Iranian-American artist wins the first Bulgari Contemporary Art Award

Nima Nabavi was announced the winner in a ceremony at the Italy Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai

Nima Nabavi, an artist who lives in Dubai, has received the first Bulgari Contemporary Art Award. Photo: Nima Nabavi

Iranian-American artist Nima Nabavi was announced the winner of the first Bulgari Contemporary Art Award in Dubai on Wednesday night.

Nabavi’s geometric, near-kaleidoscopic painting 2021.12.22 was one of three shortlisted works that were in the running for the award alongside Juma Al Haj’s poetic painting Sautoirs and Kamal Alzubi’s disc-shaped, calligraphic ceramic sculptural work Untitled.

As part of his prize, Nabavi will travel to Rome on a week-long trip organised by Bulgari, where he will visit design centres, workshops, and cultural and historical sites, all courtesy of the Italian brand as a unique and enriching mentorship experience for the evolving artist.

Under the theme of Beauty Connects People, the award ceremony took place at the Italy Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai in the presence of Hala Badri, director general of Dubai Culture, Jean-Christophe Babin, group chief executive of Bulgari, and Lucia Boscaini, brand and heritage curator at Bulgari.

Works by the three finalists were on display at the pavilion.

“Tonight marks the successful finalisation of the Bulgari Contemporary Award competition, emphasising the importance of the gathering of countries through art and culture," said the Italian consul general in Dubai, Giuseppe Finocchiaro, who was at the ceremony.

"The works by the participating artists transcend boundaries and create relationships between people from multicultural experiences. The Bulgari Contemporary Award perfectly represents Italy’s vision to support contemporary artists.”

The Bulgari Contemporary Art Award was launched in partnership with Dubai Culture and Bulgari in July last year.

The idea behind the annual prize was to offer a platform to support artistic talents in the UAE and highlight the links between Rome and Dubai.

The award is also designed to celebrate and boost the contemporary art landscape in the UAE, which has been rapidly growing over the past decade.

In its first phase, 17 artists, based in or from the UAE, were selected to compete for the award. Three jurors – artists Nujoom Alghanem and Patricia Millns, and cultural adviser Giuseppe Moscatello – then chose three works to compete for the final award.

Nabavi, who was raised in the UAE, is represented by The Third Line gallery in Dubai.

He made a career change from business to art after 20 years of being an entrepreneur in 2016, feeling inspired by the geometric art of his late grandfather.

Now based in Dubai, Nabavi’s practice is devoted to exploring mathematical themes, especially complex geometries, in an introspective and poetic manner.