1961–present
Ibrahim Al Hashimi
Ibrahim Al Hashimi, born in 1961 in the Emirates, writes poetry and works as a photographer and draughtsman. In 1976 he won first place in a nationwide drawing competition for schoolchildren, and in 1984 he won two photography competitions. He later chaired the Emirates Writers Union and published more than ten books.
Biography
In 1976 the schoolboy Ibrahim Al Hashimi won first place in the nationwide drawing competition for middle schools in the Emirates. He was about fifteen years old.
He was born in 1961; his place of birth is unknown. The Emirates were not yet a single state at that time, as the federation came into being a decade later. In 1984 he graduated from United Arab Emirates University with a bachelor’s degree in economics and business administration. In the same year photography brought him two victories at once: first place at the Gulf Universities Festival in Kuwait and first place at the Al Wasl photography competition. Later, in 1996 and 1999, he received awards for the best photographic work at the seventh and tenth editions of the Al Owais Award for creativity and academic excellence. He took part in exhibitions, showed his work, and designed a drawing for a postage stamp of the Emirates General Postal Authority; I have not been able to establish the year of issue or the subject of the stamp. Al Hashimi’s main professional life has been in real estate: after university he worked for Emaar and rose to the post of executive director of commercial sales. Since 2003, the year it was founded, he has been a member of the Emaar International Art Forum.
His literary work ran in parallel. He is the author of more than ten books: collections of poetry, biographical writings and studies of cultural heritage. His poems, articles and studies of traditional culture appeared in Emirati publications including Al Khaleej, Al Bayan, Al Ittihad, Al Rafid and Shu’un Adabiyya. In the newspaper Emarat Al Youm he had a weekly Sunday column, “Five Minutes”.
From 1988 Al Hashimi sat on the board of the Emirates Writers Union and held a series of posts there: he was in charge of cultural events (1988–1989), served as secretary general (1993–1994), was responsible for writing and publications (1994–1995), and in 1997 became deputy chairman. In 2005 he became chairman of the board, and later took the post of the Union’s secretary general. He is also a member of the Culture and Science Forum and the Dubai Press Club.
Profile notes