Meet the people
The people of the Emirates are the makers of its culture: The makers of the impossible and of big dreams. Those who have big dreams, avmbitions and who collaborate together in order to innovate.
Deny NevilleDJ & Producer An award-winning DJ/ Music Producer that has performed in the entertainment capitals of the world, as well as the leading venues of his home country, the Emirates. Dany is the first Emirates-born DJ to play in Tomorrowland in 2019 among many other internationally acclaimed awards. He is currently the voice of the country’s leading radio station, Virgin Radio.
Saud SalehRapper & Producer Founder and audio engineer of Levelz UAE – a group of video-focused artists from Ajman, Saud has been putting Ajman at the forefront of the music and art scene. Inspired by classic 90’s rappers like Tupac and Dr. Dre, he’s been making Arabic hip-hop since 2009, and is now distributing his music professionally in hopes of putting Ajman on the map.
Taryam al KatheeriBand/Drummer Taryam is an Emirati-Japanese drumming group established by Yotaro Matsutani (Founder) and Taryam Al Katheeri (Co-Founder) in 2017. Their mission is to promote the positive cultural exchange between the Emirates and Japan in a unique and exciting way through drums. Aiming to be the destination for Emirati and Japanese culture. Their iconic shows have gained massive traction, and they even reached the semi-finals of Arabs Got Talent.
Orit MohammedCoffee Maker Orit chose to show her passion through the infamous staple of her country, Ethiopia, by making coffee inspired by her childhood and bringing it to the Emirates. By opening Boon Coffee, Orit defied the struggles of being a Black female business owner facing international companies and chose to tell a story through her coffee - a story of passion, heritage, and tradition passed down from generation to generation. Her business also assigns a portion of their profits to help children in less fortunate communities attend school and get the education they deserve.
Ramie MurrayOyster Farmer Ramie Murray is the founder and Managing Director of East Coast Shellfish - the region's first and only oyster farm. Originally from Scotland, Murray grew up in Dubai, where he discovered a passion for aqua-farming and is a passionate advocate for high quality localised food production. Murray established Dibba Bay Oysters in 2016, producing popular Pacific cupped oysters that are fast displacing the traditional European imports due to their superior taste, freshness and meat content.
Hattem MattarPitmaster Hattem Mattar is the world’s first Arab pitmaster and is renowned for his Dubai-based third-culture smokehouse, The Mattar Farm. From smoked brisket and grilled desserts to underground lamb and whole smoked camel, Hattem and his menus have been featured at the UAE embassy in Washington DC as well as on CNN. With a strong belief in third-culture cuisine and the unifying language of fire and smoke, Hattem strongly believes in everyone’s ability to sit around a great meal and communicate.
Amal Al MansouriVoice Over Artist Amal always loved art and cartoons, she spent a lot of time with classic anime stories and series, watching them with her mother, developing a bond with the characters and learning how to do impressions. Even with losing her sight at a young age, Amal never gave up on her passion - by the age of 17 years old she had managed to learn Braille and received a laptop with a Braille keyboard. Now, Amal has 12 recurring roles on TV. She’s been featured in TVCs, educational shows, PSAs, and hasn’t stopped there. She’s also written 10 short stories, and three complete novels.
Jaysus ZainSlammer Fusing poetry, spoken word and hip hop, Jaysus, originally from Sudan, has demonstrated the ability to split himself into multiple characters that are all intricately raw and beautiful. Currently based in Abu Dhabi, Jaysus is at the forefront of the spoken word movement in the country. Participating in several poetry slam competitions in the region, Jaysus was awarded Artist of the Year in 2016 and crowned Dubai Poetry Slam Champion twice.
Sima GroupDancing Company Consisting of Alaa Krimed and Lana Fahmi, Sima Group is a contemporary dance company founded in 2003. The company has since grown to become an innovative pioneer in contemporary dance, ambitiously producing large-scale theatre performances with a global standard of excellence. The talented couple also participated in Arabs Got Talent and became the 2014 winners of the third season of the TV show.
Majd AlloushPrintmaker Artist Using his unique form of art to express himself, Majd’s work is situated within contemporary hybrid practice, at the intersection of traditional processes and innovative methodology. His creative practice challenges the notion of borders in concept, content, and medium, by exploring psychology, geopolitics, and social and environmental issues such as the ramifications of war and displacement. Majd strategically creates work wherein multiple interpretations are possible, requiring the viewer’s own worldview to inform the meaning.
Maisoon Al SalehUnderwater Artists Emirati artist and founder of The Paintly Store, Maisoon Al Saleh, is known for painting under seawater. She had 4 solo shows, around 100 art exhibitions in 16 countries such as the Emirati Expression at Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi; Macedonian Museum, Greece; Palazzo TE Museum, Italy; CICA Museum, South Korea among many others. Her art dives, sometimes literally, below the obvious meaning residing on the surface of stories and accounts of the past. She hopes to bring viewers into a discussion about the importance of Emirati history and challenge how we think about history, memory and their representation in mainstream media.
