Building a Life as an Artist

In our continuing series on building a life as an artist, this conversation delves into current opportunities and challenges that artists are facing with careers based in the country. Join Lebanese singer-songwriter, Nurzy; artist, educator, and choreographer, Mary Chase; and theater director, actor, and producer, Gautam Goenka.

Nurzy

Nurzy is a 27-year-old Lebanese singer-songwriter of Arabic Pop Music. She launched her professional career in 2017 as part of the first-ever Arab teenage girl group, Carizma. After going solo in 2022, Nurzy moved to the UAE and released her debut EP, Safrit Beirut. Since then, she has performed in events and festivals across the UAE, including Music At The Boardwalk, Tunes DXB, Sofar DXB, Karak Nights, Abu Dhabi TV’s Win the Crowd, The Fridge Concert Series, Music of the Nation, and Saadiyat Nights, among others. She was nominated for Time Out Dubai’s “Best Original Act” and won Musivv Awards’ “Female Pop Artist of the Year”, as well as “Best Performance Award” in Mentor Arabia’s song and film competition in Jordan, under the theme “Mental Health for the Youth”. Highlights of her recent brand collaborations include FujiFilm Arabia’s “You are one-of-a-kind” campaign and Chevrolet Arabia for the music video of her song Albe Blue. A member of the 2024 Numoo Artist Development program at The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi, she presented a proposal for her independent debut album set to be released in 2026. The album, titled Hawiyati, will be a tribute to her homeland and culture, bringing her authentic story and sound to life.

Mary Chase 

Mary Chase and her company  C H A S E D A N C E  create and produce site-specific, multi-media collaborations captivating audiences on stages in twenty-two US states and internationally in Europe, Asia, North and South America, and now in the Middle East. Since 2000, over sixty-five works have been produced on stages around the world. Every place Chase lives and works, she strives to create opportunities for cultural inclusion and dialogue as a global citizen and artist. Bridging art-making with contemplative practice is paramount to Chase’s artistic vision and ethos. Since 2023, she has co-led the Performance Co/Lab and Performance Co//ective, first established at 421 Arts Campus in Abu Dhabi with Carlos Páez González. This past year, she performed in the Abu Dhabi Art Biennial for The Poem that Jumps the Fence, created by Bik Van der Poll, and was a performer and creative producer for the film MUJO, working with artists from Purring Tiger and NYU Abu Dhabi. Also in 2024, she produced the Abu Dhabi premiere of The People’s Project, a community-based monument of collective healing at the Cultural Foundation that propelled the formation of Abu Dhabi’s first-ever movement-based artist collective, City of Movement.

Mary’s artistic passions extend widely in Abu Dhabi, stemming from her belief in the importance of community-centered access to the arts. She is the director of Emirates School of Dance, providing dance education to students throughout Abu Dhabi in eleven locations with a faculty of eight amazing artist educators. Chase believes that leadership and artistic direction succeed when braiding tradition with innovation. Since 2001, she has worked as an educator and an arts administrator across public, private, and nonprofit institutions. She served as the Executive Director of Joy of Motion Dance Center of Washington, DC, and directed the dance programs at the College of Southern Maryland, McCallum Fine Arts Academy in Austin, TX, and Merrill International School in Denver, Colorado. She has held faculty positions at Eastern University, Coppin State University, Kansas State University, the University of Texas at Austin, Austin Peay State University, University of Tampa, and the American Ballet Theater Summer Intensive (Austin).

Chase is a Jingui Golden Shield Qi Gong student, a Certified Laban Movement Analyst and Practitioner from the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies in New York City. She holds an MFA from the University of Texas at Austin, a BFA from the University of Illinois, and a Certificate of Non-Profit Leadership from the  Center for Excellence in Non-Profits.

Gautum Goenka

Gautam Goenka is a director, actor, producer, and storyteller who has been an integral part of the theater scene in Dubai for the past 22 years. During this period, he has successfully staged over 100 plays in various capacities. In 2015, he co-founded The Junction – a 180-seater black box theater in Alserkal Avenue to promote theater and performing arts by UAE-based performers. He serves as the Artistic Director of The Junction, helping the theater community grow and flourish. Gautam was awarded the UAE Golden Cultural Visa for his work in the field of performing arts. Gautam is also the president of H72 Productions, the largest community theater group in the UAE, which currently has over 2000 members. Some of Gautam’s most notable directing credits include Every Brilliant Thing, A Few Good Men, And Then There Were None, Almost, Maine, Holmes & Watson, The Odd Couple, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

Gautam’s achievements and awards include: Co-Founder of The Junction, UAE’s only community black box theater located in Alserkal Avenue; Artistic Director of The Junction, dedicated to building community theater in Dubai; Overseeing the largest theater festival in the region – Short+Sweet Theater Dubai. The 2022 version of the festival featured over 120 plays involving 400+ actors, writers, and directors; Founder and President of H72 Productions (formerly known as Backstage), the largest community theater group in the UAE; Named Top 50 people to follow who are shaping the culture of the UAE by Magpie Magazine in January 2019; winner of several awards including Best Director & Best Play for his work in the Dubai theater scene; the only UAE-based show to be nominated for TimeOut Award’s Best Theatrical Performance for A Few Good Men, among shows from Broadway and the West End in 2012.