The doodling season is upon us and with it, doodlers are out in droves to compete in the Red Bull Doodle Art 2023. Out of 3000 entries from across Pakistan, only 20 entries made it to the national finals of the international contest.
On Sunday, March 12, 2023, at the Islamabad Arts Gallery atF-9 Parkin Islamabad, the 19 finalists presented their work and doodled away in order to not only win the Red Bull Doodle Art national finals, and with it, the NFT trophy, but also an opportunity to represent Pakistan in the Red Bull Doodle Art World Final in Amsterdam later this spring.
After an entire day of a showcase of mind-blowing creativity and doodling techniques and ideas, the jury evaluated the entries based on three criteria: creativity, artistic skill and the way the doodle express a ‘love for life’.
Subsequently, the panel decisively declared Umer Nadeem the winner of the Red Bull Doodle Art Pakistan 2023. Iqra Qureshi and Mominah Arif were the first and second runners-up respectively.
“I expected to be in at least top five, but never thought I’d win. So, this is very encouraging,” said Nadeem, who is an architect by profession and an artist “by birth”, as he defines himself on his LinkedIn profile.
For his entry in the national finals, Nadeem doodled an artwork that wowed the jury and the audience alike. He said, “My design was inspired by my home country, Pakistan. I wanted to represent my own country and so I made it the focal point of my doodle.”
The winner Nadeem will now spend four weeks collaborating with an industry-leader professional artist to create a new doodle NFT to present at the Red Bull Doodle Art World Final in Amsterdam in May. He will compete with national winners of over 60 countries and take part in a series of workshops and creative sessions over the course of a three-day “phy-gital” experience of the World Final where both physical and digital realms of art meet in the artistic hub of the Netherlands.
“For the World Final in Amsterdam, I hope that I’ll nail it and bring the trophy home to Pakistan,” said Nadeem.
The finalists came from all age groups and backgrounds and brought with themselves their unique doodling styles influenced by their unique life experiences, culture and inspirations. The top 19 who made it to the finals were Aliyan Salam, Ameer Hamza, HayyanHarmann, Iqra Qureshi, Maria Khalid, Maria Khan, Minahil Noor (the only participant with two entries in the finals), Mominah Arif, Noor ul Ain, Rabia Zafar, Rafia Abid, Rafia Ashraf, Rahat Shakeel, Rumaisa Jabeen, Sami Ullah, Shahnoor Ejaz, Taqdees Sher, Umer Nadeem and Unzila Idrees.
The jury panel included Mr. Imran Ali Dina, graphics designer, founder of GFX Mentor, Media Science teacher and YouTuber with over 22 years of experiences; and Ms. Amna Shah, Director at Hunerkada, an institute where she also studied sculpture. Shah has held multiple exhibitions and events for Hunerkada, and is constantly working to promote arts and culture in Pakistan.
“People here have so much potential and they are creating wonders,” said Dina. “Red Bull Doodle Art is amazing; it gives everyone freedom to express themselves. I’m loving every aspect of the participants’ creativity and skills. It’s very impressive.”
Hunerkada, College of Visual & Performing Arts Islamabad campus is the venue partners of Red Bull Doodle Art, National Finals 2023.Best Western Premier Hotel, as the exclusive hospitality partner, provided accommodation and transport to all finalists reaching Islamabad from across Pakistan &had their food stall set up at the event.Peshawar Zalmi’s apparel brand, The Zalmi Store,was the apparel partner for the national finals of Red Bull Doodle Art and the reason all the finalists looked photoshoot-ready.
