Ras Al Khaimah Art 2027 Festival — Lost in Translation

Artists are invited to submit works responding to the 2027 Festival theme "Lost in Translation."

Founded in 2013 by the Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi Foundation for Policy Research, the Ras Al Khaimah Art Festival has grown from a modest gathering of 30 emerging local artists into the Emirate's leading art and cultural festival. Formerly known as the Ras Al Khaimah Fine Arts Festival, it has since evolved into Ras Al Khaimah Art—a dynamic creative platform that supports both local and international talents through its annual Festival, grants, masterclasses, workshops, and year-round programming. Set within the historic Al Jazeera Al Hamra Heritage Village, the Festival serves as a distinctive space where global artistic practice meets Emirati cultural heritage.

For the Ras Al Khaimah Art 2027 Festival, we invite you to submit your proposals around the theme of "Lost in Translation." Inspired by Sofia Coppola's iconic film Lost in Translation (2003), the festival takes "translation" as a central idea and metaphor. It is not only about language but also about emotions, culture, and the experience of being in a place where you do not fully belong. It is about the distance between people, quiet loneliness, and the deep human desire to transform and connect even when understanding seems incomplete.

It becomes a framework for thinking about transformation and adaptation in today's world. Many people move between countries, cultures, and identities. They adjust to new environments, new expectations, and new ways of living. But what does this process demand emotionally? What does it mean to search for your place in a world that feels unfamiliar? When does adapting make you stronger, and when does it make you feel invisible?

This exhibition invites artists to explore the experience of being "in between." In between languages, in between cultures, in between past and present versions of oneself. It encourages works that reflect miscommunication, emotional distance, or the quiet effort it takes to feel understood. Artists might think about migration, memory, belonging, or the tension between private identity and public role. They may explore how meaning changes when it moves from one context to another, or how spaces and landscapes can create either connection or isolation.

Lost in Translation is about discovery. It suggests that moments of uncertainty can lead to deeper self-understanding. Through the experience of difference and adaptation, new forms of connection, strength, and identity can emerge.

The open call welcomes artists and filmmakers from all nationalities and backgrounds, regardless of gender, religion, or geographic location. Applicants can apply under one category only: Emerging Artists, Established Artists, Filmmakers, or Students (ages 6–19).