When I look back at my career as an artist and all the milestones that have been achieved over the years, I can’t help but appreciate how all of this took off and happened in one beautiful city: Dubai. This city was the springboard that helped launch my career as an artist and provided me with numerous opportunities to further branch out and expand my artistry and business.
It is the land of endless opportunities, after all.
I remember when I first came to Dubai and I found myself deeply inspired by its diversity, openness and fast paced energy. Everything was constantly evolving, changing and becoming an enhanced version of itself. I found myself at art galleries that were just opening up and I saw how the art scene in the city was just beginning to blossom. I was an artist way before I came to Dubai, but somehow seeing that the city was gearing towards becoming an art hub in the region, I found the personal freedom to dive headfirst in becoming an artist full time.
I started to paint and put together a collection of artworks, I was also posting all of my progress on my Instagram and that is where I found traction. Through Instagram, I was able to connect with collectors based in Dubai and found other artists who were an active part of the city’s creative sector. Before I knew it, my artworks were being sold out quite quickly and I was receiving invitations to display my work at exhibitions across the country.
Having put together a number of collections, I eventually found myself participating at the prestigious World Art Dubai annual exhibition. It is at World Art Dubai I found myself among my people, I was able to see the incredible artistic potential this city held. I was able to personally connect with fans of my work, collectors and various artists who were coming together under one roof to help boost Dubai’s art scene forward. One of the proudest moments of my career happened at World Art Dubai, it was when I won the UAE Resident Award in 2018. This accolade is something that I will forever cherish, as I took it as an indicator that I was on the right path and need to keep going.
Dubai’s futuristic vision and tech focused advancements seeped into my art as well, as I began to venture into the world of NFTs. I found Dubai to be the perfect launching pad of taking my digital art to the next level, as the city’s NFT market was just taking off. I found my NFT artworks being collected internationally, but I found a base of collectors in Dubai who shared my creative vision and passionately collected my work. This stable growing demand of my NFTs is what led me to expand my repertoire of digital artworks and Dubai provided me with the opportunities to do so.
I am also a proud recipient of the Golden visa which was an absolute honour, as I consider UAE to be my second home. This creative visa felt like an acknowledgment and appreciation of all the years of hard work and explored possibilities that this magnificent city had provided me.
As the city continues to evolve and create opportunities for the artists it hosts, I am incredibly excited for the future in this city and all the new possibilities it will bring. Dubai will always have an incredibly special place in my heart and as a proud UAE based artist, I cannot wait to see where it will take me next…
Shop my artwork collection here.
Check my digital artwork collection here.