2007 UK to Gulf
On 8th February 2007, a group of East London students embarked on a creative journey to two Gulf countries: the United Arab Emirates and Sultanate of Oman. Using the latest satellite communication technology alongside traditional artistic media, the students communicated their first hand experiences with audiences across the UK.
Offscreen’s first student art expedition to the Middle East took students from four London schools on a 12-day expedition to the Gulf. The team produced an artistic record of their journey from the cityscapes of downtown Dubai to the Bedu camps of the Wahiba Sands. The expedition flew into the UAE where the accommodation was a traditional racing dhow moored on Dubai’s creek, near the ruler’s palace. While in Dubai they worked with Rashid School for Boys and Latifa School for Girls and made artwork from the viewing platforms of high-rise skyscrapers and in the world’s second largest mall, as well as travelling outside the city to go falconing, camping and to see the desert for the first time from a hot air balloon trip over the sands.
Moving on to Oman’s capital, Muscat, the team worked with two local schools to make an educational film in Oman’s largest Mosque named after the present ruler: Sultan Quaboos. From Muscat the expedition travelled along the coast of the Arabian Sea, via turtle beaches, Bedu souks and fishing villages, and into the largest self contained desert in the world: the Wahiba Sands. From riding camels, sleeping under the stars and exploring explore the fragile desert environment with geologists and local people, the expedition then returned to Muscat, via Nizwa Fort, before travel home to the UK.