The 2018/2019 Youth Assembly members are: Shaikha Al Ketbi, Salwa Al Khudairi, Abdulghanni Al Nahawi, Hassan Adebayo Bello, Sara Bin Safwan, Jenan Ismail, Arpana Murugappan, Dina Tawil, and Ray Yafi.

Members biographies:

Shaikha Al Ketbi
Shaikha Fahad Al Ketbi is a visual artist whose multimedia practice spans across photography, drawing and installation art. Her work explores themes of self-awareness and blurs the line between fiction and reality. Much of her current practice involves instantaneous performative responses to isolated landscapes framed through her vivid, experiential dreams.

Salwa Al Khudairi
Salwa Al Khudairi is an Architect. She received her bachelor of Architecture from the American University of Sharjah, UAE. Prior to working at T.ZED Architects, she was a research assistant at the American University of Sharjah. Her final thesis, Phonogram, was a RIBA president’s medals finalist in 2017 and has received the Omrania CSBE award that same year.

Al Khudairi’s past projects include: Keswa, the Christo and Jeanne Claude Award (2015); Majlis, Abu Dhabi Art Pavilion (2017); Apex, Hajj Exhibition Installation (2017) and her work has been featured in WTD magazine and The Journal of Architectural Education.

Abdulghanni Al Nahawi
Born and raised in the UAE, Abdelghani Al Nahawi explores evolved impressions in a world which claims to be physical. He creates sculptures that appear deconstructed or ruined or exhausted, in order to investigate what is given (or not) and what is seen (or not).

Hassan Adebayo Bello
Hassan Adebayo Bello is a software engineer turned social entrepreneur. He is a nomad at heart, when he’s not busy promoting equality and inclusiveness; he enjoys spending time outdoors and exploring the world. His mission is to empower communities through the initiatives he embarks on and the work that he does. In 2016, Hassan founded The Ajala Project a Dubai-based social enterprise project that raises awareness and crowdfunds for impactful initiatives via artwork.

Sara Bin Safwan
Sara bin Safwan currently works as Assistant Curator for Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, as a member of the curatorial team responsible for defining the vision for Guggenheim Abu Dhabi museum. She received her BA in Culture, Criticism and Curation from Central Saint Martins in 2015 were she developed a keen interest in post-colonial theory. In 2016, she founded the online art platform, Banat Collective which focuses on discussing intersectionality and feminism within the regional context of MENA through art and writing. The collective released its first collaborative publication in 2018 titled, ‘In The Middle of it All’, a 31-artist collaboration of visual art, writing and poetry.

Jenan Ismail
Jenan Ismail graduated with a bachelor of Multimedia Design from the College of Art, Architecture and Design at the American University in Sharjah, UAE. She is a designer and visual artist whose work encompasses a wide range of creative practices, including film, photography, design and visual art. Her main interest is exploring the many ways through which diverse media can be merged and unified.

Arpana Murugappan
Arpana Murugappan is a multimedia designer. She couldn’t pick one thing to do, so she decided to do them all; including but not limited to illustration, photography, video and audio editing, web development, graphic design and animation. In her free time, you can either find her trying to pet a cat or reading a book. She is currently a senior at the American University of Sharjah.

Dina Tawil
Dina Tawil has a strong compulsion to create – anything from doodles to posters and travel videos. A multimedia designer by degree, a User Interface designer by vocation, and an illustrator by passion, she is always looking for new projects to work on. In her free time, she can be found doodling strangers and making up their life stories.

Ray Yafi
Ray Yafi is a multidisciplinary designer based in Dubai, UAE. She graduated from the American University of Sharjah with a Bachelor of Science in Visual Communication where she practiced bilingual design and studied the fundamentals of Arabic typography. Ray works across various creative disciplines, including publication design, brand identity development and art direction. Her focus on bilingual design supports her insights on further developing and incorporating cultural nuances within her work.

The 2018/2019 edition of the programme culminated in the Youth Takeover 2019.