Urban Pixels 2016 Awards Winners at CITY WALK

Tuesday 12 April 2016

Dubai - MENA Herald: Urban Pixels, a distinctive platform for hobbyists and amateur photographers in the region, honoured the top four entries at an award ceremony held at CITY WALK, the urban living destination by Meraas.
Organised collaboratively by the three urban outdoor destinations of Meraas - CITY WALK, THE BEACH and BOXPARK - the six-week long Urban Pixels 2016 competition invited photographers to submit creative snapshots captured across the three distinct properties. The contest drew an astounding 1,300 entries that were then evaluated for excellence of composition and the evocative quality of the images.
Jonathan Onte, the first prize winner bagged the latest in tech gadgets from Samsung including the S7, Gear VR, 360 cam and Level U. Placed second, Alexander Arevelo walked away with a Samsung S7 and Samsung 360 cam. Sean Hutchings’ nightscape that captured the beautiful shadow of a bird won the Samsung Smartphone Category award. He received a range of electronic gadgets from Samsung – the S7, 360 cam and Level U. Finally, Waseem Raslan was awarded a Samsung S7 as the winner of the People’s Choice Award.
Hosted as part of Dubai Art Season 2016 in association with Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, Dubai’s dedicated entity for heritage, arts and culture, Urban Pixels’ judging panel featured prominent industry personalities including Sheikha Lateefa bint Maktoum, Director of Tashkeel, a contemporary art organisation, as well as Tamsin Wildy, studio manager at Tashkeel, and Mark Pilkington, professor of photography at the American University of Sharjah.
Commenting on the success of Urban Pixels, Saleh Al Geziry, Vice President - Retail Marketing, Promotions and Recreation, Meraas, said: “We are pleased to announce the whopping success of Urban Pixels – a first-of-its-kind event that supports amateur photographers across the country. The high-quality of the entries in this first season has been exceptional and encouraging indeed.
“We commend and thank our esteemed panel of judges for what has definitely been a challenging task. We also appreciate our partners, Samsung and Dubai Culture & Arts Authority for lending their knowledge and expertise to this initiative. Meraas invites all visitors to CITY WALK to tour the incredible display of photographs and encourage the region’s amazing lens-men and women.”
Lubna Ahmed Al-Shamsi, Project Manager of Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, said: “Dubai Culture is keen to support the city’s creative sectors in line with our vision to position Dubai as a world-class hub for art exhibitions and events. Urban Pixels provided an ideal opportunity to further empower emerging talents, nurture their positive energies and support creative projects.
“We witnessed some stunning creativity at work with regard to originality and technical skills from the participants of this year’s competition. Building on the success of this event, we will continue to engage the community in Dubai to think creatively and proactively participate in the upcoming editions.”
Purushotham, Head of Marketing, IT & Mobile Division at Samsung Gulf Electronics, commented: “Our latest innovation, the Galaxy S7/S7 Edge, provided participants a world of DSLR-quality abilities at their fingertips, supported by a dual pixel technology - without the need for additional equipment. This tech gadget has set new benchmarks in photography - especially in low-light conditions. The huge numbers and quality of entries received clearly validate the interest of the public in events that harness creativity even while reaching out to the largest number of audiences.”
The 30 best images from the total number of entries received will be displayed for public viewing at CITY WALK next to Reel Cinema from 12 – 23 April, 10am to 10pm.

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