Tarsila SchubertStreet Artist Tarsila is a Brazilian-born street artist that has dedicated her life to art. Her aim is to blend all the different inputs which we are confronted with every day in an apparently chaotic yet perfectly organized structure, while adopting strong colors that represent her personality and her traditions. Tarsila founded The Cave DXB, an independent space Located in Dubai Design District d3 that functions as an art studio, art gallery as well as an art consultancy.
Annabel KantariaAuthor / Journalist Starting out as an Editor at Emirates Woman magazine, later as an Executive editor at Good Living, then as an Expat blogger at The Telegraph newspaper, London, Anabel has now won the inaugural Montegrappa Writing Prize at the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature. She currently has five novels published by Harper Collins, London, with one more on the way. She also gives inspirational talks about writing to school children in the Emirates. One of her most notable publications is ‘Tomorrow, I Will Fly’, an anthology of essays on the subject of ‘tomorrow’, written by 27 prisoners in Dubai Central Prison after they’d taken part in a week-long workshop taught by Annabel Kantaria and UK-based author Clare Mackintosh.
Isobel AbulhoulFounder of the Emirati Literature Festival Isobel came to Dubai in 1968 and co-founded Magrudy’s, the iconic bookshop chain, in 1975. In 2008 Isobel founded and is Director of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, the Middle East’s largest celebration of the written and spoken word. She’s also held significant positions such as CEO of the Emirates Literature Foundation, Trustee of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction Board, Secretary General of the Kalimat Foundation and Director of the Board for the Mohammed Bin Rashid Library. Isobel has received the Outstanding Contribution Award at the TimeOut Kids Awards, the Femina Unstoppable Woman Award in 2015 as well as many other distinguished awards.
Abdulsalam ZourobMime Actor Abdulsalam was born deaf and attended Al Amal school for the deaf, earning himself a scholarship to attend Sharjah University. As a volunteer for the Seda foundation, which works to include people with disabilities, Abdulsalam is also working as a director and actor with the Sharjah Mime group, the first stage show group specialized in pantomime stage shows in the Emirates. He also runs an education Instagram account where he posts videos to help people learn Emirati Sign Language.
Areej Al HammadiFootballer From a young age, and growing up between boys, Areej found that on the football pitch it doesn't matter if you’re a boy or girl, if you’re short or tall, what matters is your skill. She honed her skills to the point of landing herself a midfielder position with the Emirates' Women’s National Football Team. Born in Sharjah, and living in Dubai, Areej has been managing a content team for Expo 2021. She holds a degree in visual communication, works a day job in design and art direction, but that didn’t stop her from following her burning passion for football.
Khalifa Al-MazrouiAdventurer Khalifa is known for his dangerous stunts, including exploring the world's biggest underwater cave, called Orda Cave, and even discovering an ancient cave in Jebel Hafeet, which had 200-year-old human bones inside of it. The adventurer set records in the Arab world, including exploring twelve caves in the Emirates, crossing the country on a bicycle, crossing the deserts of the Empty Quarter on a camel, as well as winning an appreciation award from Abu Dhabi Police for crossing the Emirates on a sailing boat within four days.
Hollie MurphyBoxer / Trainer Holly is a personal trainer that guides individuals and small groups of people to achieve their fitness goals, and she has also established a special needs sports program named “Heroes of Hope”, where children and teens with special abilities get to explore sport in an inclusive environment. She has also managed to start the first inclusive sporting event in the UAE, The Infinity Games, with the aim of bringing communities and different people together from across the entire country regardless of nationality, background or ability. This event embodies the diverse spirit of this nation and Holly’s personal values.
Lourdes VegaProfessor Lourdes is an award-winning innovator and Professor of Chemical Engineering and the Founding Director of the Research and Innovation Center on CO2 and H2 (RICH Center) at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi. In February of 2020 she received the Mohammed Bin Rashid (MBR) Medal for Scientific Distinguishment for her contributions in clean energy and sustainable products. She is one of the first 20 people to be awarded the Golden Visa in the Emirates, which aims to grow the country's status as an incubator of talent and innovation. She has received several other international awards and recognitions for her work on the industrial applications of fundamental science, focused on developing environmental solutions.
Sky KurtzAgriculturer Sky is a serial-entrepreneur focused on agriculture technology solutions that help to tackle food security, water conservation, economic diversification and sustainability challenges. He co-founded Pure Harvest, a food security solution using advanced and sustainable agriculture technologies, which were built to maintain a controlled climate even in the harsh environment of the Middle East.
Ayesha SharafiSpacecraft Ayesha is a 28-year-old Emirati who joined the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre as a Propulsion Subsystem Lead for the Emirates Mars Mission’s “Hope” probe. As part of her job, Ayesha works on the system that will provide the spacecraft with the fuel and engines needed to get to Mars. The Hope probe utilizes a chemical propulsion system which wasn’t used in previous projects in the center, making Ayesha the first Space Propulsion Engineer in the center and in the Emirates.