See below contributing artists individual work which reflects the brief: how might we capture the spirit of the 2023 RAK Fine Arts Festival from the perspectives of the artists to create a first of its kind collective digital memory.

From top to bottom, left to right -

1 - Atefeh Khas - Falling:
Because I couldn’t participate personally present in the RAKFAF festival, I decided to make an art work for NFT related to my works in the festival. “Falling” is a MP4 video (stop motion) which is completely vice versa to my art work in the festival that won the first prize in the photography. In the festival art work (RAKFAF) you can see a woman in a desert but in the NFT work you see a womon standing in snow, also in the festival art work you can’t see the face of the woman but in the NFT you can see the face of the woman. The snow is the symbol of blessing which it means ART for me, because art world is like an opportunity to express my self-feeling . To me, the process of making of art work and talking the with the people through art is like a bridge to the freedom.

2 - Rebecca Crystal Pereira - I grew up beside the sea: corals: I grew up in the Sea’ explores the UAE’s corals which are becoming extinct. These include Stylophota Pistillate, Favia Speciosa and Favia Pallida where the last sightings are found at Ras Ghanada, Abu Dhabi. Each piece within the coral has been carefully crafted and hand painted with the use of a traditional blue. I wanted to produce a piece that is specifically round, inspired by the shape and surface of Pearl, but emphasised on top with intricate details of these different types of coral. Each individual piece creates a movement and flow onto the next piece, emphasising individuality, life, and beauty. I used my colour palette of traditional blue, where I combine my personal environment and culture to heighten each individual coral: a reflection of my childhood growing up by the sea.

3 - Tatiana Litova: Dreams about the sea in a fish shop. 1, 2, 3 In my photo shown at RAKFAF, the fish sleeping on the sand are dreaming for the last time of the moving deep transparent dark sea. Unfortunately, I was not able to visit the festival events in person. But on the photo reports of the RAKFAF team, telling about the opening evening of the festival, I saw my photo in a large format, among the ancient ruins exposed to the sea winds, surrounded by twilight, with atmospheric lighting ... And I felt a moment of miracle: I clearly saw how the magic of space these fragile and beautiful creatures are transformed, come to life, sway on the waves and swim away into their element. I really wanted to bring these colored sleeping fish to life - so I added wave motion to my original photo (video, mp4 - Dreams about the sea in a fish shop 1), and then changed the color of the image (digital photoart, jpeg - Dreams about the sea in a fish shop 2), after which I added moving water again (video, mp4 - Dreams about the sea in a fish shop 3) . This is how the sleeping fish in the photo found a new life in art work for the NFT version of the RAKFAF festival

4 - Masarratfatima - collective experience: The artwork represents my residency journey in RAK, it reflects on the local heritage as well as flora and fauna. 

5 - Mahak Rouhina - Blooming Heart: Nature for the world is like the heart for the body (without it you cannot continue living) and all the beauties that were in the Rak filled my heart with nature and beauty.

6 - Morvarid Mohammad - Still Life with Cats and Candle: An unlikely collection of subjects, Still Life with Cats and Candle dwells upon the meanings of belonging, probability, and time and space. The traditional painting technique draws on memories of classical oil painters, questioning the existence of time in the artistic sense of the word, while the dark background suggests at a vague but impending sense of doom. All in all, a melancholic and pensive artwork, not altogether comforting but staggeringly real.

7 - Bilyana Desheva - Scroll By: With this work I wanted to look at the way a certain artwork transforms the reality around itself. Just by being situated in a certain place, in a certain way, it creates a pocket in reality for the viewer to step into. That is why I turned a traditional paper collage into a 2.5 D animation, using the paralax scroll effect in order to simulate the dynamic of looking at an artwork. The particular illustrative elements were inspired by my own artwork, that is part of the RAKFAF festival, and the way the curator chose to exhibit it.

8 - Saadiah Sulaiman - Symbiosis: Symbiosis is a terracotta vase that encapsulates and salutes the artist's recent experience at the Ras Al Khaimah Fine Arts Festival 2023. The vase showcases parts of her painting - titled "Nature" - displayed at the festival, as well as the venue’s trademark coral walls. Both of these elements contribute to the artist’s inspiration for the NFT, as well as being in tune with nature and the outdoors while conducting a workshop illustrating black pearls.

