Designer Hamza Al Omari wins the competition prize organized by the prestigious jewelry house Van Cleef & Arpels in collaboration with Tashkeel and Design Days Dubai

The Jordanian designer residing in Dubai, Hamza Al-Omari, won this year's award from the "Emerging Artist Award in the Middle East 2017" competition, organized by the prestigious jewelry house "Van Cleef & Arpels", in cooperation with "Tashkeel" and "Design Days Dubai". ». Van Cleef & Arpels will display the winning design, titled Cradle, next November at the Dubai Design District.

In November 2016, Van Cleef & Arpels and Tashkeel, in partnership with Design Days Dubai, invited emerging designers from and residents of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries wishing to participate in the “Middle East Emerging Artist Award 2017” competition. To provide designs for purposeful or functional products that embody the concept of “growth”, the Emerging Artist Award in the Middle East 2017 aims primarily to support emerging and promising designers living in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and to introduce their creative work globally.

In this regard, Alessandro Maffei, Managing Director, Middle East and India, Van Cleef & Arpels, said: “We congratulate all the qualified designers and the exceptional talent who made it to the final stage of the competition, and we also congratulate them on these creative and influential designs that embodied the concept.” Growth” for this year's award cycle. Thanks to the concerted efforts with our partners in Tashkeel and Design Days Dubai, the Emerging Artist Award in the Middle East provides an important platform to introduce the design sector and emerging designers in the countries of the region and highlight their creative ideas, paving the way for them to go global. The quality and quality of the participating talents is improving year after year, and their artistic creations - which really amazed us in the competition - are starting to contribute to the advancement of the design sector in the region. We look forward to seeing more of these innovations and innovative ideas in the 2018 edition.”

In addition to the competition prize of AED30 that Al-Omari received for his winning project, the designer was invited to participate in a five-day trip to the French capital, Paris, to attend an intensive course at L'ÉCOLE Van Cleef & Arpels, a college that aims to introduce the secrets of Fine jewelry and watches industry.

The winning design embodies the cradle, a modern crib made of wood, leather and felt, inspired by a Bedouin tool called the samil that was traditionally used to turn goat's milk into cheese during the day, and as a cradle for infants at night. Al-Omari designed his artistic creation with this dual-functionality in mind, where the design can be used to turn goat's milk into cheese during the day and use it as a cradle for children at night.

Commenting on his winning of this award, Al-Omari said: “I am very proud to have been chosen as the winner of this year’s Emerging Artist Award in the Middle East, and I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Van Cleef & Arpels, Tashkeel and Design Days. Dubai” for providing us with this unique opportunity, and for their continued support of the design and art community. The design sector is a relatively new creative sector in the region, and the presence of such initiatives greatly contributes to promoting creative ideas and encouraging discovery. I am also very excited to take part in the special journey and learn new skills at L'ÉCOLE Van Cleef & Arpels in Paris, it will surely contribute to enhancing and refining my talent as a designer.”

Speaking about the inspiration for the winning Cradle design, Al Omari said: “Life in Dubai is fast and modern, and people often forget the lives of ancestors and their ancient heritage that echoes through the sand dunes of our distinctive desert. Just like the movement and development of the Emirate of Dubai, the Bedouins are constantly on the move and adapting to different environments in search of opportunities to achieve growth and prosperity. This state of movement and continuous travel has left a great impact on their design concepts, which are all centered around functionality and small size with great importance on the issue of necessity and use, and this design style was reflected in my personal philosophy that emphasizes the need to fit form with function.”