A high-profile traditional arts auction is taking place at the Women in Leadership (WIL) Forum on October 25 at the Burj Al Arab, Dubai, UAE. The brainchild of recently appointed Ambassador to His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales Charities Foundation in the Middle East, Mrs Heba Al Kharafi, as well as The Prince of Wales, the auction aims to raise money for UAE-based charitable institution in Dubai, Dar El Ber Society as well as Traditional Arts with the objective of to raising funds for the Prince’s Charities Foundation UK.
Traditional Arts has commissioned the internationally renowned luxury watch and jewellery firm Chopard to produce several pieces from its Arabesque Jewellery Collection for the auction, including a hand finished yellow gold, diamond and sapphire necklace, ear clips, pendant and watch. All items are unique, limited and exclusive and are marked with His Royal Highness The Prince’s Charities mark to endorse the cause.
Heba Al Kharafi, who also represents The Prince’s School of Traditional Arts and The Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts amongst others, said: “Being a passionate supporter of traditional arts and what it can do to generate awareness, create tolerance and breed understanding across cultures and religions, I think it’s wonderful that we can generate money for worthy causes by auctioning jewellery inspired and created using traditional art methods.”
“We are hoping that the auction will prove that traditional art is not just aesthetically pleasing, but can be used to do good for others as well.”
“Of course we would also like to generate as much money as we can for the Dubai charitable institution, Dar El Ber Society as well as The Traditional Arts projects in both UK and the Middle East. Al Kharafi - who recently announced that the HAK Award for Women and Arts is being launched at the WIL Forum on October 25 - is a well known supporter of traditional art and art-related charities.
Any woman who has contributed in teaching Traditional Arts around the world, participated in a leading project related to Traditional Arts heritage and preservation or established a museum of arts is able to apply for this award.
Commenting on the HAK Award for Women and Arts, Al Kharafi said: “Exposing art-related activities to leading women in the region is the perfect way to find synergies and common ground to be able to do more.”
The Arabesque Jewellery Collection pieces up for auction were designed by Lisa Delong, a student from His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales School of Traditional Arts in London, UK and produced by Chopard. The Prince’s School of Traditional Arts was developed by the Prince of Wales in 1986 as an educational charity to ensure the design traditions of the world’s cultures continue to thrive and prosper.
Bidding is said to start at around $750,000 with Joanna Hardy from Sotheby’s acting as auctioneer at the event. Hardy has over 30 years of experience in the jewellery trade, as designer, diamond grader, polished diamond dealer and - before moving to Sotheby’s - as diamond, gem and period jewellery valuer at Philip’s auction house.
Under the Patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, Wife of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the WIL Forum will offer an ideal environment for up to 500 businesswomen and leaders to set trends, influence, innovate and leverage women’s participation in the global business world. With an acclaimed line up of leading politicians, global business leaders, policy makers, professionals and women entrepreneurs, the Forum will investigate real change and the impact on women’s roles in today’s competitive world. It will also present the perfect platform to explore the opportunities for growth between the GCC countries and international markets.
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About Heba Al Kharafi
Heba Al Kharafi has recently been appointed as the Ambassador to His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales Charities Foundation in the Middle East. Her role includes fundraising, preserving the environment through conscience planning and building, enhancing core values and traditions, as well as creating bridges between cultures to achieve a better understanding and tolerance between the East and the West.
As Chairman of the International Board of Advisors to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, Heba is in charge of appointing patrons in each of the Middle Eastern countries to coordinate efforts, generate new ideas, and organize annual fund raising events.
Heba has highly been involved in art-related charities such as the Arts Exhibition and the Arts Students Workshops for the The Prince’s School of Traditional Arts and for The Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts.
A series of events was organized in the UK and Middle Eastern countries during where the initiatives of different charities were exposed. The objectives of the event were to introduce the work of the Charities to the Arab World and highlight its contribution to Arts, Business, Health and Education.
