Dubai Metro project transforms mundane infrastructure into whimsical art

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Keeping on our theme of beautiful infrastructure, Dubai is drawing attention to a part of its newly built Dubai Metro system that elsewhere is normally neglected. The city has hired two internationally-renowned street artists to transform the dull, grey pillars that support the train tracks into pieces of art.

Visitors and residents have been noticing the changes on Sheikh Zayed Road along the Dubai Metro’s Red Line as the pillars are prepared into canvases. While some cities around the world try in vain to fight urban art, Dubai has hired Daniel Cortez from Peru and Elio “Evoca1” Mercado from Miami for this project to bring street art to the world’s most glamorous city.

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Cortez is widely known for hybrid surrealist-art deco designs in vivid colors that grace the streets in the biggest cities in Central and South America. Mercado’s art is less bright, featuring realistic portraits of the common person. His work is more international, with pieces in the Dominican Republic, Peru, London, and Miami. His most recent work in the Middle East was a series of portraits featuring Emiratis with their animals in Abu Dhabi.

This marks the Emirate’s third phase of the Dubai Street Museum project to turn the city into an open-aired museum, with art around every corner, not necessarily behind glasses cases and brick walls like traditional art galleries. The idea is to make the city’s newest public spaces more friendly and comfortable for visitors and residents alike.

Not only will the art make Dubai a better place to live, there’s a correlation seen worldwide that where public art appears, but the property market’s value also rises. Not only that, but the local economy in the area (shops, restaurants, services) sees more foot traffic as people come to check out a new area to see the artwork.

The new murals will appear on the pillars between Emirates Towers Station and Dubai International Finance Centre Station. The artists’ murals will reflect on themes of inspiring creativity and spreading happiness throughout the city.

Two of the pillar designs have already been released: a beluga whale above a child holding balloons (as seen above) and a bunch of jellyfish set on top of a starry night sky.

The partnership with the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority and Government of Dubai Media Office has made this possible. In the future, there will be more beautiful murals and paintings spread on the more mundane infrastructure, like bus stops and walkways, throughout the city, spreading the mandate of turning the city into an interactive art gallery.

So while passengers above can marvel at the Dubai skyline from the windows of their train, pedestrians below can smile at seeing the whimsical images painted onto the pillars.

Dubai is certainly living up to its reputation as the most interesting city around and it will only continue to do so it grows. If you want to be part of this growth, contact Copperstones on +44 203 888 5555, 08 445 555 555 or enquiry(at)copperstones(dotted)net.