Emiratis Invited to Apply for 2nd National Grant Program for Culture and Creativity

The nationwide grant program, which was launched in 2023, is a key initiative of the Ministry of Culture. WAM
The nationwide grant program, which was launched in 2023, is a key initiative of the Ministry of Culture. WAM
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Emiratis Invited to Apply for 2nd National Grant Program for Culture and Creativity

The nationwide grant program, which was launched in 2023, is a key initiative of the Ministry of Culture. WAM
The nationwide grant program, which was launched in 2023, is a key initiative of the Ministry of Culture. WAM

The Ministry of Culture has announced that it was accepting applications for the second cycle of the National Grant Program for Culture and Creativity (NGPCC) to offer grants to Emiratis with creative projects.

The nationwide grant program, which was launched in 2023, is a key initiative of the Ministry of Culture designed to receive applications from across various fields, including Books and Literature, Music, Film and TV, Performing Arts and Theater, Visual Arts and Design, Video Games and Cultural Heritage. The program's second cycle will be accepting online applications until June 1.

The grant program covers the cultural and creative industries offering creatives a chance to showcase their work to local, regional, and international audiences leading to greater visibility of the UAE’s talent and local cultural production.

At the heart of this program lies the Ministry’s commitment to developing a thriving creative ecosystem in the country by fostering home-grown talent, advancing careers, and enabling further production of creative projects from the sector.

The first cycle of the National Grant Program for Culture and Creativity has awarded 26 emerging and established Emirati creatives in several cultural and creative fields. A few project outcomes include short films, published books, theater productions, a video game, as well as the participation of creatives within international residencies, performances, and art fairs in Venice, Egypt, Latvia, and Poland.

Speaking about NGPCC, Minister of Culture Salem bin Khaled Al Qassimi said that the launch of the second cycle of the program illustrates the unwavering support of his Ministry for the UAE’s cultural and creative industries and promoting the UAE’s national identity and heritage.

“Building on the success of last year’s cycle, we would like to expand the program’s reach and urge more creatives to come forward and submit their applications to benefit from this opportunity. By enabling talent through providing funding, we aim to enhance cultural production in the country and maximize exposure and presence for Emirati creatives locally, regionally and internationally while also enhancing the UAE’s position on the global cultural and creative map,” he added.

The program invites artists, designers, writers, musicians, filmmakers and other creative professionals to submit their proposals to the Ministry within four categories that cater to the specific needs of creatives. They include the Creation and Production Grant, Promotion and Local Participations Grant, Capacity Development Grant and International Travel and Mobility Grant.



Research Discovers Ancient Egyptian Remains Smell Nice

 In this undated photo provided by Emma Paolin, a view of a selection of the mummified bodies in the exhibition area of the Egyptian museum in Cairo. (Emma Paolin via AP)
In this undated photo provided by Emma Paolin, a view of a selection of the mummified bodies in the exhibition area of the Egyptian museum in Cairo. (Emma Paolin via AP)
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Research Discovers Ancient Egyptian Remains Smell Nice

 In this undated photo provided by Emma Paolin, a view of a selection of the mummified bodies in the exhibition area of the Egyptian museum in Cairo. (Emma Paolin via AP)
In this undated photo provided by Emma Paolin, a view of a selection of the mummified bodies in the exhibition area of the Egyptian museum in Cairo. (Emma Paolin via AP)

At first whiff, it sounds repulsive: sniff the essence of an ancient corpse.

But researchers who indulged their curiosity in the name of science found that well-preserved Egyptian mummies actually smell pretty good.

"In films and books, terrible things happen to those who smell mummified bodies," said Cecilia Bembibre, director of research at University College London's Institute for Sustainable Heritage. "We were surprised at the pleasantness of them."

"Woody,spicy" and "sweet" were the leading descriptions from a mummy sniffing exercise. Floral notes were also detected, which could be from pine and juniper resins used in embalming.

The study published Thursday in the Journal of the American Chemical Society used both chemical analysis and a panel of human sniffers to evaluate the odors from nine mummies as old as 5,000 years that had been either in storage or on display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

The researchers wanted to systematically study the smell of mummies because it has long been a subject of fascination for the public and researchers alike, said Bembibre, one of the report’s authors. Archeologists, historians, conservators and even fiction writers have devoted pages of their work to the subject — for good reason.

Scent was an important consideration in the mummification process that used oils, waxes and balms to preserve the body and its spirit for the afterlife. The practice was largely reserved for pharaohs and nobility and pleasant smells were associated with purity and deities while bad odors were signs of corruption and decay.

Without sampling the mummies themselves, which would be invasive, researchers from UCL and the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia were able to measure whether aromas were coming from the archaeological item, pesticides or other products used to conserve the remains, or from deterioration due to mold, bacteria or microorganisms.

"We were quite worried that we might find notes or hints of decaying bodies, which wasn’t the case," said Matija Strlič, a chemistry professor at the University of Ljubljana. "We were specifically worried that there might be indications of microbial degradation, but that was not the case, which means that the environment in this museum, is actually quite good in terms of preservation."

Using technical instruments to measure and quantify air molecules emitted from sarcophagi to determine the state of preservation without touching the mummies was like the Holy Grail, Strlič said.

"It tells us potentially what social class a mummy was from and therefore reveals a lot of information about the mummified body that is relevant not just to conservators, but to curators and archeologists as well," he said. "We believe that this approach is potentially of huge interest to other types of museum collections."

Barbara Huber, a postdoctoral researcher at Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology in Germany who was not involved in the study, said the findings provide crucial data on compounds that could preserve or degrade mummified remains. The information could be used to better protect the ancient bodies for future generations.

"However, the research also underscores a key challenge: the smells detected today are not necessarily those from the time of mummification," Huber said. "Over thousands of years, evaporation, oxidation, and even storage conditions have significantly altered the original scent profile."

Huber authored a study two years ago that analyzed residue from a jar that had contained mummified organs of a noblewoman to identify embalming ingredients, their origins and what they revealed about trade routes. She then worked with a perfumer to create an interpretation of the embalming scent, known as "Scent of Eternity," for an exhibition at the Moesgaard Museum in Denmark.

Researchers of the current study hope to do something similar, using their findings to develop "smellscapes" to artificially recreate the scents they detected and enhance the experience for future museumgoers.

"Museums have been called white cubes, where you are prompted to read, to see, to approach everything from a distance with your eyes," Bembibre said. "Observing the mummified bodies through a glass case reduces the experience because we don’t get to smell them. We don’t get to know about the mummification process in an experiential way, which is one of the ways that we understand and engage with the world."