Abstract:

New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) is one of the finest liberal arts colleges in the world. It is located in the new world centre of learning and culture in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. With over a thousand students from 76 countries and with 110 different nationalities, to study in NYU’s global network means to gain a true and broad global perspective. It is precisely this perspective that formed the students artwork into what they are: A worldview of openness, opportunity and optimism towards the future.

From the merge of Arabic and South-American pattern (‘Window’ by Nahil Ali Memon, USA/Pakistan), the use of coffee around the world (‘Evolving Roots’ by Ekin Basaran, Turkey), the expression of dance (‘Mudança’ de Dança by Harshini J. Karunaratne, Peru/Sri Lanka), or the theme of water (‘Droplet’ by Alia Alharmi, Dubai/UAE) – in their animations the NYUAD students interpret cultural exchange in their own artistic manner.

Another highlight of this project work is the collaboration of Prof Felix Beck (NYUAD) with Prof. Zlatan Filipovic, Associate Professor of Art and Design (American University of Sharjah, UAE) on the work Crossroads. By bridging the physical location of cultural heritage sites and representing them at the contemporary instances of culture occurrence at FILE festival in Sao Paolo, they create new perspectives to distant and remote cultures: While a static façade is primarily a surface looking outwards to the world, protecting the contents of the architectural structure, the media façade brings a new dynamic layer of digital information to its surface. “Crossroads” proposes to use the volume of the FIESP building as a large section scanner. This gives passersby a new transformative vantage point to remote locations. A series of comparative inquiries into the scale and structure of architectural heritage is a starting point for creation of visual forms. Various levels of abstraction connect data sets and give new understanding to the role and importance of these places.

Keywords:

Cultural exchange, media facade, animations.