaging with the public and inspiring the next generation of artists, architects, software engineers, writers, publishers, researchers and filmmakers.

Maya Allison, Executive Director of The NYUAD Art Gallery, and Bill Bragin, Executive Artistic Director at NYUAD Arts Centre, discuss the role NYUAD is playing in nurturing and developing this creative economy.