Moorfields launches unique Sense of Sight competition challenging UAE artists to celebrate the gift sight, in 3D
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Art for sight’s sake
Moorfields launches unique Sense of Sight competition challenging UAE artists to celebrate the gift sight, in 3D
80% of vision related problems are manageable through early detection
3 October 2016 (Dubai, United Arab Emirates): To mark World Sight Day 2016 in October, Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai and Moorfields Eye Hospital Centre Abu Dhabi have launched a competition in the UAE inviting the professional design and arts community and budding young artists to share their new and original artworks, images, and photographs, in celebration of the sense of sight. Selected winners will have their work produced by Moorfields in 3D, and displayed in galleries in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, in a unique tactile art show.
Photographs, designs and paintings – portraits, landscapes and abstracts – should be submitted to the Facebook page MoorfieldsUAE, using the hashtag #SenseOfSight and the winning artworks will be converted into tactile full 3-dimensional renderings and displayed in gallery exhibitions in Dubai and Abu Dhabi during October and November. Visitors to the exhibitions will be invited to view and ‘feel’ the 3D blank reverse of each artwork without seeing it first, before the full frontal visual image is revealed in 2D, highlighting the power of the gift of sight.
Ayyam Gallery, Al Quoz, (http://www.ayyamgallery.com/) will host the Sense of Sight exhibition in Dubai for three days, from 27-29 October, 2016; Salwa Zeidan Gallery (http://www.salwazeidangallery.com/) will host the gallery in Abu Dhabi, from 5-6 November, 2016.
Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai’s Business Development and Marketing Director, Maha Aboughali, comments: “We want to mark World Sight Day 2016 with a unique celebration of sight in the UAE and our Sense of Sight competition and tactile art exhibition will convey how much we rely on our different senses, especially the gift of sight; we hope that this exhibition helps people experience the importance of good eyesight, and to fully appreciate life and art, in addition to the importance of maintaining this vital sense. Artists and photographers should look at the world in its full three dimensions and think about how to express this visually and in a way that will intrigue viewers first by touch and then sight. The gallery shows will be free and open to the public and we look forward to welcoming everyone who is interested in this unique art experience.”
Professor Robert Scott, Medical Director, Moorfields Eye Hospital, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, explained: “International studies have confirmed the fact that 80% of vision related problems are manageable and treatable and we recommend regular checkups with ophthalmologists for those who suffer from chronic diseases that may affect vision, to help with early detection and diagnosis as well as treatment before it is too late.”
According to World Health Organisation estimates, 7 million adults and around half a million children lose their vision annually, and estimates that by 2020, this will impact the global economy and reduce global GDP (due to lower productivity) by more than 1 trillion dollars (over AED 3.5 trillion) per year.
Professor Scott added: “International research and studies are currently focusing on the use of stem cells in the treatment of visual impairment and in the summer of 2015, British researchers from ‘The London Project to Cure Blindness’ completed a breakthrough surgery to restore the vision of a 60-year old woman suffering from age related Macular Degeneration, by implanting stem cells in her eye. The potential is very exciting.”
For details visit https://www.facebook.com/MoorfieldsUAE[:]