A student from the College of Fine Arts and Design has been named winner of the Van Cleef & Arpels (VCA) Middle East Emergent Designer Prize.

The student, Moufida Mohideen, 20, from the college's Interior Design program won the prestigious prize through her bookstand design titled 'Asension'.

She is the youngest artist and only student to receive the coveted Van Cleef & Arpels (VCA) Middle East Emergent Designer Prize.

VCA, a French luxury jewelry brand, partners annually with Tashkeel, an art facility in the UAE, to hold the Middle East Emergent Designer Prize.

In her work, Mohideen uses locally sourced materials to integrate a Middle Eastern identity when creating a sculptural bookstand.

She blends two locally-sourced contrasting raw materials – Damas wood and mother of pearl.

“The Damas wood comes from uprooted Damas trees in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that would have otherwise been sent to the landfills. The Mother of Pearl shells used in this piece are handpicked and come from islands across Abu Dhabi," said Mohideen.

Mohideen has come a long way in her design career. Her earliest attempts started as a young high school student by doodling in the margins and corners of her textbooks to generate ideas and designs.

“I loved the juxtaposition of the white iridescence of the Mother of Pearl against the complexion of Damas wood that inspired the use of two once living breathing materials that are now fossilized in the form of this sculptural bookstand," she added.

The theme of 2022's award was 'Renewal,' and aimed to shed light on the importance of sustainable approaches by creating and using materials sourced locally and ethically.

Mohideen's design challenges the conventional notion of a bookstand. Inspired by the desert rose crystal formations commonly found in the Middle East, the sculptural stand symbolizes everlasting growth.

To bring her design to fruition, Mohideen sought help from her university mentor, Ms. Rita Abou Haidar, a visiting lecturer in interior design.

Dr. Abou Haidar says that while Mohideen was taught the design development process and fabrication required to create the bookstand, she faced a lot of pressure in balancing university work with submission deadlines.

“At such a young age, this helped her gain an understanding of how the real design industry operates," Dr. Abou Haidar adds.

The art work for which Mohideen won the prize is currently exhibited at the Dubai Opera.

In sourcing materials and conducting woodwork, Mohideen collaborated with the local community in the UAE.

She says she has been inspired by Murtaza Asgar Balasinourwala, Managing Director at ANID Turnkey Projects Contracting LLC, who helped source materials for her project.

Balasinourwala is an Indian artist who runs his own fitout company in Dubai. Mohideen says Balasinourwala echoes her passion for sustainability and reliance on surroundings to create sculptured designs.

“Growing up in the UAE for 18 years now, I have always been surrounded by a rich sense of art and culture. And Sharjah has played a prominent role in molding my creative choices and career pathway," she adds.

As part of her award, Mohideen will participate in a weeklong global exchange of knowledge, wherein she will visit L'ECOLE School of Jewelry Arts at Van Cleef & Arpels in Paris to learn about jewelry design.​

She aims to incorporate more locally sourced materials and turn them into pieces of art in her journey towards creating sustainable designs.