A new global cultural platform brings together Beyoncé director Emmanuel Adjei, contemporary artist Farah Al Qasimi, Emirati poet Shamma Al Bastaki and London’s Young Poet Laureate Theresa Lola.
Conceived and creatively led by Soursop for Jumeirah, the initiative takes shape through a major art book, Where Worlds Meet, and a cinematic work, Our Flame.
The project draws on the majlis, the Arab tradition of convening poets, thinkers and guests, translating it into a contemporary framework for artistic collaboration at global scale.
Within its pages, Lamya Gargash’s Majlis series (2008–2009) reframes domestic interiors as a cultural archive. Farah Al Qasimi, whose work has been exhibited at the Guggenheim and Tate Modern, represents a generation shaping Gulf visual language within the international canon.
Arabic typography is reimagined through Mooni Studio and Egyptian designer Fares Waleed, while Iraqi master calligrapher Majid Al-Yousef contributes original calligraphic works to the book, grounding the project in a living tradition of Arabic script.
The dialogue extends beyond the region. At Capri Palace Jumeirah, works by Giorgio de Chirico and Mario Schifano form part of Jumeirah’s permanent collection, positioning Arabian hospitality within a broader art historical continuum.
If the book establishes the intellectual architecture, Our Flame translates it into motion. Directed by Emmanuel Adjei and written by Shamma Al Bastaki. The agency production was handled by Whale Amsterdam and the production company was 100%. It centres on a single flame carried across Dubai, London, Capri, Bali, Mallorca and the open sea, a symbol of warmth moving between cultures.
Across book and film, contemporary Arab culture operates at institutional scale, shaping a new global identity for Jumeirah.
For Soursop, the project signals a wider ambition: building brand universes that function as cultural platforms. For Jumeirah, it marks a decisive step into a future defined by artistic collaboration.