9 - Anum Farooq - Leaf perspective: There are many layers of leaves through nature and to look through their perspective; the varying tones, textures, hue and points of shade and light is an immersive experience. To know nature through part of the very leaves that are embedded within the natural world.

10 - Luis Carlos Soto - Pearl Village: One of the biggest impressions I had during RAKFAF was the Al Jazeera Al Hamra Heritage Village Site. Besides the incredible artworks featured in the festival, their integretion with the site was mindblowing. The more I kept walking around the site, the more I felt as if I was part of the exhibition too. In my artwork, I wanted to do a little homage to the site, the last remaining traditional pearling village in the gulf. I wanted to reverse things and have the village inside the pearl, inviting the viewer to look closer, aiming to have a similar experience as in RAKFAF: look closer and you'll find some beautiful treasures.

11 - Rohita Thomas - Sparkling spectrum: A celebration of art My painting depicts the essence of RAKFAF, where the organizers, the artists & the spectators came together to create and appreciate each of the spectacular works that were displayed, just like the way various colors were used to make this painting. 

12 - Benedicte Gimonnet - Le Passant aux cactus: Anonymous Emirati "Passer-by" before "Cactus T&O”, one of my artworks during the opening of RAKFAF23 inside of the fort. The face of the passer-by in mouvement is blurred, so are the memories of the very diverse visitors of the RAK Festival that sparkling night. "Cactus T&O" shown in the festival is a very large print (original painting is a small format) enhancing all the symbolism of that remarkable plant: resilience and endurance.

13 - Simrin Mehra Agarwal - Subterraneous-I (detail): The work takes you through traces of memory and fragments of the past of the ancient Al Jazeera Al Hamra Village in Ras Al Khaimah which was once inhabited by pearl seekers but is now abandoned to the wear and tear of time. In this magical village, amongst the historical ruins is the very site of this unique festival where elements of nature, architecture, culture, art, and heritage unite to depict the spirit and essence of what makes the Ras Al Khaimah Fine Arts Festival 2023 so mesmerizing.

14 - Rashida Essajee - Nature's Cosmic Connections : A Transformative Journey of Growth and Potential As an artist, I find myself constantly captivated by the exquisite splendor of nature and the profound connections we forge with one another. These cherished values were at the heart of the festival, which sought to embody their essence. 

15 - Madeleine Kurtsdotter - The Birch Among the Palm Trees: My artistic creation showcases a starry night backdrop, a powerful emblem of the boundless expanse of the universe and the infinite possibilities it holds. It also represents my own humble place within this grand cosmos, as life comes full circle from cradle to grave, symbolized by the onset of darkness before growth. 

16 - Fazil Mousavi - Torn Testament series: As the observer's gaze ascends, two hands outstretched towards each other emerge, embodying the profound connections forged at the festival. Through this event, I had the pleasure of meeting fellow artists and nature enthusiasts, and the experience proved to be nothing short of transformative. 

17 - Nadi Kiza - The Matchmaking: Lastly, the artwork features a sprouting seed, evocative of the potential and growth that lies within me. As I engaged with others and explored novel experiences, I unlocked new vistas of potential, growing in ways I never imagined possible. 

18 - Fatemeh Pishvaee - Point: My hope is that this artwork captures the very essence of the festival and the profound experiences it engenders. It has been an honor to be a part of this journey, and I thank you for allowing me to share in this unique and meaningful celebration. 

19 - Turkan Umit Sule - Embracing the Art: Four major facts impressed me during this RAKFAF23 exhibition: The art works displayed seperately- looking all very glorious both by their huge dimensions and their isolated state; the effect of the surrounding historical site; the sense of freedom being in an open-air area; the dynamism created by the visitors and their interaction with the art works. My aim was to create a new piece of art by bringing these concepts all together. Ironically, the visitors viewing my art have being melted within the frame just like the people in my original art were melted within nature, thus creating a replica.

20 - Ali Fayyazi - I am a cactus: Art is nature and nature is art.And we are part of this circle...At the Rakfaf festival, I saw different views of artists on the theme of "nature", which was amazing. My painting "I am a cactus" used symbols of hope and purpose, and I got mixed reactions.In this project, I tried to implement this work in the space of "pixel art" with a new look.