Dubai evening

This week was very impressed with the evening that the Dubai Government put together in the Design Centre High Street Kensington.  One of a series of evenings around London. I have read through the generously given book on all they are trying to achieve and the goals they have set to bring people together through art.  I am particularly impressed at the reach out to the community for their views and desires for Dubai as their place to live and work.  In this reach out all the ex-pats were approached too, in full recognition of the multicultural community they have attracted in the commercial hub of their country.   There is a sense of real stimulating energy to entice and encourage creativity. This opening quote has impressed me too:

Carpentry and weaving, for

instance, are associated 

with wood and yarn (the 

respective craft needed for

their production). However, 

in the two crafts the labour

[that goes into them] is

more important, and its 

value is greater.

The Muqaddimah of lbn Khaldun

Volume II (1377)  

I believe this is so true and there is a need in this day and age of mass production to remember that - there is a need for the passion of the artist and craftmanship to be expressed and felt by all.  What was shared in the discussion and meeting was this need to reach into the spirituality of creating something from the heart and soul.   Here are some pages scanned in for you to see.  But I am deeply touched by the evening of coming together and sharing.  I expressed how we can merge and create fusion of cultures through the respectful regard for art. 

The artist, Siddiqa Juma has portrayed the Qibla so well in this art form.  I love the swirl of the colours the sense of movement of the pilgrims around the static focus point of the Qibla.  Symbolic to me of all the facets of human state in the swirl, the different states their energy is in, the colours linking to the auras and chakras of each person and the different levels of spiritual consciousness.. Some coming feeling in peace some coming in turmoil of worry about loved ones and the state of the world.  Yet in this movement is the eye of the storm as it were the stability of the the Divine that remains constant.  For Allah (Arabic for God) the Divine creator is balanced energy formless and never changing cannot be taken from nor added too but is constant in the love and peace that this world was created in.  It is mans downfall to create darkness in the world with pain of an undisciplined ego. The real jihad is the journey withing to rid self of self to discipline the unleashed desires of self and be selfless with this have love, care, compassion and respect for others and all creation. 

This architecture I like so much it is so strong in its delicate pretty design. Feels refreshing and spacious and place to feel you can breathe and simply BE...