%0 Conference Proceedings
%A Chetana Andary
%T Place Identity in the Age of Disruption: Curating Place through the Case Study of UAE Memorial
%B The Fourth NZAAR International Event Series on Natural and Built Environment, Cities, Sustainability and Advanced Engineering
%C Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
%D 2018
%8 27 January 2018
%P 225-228
%I New Zealand Academy of Applied Research
%@ 2463-5979
%K City identity
%K rapid urbanization
%K Abu Dhabi
%K art
%K placemaking
%K brand marketing
%U https://gdiacademy.org/nzaar/UDCP-18-53.html
%X 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.