The UNESCO-Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture recognizes recipients' artistic achievements celebrating Arab art and culture globally. Core to UNESCO's anti-racism, anti-discrimination and intercultural dialogue agenda, the Prize promotes peace and dialogue to foster mutual understanding and celebrate diversity.
For this 20th edition of the Prize, the international jury recognized Ms Aya Tarek and Mr Alidji Alvin Touré's contributions to promoting the arts and Arab culture, and supporting their local communities.
The award ceremony will be held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 28 November 2024.
Aya Tarek is an internationally renowned Egyptian artist. As a painter and multidisciplinary artist, she boasts a diverse portfolio of art projects, feature films and collaborations that have garnered acclaim in major cities such as São Paulo and Frankfurt.
With experimentation being at the forefront of Aya's artistic endeavors, she explores innovative mediums such as virtual reality and new forms of studio painting, revisiting her classical training roots and pushing herself in unexplored directions.
Aya introduces the idea of art as a field of experimentation, opening several possibilities for reconceptualizing contemporary Arab culture. Her aesthetic interventions in the urban space should also be mentioned as an example of her social engagement and her creativity.
Alidji Alvin Touré from Mali is the first African laureate to receive the UNESCO-Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture. While his early works are praised for their ability to capture the essence of the city and its culture, his cinematic journey began with documentary projects highlighting Timbuktu's Arab heritage.
In 2021, Alvin founded the International Film Festival of Timbuktu for local and international filmmakers to share their films and promote intercultural dialogue. This festival has become a landmark in the cinematic landscape of Sahel, attracting talents from around the world and strengthening bonds between communities.
In creating social and cultural spaces that are accessible to all local communities, the work of Alidji Alvin Touré promotes collaborative artistic initiatives in contexts of conflict and violence.
About the UNESCO-Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture
Created in 1998 and run by UNESCO's Social and Human Sciences Sector at the initiative of the United Arab Emirates, the UNESCO-Sharjah Prize awards two laureates per year, individuals, groups or institutions, in recognition of their contribution to Arab art and culture, or for participating in the dissemination of the latter outside the Arab world.
The initiative contributes towards the Organization's objectives of fostering inclusive, resilient and peaceful societies. The Prize carries a monetary value of USD 60,000, which is equally divided between the two laureates.
