Place Identity in the Age of Disruption: Curating Place through the Case Study of UAE Memorial
- Creative Industries, Queensland University of Technology
Published in The Fourth NZAAR International Event Series on Natural and Built Environment, Cities, Sustainability and Advanced Engineering, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 27 January 2018, pages 225 to 228. New Zealand Academy of Applied Research. ISSN 2463-5979 (online), 2463-5960 (print). Indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection, Conference Proceedings Citation Index (Clarivate).
Abstract
As cities turn to their heritage and culture to conceptualize and market an authentic identity in a highly competitive global marketplace, the power of art to create new icons and shiny new attractions become economic priorities. Globalization of cities and unprecedented mass socio-cultural shifts provoke powerful discourse on how creative works transform urban space and impact on the unity of its inhabitants. Presented through the case study of a new memorial for United Arab Emirates, Wahat Al Karama, the Oasis of Dignity treads a fine balance between place destination and image making. Located in Abu Dhabi, where the traditional culture is firmly rooted in Arabia’s Islamic traditions, and home to a massive population of expat workers now comprising nearly 85% of the inhabitants, discourse on the theories of brand marketing and place making to connect, catalyze and convey disparate global-local dialectical relationships are explored.
Keywords: City identity; rapid urbanization; Abu Dhabi; art; placemaking; brand marketing
Rights
Copyright © New Zealand Academy of Applied Research Ltd 2018. All rights reserved. Reproduced in the GDI Academy archive from the original proceedings without change to the authors’ text.