Dubai, UAE, July 4, 2011: Continuing its international exhibition program, the Abraaj Capital Art Prize (ACAP) will participate in Shubbak, the first ever celebration of contemporary culture from across the Arab world, to be held in London. The event is organized by the Mayor of London and will run from 4 - 24 July 2011. 

The Abraaj Capital Art Prize is globally unique in that it rewards artistic proposals rather than finished works of art. So far, winners of the first three Art Prizes have come from Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Tunisia and Turkey. Curators have hailed from Sri Lanka, Iran, the US, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK. Winners of the 4^th edition will be announced in the autumn and will unveil their new artworks in March 2012.

"At this time of heightened attention in our part of the world, it is essential to give artists from the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia region, the opportunity to display their work and provide an arena to debate the impact that culture can have on all areas of society," Sicre added.

Hala Elkoussy, an artist based in Cairo, was one of the Abraaj Capital Art Prize winners in 2010. Her artwork, Myths and Legends Room - The Mural, commissioned by the prize and now part of the Abraaj Capital Art Collection, will be on display in the central exhibitions area at City Hall, seat of the Greater London Authority, for the duration of the celebration. Guided tours of the work can be arranged, which through its mesmerizing trail of individual narratives inspired by traditional and contemporary myths and legends, anticipates events that were to happen one year after the work was produced.

Munira Mirza, Advisor for Arts and Culture for the Mayor of London, added, ""Shubbak will be a window on contemporary culture from across the Arab world. There is a real sense of excitement at the prospect of so many Arab artists coming to London, meeting, collaborating and debating ideas with artists based here in London, reflecting the city's role as a global centre for cultural exchange. I have no doubt the Festival will provide a huge opportunity for London to share in a truly diverse and exciting program of contemporary cultural events from the Arab world".

Patrons are advised to reserve their places at the special event celebrating the Abraaj Capital Art Prize on Thursday July 7^th at 7pm at the Mosaic Rooms. The event will begin with a panel discussion introduced by Omar Al-Qattan with ACAP curators Laura Egerton, Leyla Fakhr and Sharmini Pereira with Jessica Morgan (The Daskalopoulos Curator, International Art, Tate) discussing the prize within the wider context of the region. This will be followed by the global launch of the publication 'Footnote to a Project', a specially commissioned book project conceived by the 2011 guest curator Sharmini Pereira and London-based design studio OK-RM. Created in collaboration with the 2011 winning artists, Hamra Abbas, Jananne Al-Ani, Shezad Dawood, Nadia Kaabi-Linke and Timo Nasseri, the 536-page book is a collection of images, citations and references that support and inform the creation of the five artworks.