Numoo — Artist Professional Development Program

Numoo is an annual intensive professional program which contributes to the development of the UAE arts ecosystem by fostering and accelerating the growth of performing artists.

Launched in 2021 with a grant from the US Mission to the UAE, Numoo’s vision is to empower UAE-based performing artists to gain greater agency in their own careers. It also seeks to build cross-disciplinary networks both within each cohort as well as to facilitate the ongoing creation of connections across each successive cohort, in order to build a more robust performing arts sector.

Curriculum

Numoo’s curriculum is based on the professionalization of performing artists in the UAE and includes hands-on practical business skills such as: refining and communicating an artistic vision; building your team and finding creative collaborators; budgeting and project management; understanding contracts and negotiation; the fundamentals of intellectual property; fundraising; developing technical specifications; crafting marketing strategies for projects as well as developing an artistic “brand;” and developing project proposals. The specific curriculum is refined and adapted based on the skills and experience of each cohort.

Cohorts

Each year a cohort of approximately 10 performing artists is selected through a competitive process of nomination, application, and interviews. Artists come from across the United Arab Emirates with a stated interest in building their careers in the UAE as well as bringing it on tour. They represent various performing arts disciplines, including music, dance, theater, spoken word, and multi-media work, are at different stages in their careers, and come from varied cultural backgrounds, including UAE Nationals and expats. Numoo takes place over several intensive sessions, with each participant receiving guidance from The Arts Center staff, international and UAE-based arts professionals, NYUAD faculty, and from one another. Numoo’s goal is that the experience and knowledge gained by program participants will reverberate beyond the participants to impact their respective professional and personal networks.

Recruitment of new cohorts will begin near the end of the 1st quarter of each calendar year.