MAYS IBRAHIM (ABU DHABI)
The Sheikh Zayed Festival, an annual celebration of culture, heritage, and traditions, showcases the skills and craftsmanship of Emirati artisans with a wide array of exhibits and workshops that offer visitors a closer look at the nation's traditional arts.
Among the highlights is a special perfume-making workshop by a student-led club from the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) called the "Team of Support and Assistance."
Speaking with Aletihad, Afra Aljarwan, a member of the team, invited visitors to the festival to join their workshops at the Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation pavilion free of charge.
At the workshops, visitors learn how to create a perfume according to their personal taste, using a combination of alcohol, oils, and other aromatic components such as vanilla and saffron.
The club, headed by Latifa Alnuaimi, a student pursuing a degree in entrepreneurship at UAEU, serves as a platform for students to express their creativity.
"The club fosters talent and gives us girls at the university a productive outlet during long breaks between classes," Alnuaimi explained.
For Alnuaimi, perfume-making is more than just a hobby, it is a deeply personal art form.
"I learned how to make perfumes during the COVID-19 pandemic through online tutorials and immediately fell in love with it. For me, perfume is not just about smelling good – it's a way to express emotions, moods, and personality. It's like creating a piece of art, similar to how a painter expresses themselves on a canvas," she told Aletihad.
This marks the club's first participation at the Sheikh Zayed Festival.
"Our focus is on promoting traditional crafts and giving visitors a taste of what makes Emirati heritage unique," Alnuaimi said.
Another participant in the festival is Salem Al Zaidi, a 52-year-old Emirati artisan and craftsman who specialises in pottery. His works reflect the country's architectural heritage using clay.
"Pottery has always been a part of my life," said Al Zaidi, who learned the craft as a child by playing with clay and observing its use in building homes and structures back in the late seventies.
"There was a sense of community when people would come together to build homes with clay. That feeling of unity is something that attracted me to this craft," Al Zaidi told Aletihad.
Al Zaidi's passion lies in preserving the UAE's folk heritage for future generations.
"It's important to introduce younger generations to their roots and to keep our heritage alive," he noted.
"The UAE's Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan once said, 'A nation without a past is a country without a present or a future'."