DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, 18 October, 2017:  ECHO - the Middle East’s first art, design and technology festival – is calling all creatives to submit their media and performance art entries in order to be showcased during the Festival, which will take place from the 14th to 16th December at Dubai Design District (d3), under the theme ‘Interacting with the Future’.

ECHO’s Open Call is open to anyone based in the UAE. Entrance is free, and the top 10 entries will be given a unique space in the ‘ECHO in Dubai’ Exhibition to showcase their media or performance artwork during the three-day Festival. New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) will judge the entries in partnership with the ECHO team.

Professor Felix Hardmood Beck, Assistant Professor of Practice of Design, Engineering at NYUAD spoke about the partnership: “We are delighted to support ECHO for this exciting Open Call, as well as the Festival at large. ECHO is an exciting new platform, one that is directly aligned with our vision to push forward the frontiers of knowledge, and aid in the development of a sustainable, knowledge-based economy in the UAE. We have seen first-hand the great potential in the country across the art, design and technology disciplines, and this Open Call will give many creatives the opportunity to have their ideas and designs showcased on an international platform. We are very much looking forward to seeing and ‘experiencing’ the entries.”

The ECHO Open Call will accept entries across various disciplines including but not limited to:

Media Art: Medial objects, medial installations, artworks, digital art, computer graphics, computer animation, virtual art, Internet art, interactive art, video games, computer robotics, 3D printing, cyborg art and art as biotechnology.

Performance Art: Any performance that is suitable for an outdoor environment.

Noura Hawilo, ECHO’s Conceptualiser at MICE International elaborated: “NYUAD is one of the world's great research universities, with an exceptional liberal arts and sciences college. Education and knowledge transfer is a core principle at ECHO and so it is important for us to partner with – and learn from – leading universities across the UAE. Today, as part of our ongoing community engagement, we hosted more than 35 UAE-based universities at d3, to launch the ECHO Open Call. Our vision is to create an ECHO community that will sustainably support all those interested in, and involved with, the forward-looking concepts that ECHO is exploring.”

She added: “Having been a design management student myself at the American University of Sharjah’s School of Architecture and Design, I have seen the immense home – grown talent we have, and I am very proud to be part of a movement that will nurture this talent, and hopefully launch disruptors and innovators from the UAE on a global scale.”

A first for the region, the Festival aims to foster a culture where art, design, science and technology interact to pave the way for a new realm of integrated technologies. Harnessing Dubai’s reputation as a city of the future and a leading platform for multi-culturalism, creativity and business, this year’s event will focus on the real-virtual boundaries between users and the digital dimension.

The groundbreaking Festival comprises an exhibition for local and international artists and participants to exhibit their works, a conference to exchange knowledge and generate new ideas within the community, workshops across a range of artistic and creative disciplines, and a sound festival that combines the best musical talent with digital technology and an immersive visual experience.

Official partners for this year’s ‘ECHO in Dubai’ Festival include: Emirates Airline as the Official Airline, MB & F |M.A.D. Gallery and McLaren UAE as Premium Partners, OMNES Media as the Online Media Partner, FRACTAL Systems as the Technical Partner, Site Global as the Branding Partner, with the cultural support of New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD): Engineering (NTSI-Lab, Engineering Design Studio), Art & Humanities (Film & New Media), Zayed University, and Dubai International Design Institute (DIDI).

The latest ‘ECHO in Dubai’ programme and list of speakers and artists can be found here: http://echodubai.com/program/

The wider ‘ECHO in Dubai’ Festival will be free to the public. Register online for early bird ticket to the Conference, Workshops and the Sound Festival at: http://echodubai.com/register/ 

ENDS

About ECHO - Art, Design and Technology Festival

‘ECHO in Dubai’ is the region’s first multi-sensory festival where art, design and technology intersect to provide a platform for local and international businesses, brands and minds to connect and collaborate. This year’s edition will launch in Dubai, taking place from the 14th to the 16th December in Dubai’s Design District ‘d3’, under the theme, “Interacting with the Future”. The 3-day Festival will include an exhibition showcasing immersive installations by local and international exhibitors, a conference to exchange knowledge and generate new ideas within the industry; workshops across a range of artistic and creative disciplines hosted by international experts; and a sound festival that combines leading musical talent with audio-visual technology to offer a truly immersive experience. 

Website:           http://echodubai.com/

Instagram:        https://www.instagram.com/echoindubai

Facebook:         https://www.facebook.com/echofestivaldxb

Twitter:                       https://twitter.com/echoindubai

YouTube:        

Podcasts:         https://soundcloud.com/echo-dubai  

About MICE International

MICE International is an integrated, UAE - grown events management company based in Dubai. Established in 2011 with a vision to create events that are distinctively significant, MICE International offers a unique perspective that conceptualises clients’ needs to deliver an exceptional, memorable experience. The skilled, multi-cultural team merges creativity, technology and innovation with a wide range of skills, disciplines, and deep regional experience. The team keeps abreast of current and emerging trends to ensure clients receive maximum impact and return on their investment.

For media enquiries and speaker interviews please contact:

Megan Ballantyne

Associate Director

megan@waterbrandgroup.com

+971 55 697 5176