Akmo, the artist who found her voice in Dubai

euronews (in English)

Meet Akmo, a talented artist and entrepreneur originally from Kyrgyzstan. At the age of 18, she moved to Dubai and five years later she has a successful singing career and has established a thriving business.

Transcript

00:00 [music]

00:13 Art has been a part of my life since I was a child.

00:16 In different ways, painting, pottery, performing, singing part would just naturally come to me.

00:22 And I would always pass by the conservatoire.

00:25 When they open the window you can hear how they're vocalizing.

00:28 I would just stand there and look at them.

00:30 And there was this big vocal contest between all the Asian countries.

00:35 I went to that conservatoire. I said, "I sing. I want you to coach me to get ready for that competition."

00:41 And he was like, "Okay, we need to see how you sing." And I sang.

00:44 [music]

00:52 It was a big experience for me and I got a prize of a special artist.

00:56 And that's how I got admitted to a conservatoire.

01:00 At the beginning of the third year, my family got into financial difficulties.

01:05 At the age of 18, I came to Dubai to work, to help my family.

01:10 When I arrived to Dubai and I actually started working and I started exchanging experiences with other artists from different countries,

01:19 I noticed that I'm learning much more here than I learned back in school or back in the uni.

01:25 That's when I realized I'm at the right place. I could actually open up my potential.

01:30 I was instructing music and I badly wanted to sing.

01:34 So I had the view of Burj Khalifa from my balcony.

01:38 I would always imagine those blocks of Burj Khalifa like steps to get to my goal of singing.

01:45 And then I actually got contracted with the highest lounge of Burj Khalifa to be a resident singer there.

01:52 They perform for celebrities like Hugh Jackman, other sports stars and music stars.

01:58 We were working every day, singing in different venues. It was great.

02:01 And then the COVID-19 happened. No entertainment, no music.

02:06 So I went back to painting and then I realized that I am very familiar with art and teaching and venues.

02:14 So why not combine them all and make something where people can unleash their creativity,

02:20 enjoy dining experience and have a good time.

02:25 And that was the idea behind ArtFam.

02:28 I was sold out every week. Like every event was sold out.

02:33 ArtFam became a destination for people to go out on weekends.

02:37 Coming to Dubai five years ago, I would never think I would be a business owner.

02:43 Dubai has surprised me in unimaginable ways.

02:47 So I'm looking forward to what more surprises it has prepared for me.

02:54 (upbeat music)

02:57 [MUSIC PLAYING]

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