DUBAI – QAHWA WORLD
The Coffee Art Marathon (CAM2), organised by Art4you Gallery and initiated by Jesno Jackson, returns from February to April 2026 with the “Road to Coffee Creative Challenge” across the UAE. Following the success of its 2024 edition, the initiative has now expanded to all seven Emirates, marking an important milestone in its journey of blending coffee culture with artistic expression.
- About Coffee Art Marathon 2
As Art4you Gallery celebrates 10 years of supporting art and culture in the UAE, the Coffee Art Marathon reflects its ongoing commitment to innovation, community engagement, and sustainability. By promoting eco-friendly mediums such as coffee painting, Art4you aligns with the UAE’s vision for sustainable and creative development.
Over the past decade, the gallery has built strong platforms for both emerging and established artists, contributing to the country’s growing cultural landscape while encouraging responsible and forward-thinking art practices. The new edition officially launched with immersive art experiences, live competitions, exhibitions, workshops, and community-focused programs.
The Vision: Coffee Art Marathon explores coffee not just as a drink, but as a creative medium. By bringing together artists, students, and art enthusiasts, CAM encourages experimentation, collaboration, and sustainable artistic practices.
As an international initiative by Art4you Events, CAM2 features 30 creative events across cities, cafés, galleries, and cultural spaces, connecting artists and communities through innovative coffee-based art experiences.
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DETAILS OF THE EVENTS HAPPENING:
1. A Creative Movement Brewed with Purpose at North Stable RAK Edition with Design Gallery. The RAK Edition aims to strengthen Ras Al Khaimah’s creative ecosystem while providing emerging and established artists with an interactive platform to showcase innovation through coffee-inspired art. Earth, Equine & Espresso – Coffee Art in Nature was a curated art experience and sustainable creative activation hosted within the serene environment of a horse stable café at North Stable Café, RAK. Blending art, nature, equine culture and conscious creativity, the event explored coffee as an eco-conscious artistic medium, transforming a community space into an immersive art environment. Curated by Art4you Gallery & Design Gallery, the event is part of the CAM 2. This unique initiative, supported by Heart of RAK and North Stable, positions Ras Al Khaimah as a cultural destination for innovative art experiences, encouraging environmental awareness, alternative venue exhibitions, and experiential art formats. The highlighted artists were Cristina Gabriela, Asma Sayed, Mustafa Pracha, Perihan Marwan, Noreen Nawab, Barathi Mehansi, Vasilisa Eliseeva, Janvi Choksi, Nithin Umesh, Jesno Jackson and Anju Choksi painted the theme of Horse in the Horse stable with sustainable medium coffee. There was coffee brewing by Barista with coffee story.
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2. Coffee Art Ignite – Live Postcard Art Competition A key highlight of the program was Coffee Art Ignite, an electrifying live postcard art competition. Designed as a one-hour speed challenge, participating artists compete to create the maximum number of coffee-painted postcards within 60 minutes. Blending skill, speed, and spontaneity, Coffee Art Ignite transformed coffee into pigment and pressure into performance. The artist produced the highest number of original postcards (40 postcards) within the time limit will be crowned the winner, celebrating creativity under real-time artistic intensity. This live competition embodied the spirit of Coffee Art Marathon, experimental, engaging, and community-driven at Kefi Books and Café, Dubai supported by Qahwa World.
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3. The Coffee Mark Art Exhibition launched in Dubai at Qube Art Gallery. The Dubai Edition officially opened with a curated launch event accompanied by the The Coffee Mark Art Exhibition. This exhibition explored “The Coffee Mark” as a symbol of traces, tones, and transformations, capturing the organic textures, stains, and narratives formed through coffee as an artistic medium. The exhibition showcased selected artists whose works reflected sustainability, innovation, and contemporary interpretation of coffee-based art practices.
The grand opening of THE COFFEE MARK | Traces, Tones & Transformations – Unique Coffee Painting Art Exhibition, by Art4you Gallery at Qube Art Gallery, Al Quoz, welcomed distinguished guests, artists, collectors, media representatives, and art enthusiasts, by the presence of distinguished Chief guest – H.E Yaqoob Al Ali, Guest of Honors – Hanan Al Nuaimi, Ahmed Mahmood, Special VIP Guests – Bhumika Maniyar, Pamila Quinzi, Tariq Al Salmaan, Nadine Ellithy, Aarti Basanth , Mylene De Los Ama, from the art and cultural community, whose support reinforced the growing recognition of coffee as a contemporary fine art medium.
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The exhibition dedicated to only coffee paintings featured 26 professional artists from 12 nationalities and from all 7 emirates, showcased over 54 original coffee artworks, demonstrating the extraordinary versatility of coffee as pigment. The exhibition proudly featured the works of participating artists – Anastasiia Novokreshchenova, Nataliia Venerova, Vasilisa Eliseeva, Jesno Jackson, Dr. Ana S. Gad, Shaf Beypore, Noreen Nawab, Sophie Bekmurzaeva, Ljiljana Stjelja, Abdul Jabbar Weiss, Barathi Mehansi, Ricknibert Balingan, Aliyeh Mohammad, Nithin Umesh, Shelina Khimji, Aimee George, Cristina Gabriela, Melanie Grace Francis, Perihan Marwan, Thomas Antony, Svetlana Kreventsova, Neethu George, Maryam Samsonova, Jeff Canare, Pradeep Kumar and Maria Komal Abie, whose diverse styles and interpretations brought depth to the Coffee Art movement, creating a collective dialogue around sustainability and innovation.
Program Duration: February – April
From 25th February through April 2026, the Coffee Art Marathon Edition 2 will feature:
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Live art activations
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Coffee art workshops
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Artist showcases
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Community engagement programs
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Collaborative creative sessions
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Exhibition displays
This extended format ensures continuous audience interaction and sustained creative momentum over three months. Follow Instagram – Art4you Gallery, Coffee Art Marathon www.art4yougallery.com for future events.
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