Coffee Art Marathon : World's Only Creative Coffee Movement by Art4you Gallery
The aroma of coffee now carries more than comfort, it carries creativity. With the formal inauguration of its RAK Edition on January 25th 2026, the Coffee Art Marathon (CAM2) expanded its creative artistic movement into Ras Al Khaimah and kicked off a three-month cultural extravaganza that will run through April 2026.
Building on the increasing popularity of its first edition in 2024, CAM2 is back with a bang, turning cafes, galleries, and public areas into lively centers of creative experimentation. Now that '7 EMIRATES' has joined the movement, it expands its reach throughout the United Arab Emirates and fortifies the conversation between coffee culture and modern art.
A Movement Where Coffee Becomes Canvas
Fundamentally, Coffee Art Marathon is a creative platform that reimagines coffee as a sustainable artistic medium rather than just a collection of events. Through the use of robust espresso-toned strokes and delicate sepia washes, artists experiment with the natural textures and erratic beauty of coffee colors, transforming daily routine into visual narrative.
Coffee Art Marathon promotes cooperation, sustainability, and cross-disciplinary creativity by uniting up-and-coming artists, seasoned professionals, students, and creative enthusiasts. Specifically, the RAK Edition seeked to enhance the Emirate's expanding creative scene providing artists with fresh chances to interact and engage audiences in immersive formats. The RAK Edition aimed to strengthen Ras Al Khaimah’s creative ecosystem 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.
Official Launch & Coffee Mark Art Exhibition
A carefully planned launch event marked the formal start of the CAM Edition 2 and set the tone for a three-month creative adventure. The evening, which was intended to be both a celebration and a statement, brought together media professionals, artists, cultural leaders, creative entrepreneurs, coffee lovers, and others in a common area where art and fragrance blended together harmoniously.
The Coffee Mark Art Exhibition, a concept-driven display that explored "The Coffee Mark" as a metaphor for memory, movement, and metamorphosis, was the focal point of the launch. Every piece of art showed how coffee, in its unadulterated, natural state, can develop into a potent artistic language. Natural coffee colors were turned into powerful visual storytelling by participating artists using bold expressive techniques, layered washes, textured brushstrokes, and subtle tonal gradients. Coffee's richness and unpredictable nature as a medium were emphasized in the exhibition; its earthy tones, flowing textures, and organic diffusion patterns produce traces that seem both deliberate and unplanned. The pieces, which ranged from delicate sepia drawings to vibrant modern compositions, addressed issues of environmental consciousness, human connection, cultural identity, and sustainability.
THE COFFEE MARK | Traces, Tones & Transformations Art Exhibition by Art4you Gallery at Qube Art Gallery, Al Quoz, offered a compelling example of this shift. The event showcased coffee as a fine art medium, aimed at promoting sustainable art practices. The exhibition demonstrated how brewed coffee can move beyond its traditional identity as a beverage to become pigment, texture, and storytelling tool. The event was lively and engaging. Visitors interacted with artists one-on-one, watched live performances, and felt the tactile link between making coffee and creating art. The environment promoted cooperation and discussion, promoting discussions about environmentally sensitive artistic practices and the changing function of alternative media in modern expression.
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.
By uniting artists, cultural stakeholders, support partners, and media representatives, the launch strengthened CAM2's overarching goal of creating a collaborative creative ecosystem that links com was a symbolic beginning for the Dubai Edition, creating a lasting impression that, like coffee, creativity endures long after the moment has passed. The event was supported by Sustainability Partner - Green Revolution DXB and Coffee Brand support by Gostoso Coffee.
Coffee Art Ignite: Creativity Under Pressure
Coffee Art Ignite, a live postcard art competition that turns artistic practice into an exciting public performance, is one of CAM2's most exciting moments. The competition, which consists of a 90-minute speed challenge, forces artists to step outside of their comfort zones in the studio and into an environment that is intensely focused, urgent, and creative. This live competition embodied the spirit of Coffee Art Marathon, experimental, engaging, and community-driven at Kefi Books, Board Games & Specialty Coffee Shop,supported by Qahwa World.
Participants use just coffee as their medium at the start of the cycle; they don't use traditional paints, simply brewed tones that range from light amber washes to rich espresso shades. On postcard-sized watercolour paper, brushes worked quickly to capture experimental forms, landscapes, portraits, and abstract impressions. As pigment and paper combine to create organic textures, surprising gradients, and exquisitely imperfect marks that capture the essence of the medium, the aroma of coffee remains in the air.
The theatrical aspect of Coffee Art Ignite is what makes it so captivating. From the very first brushstroke to the very last signature, audiences watch the entire creative process unfold in real time. Beyond contests, Coffee Art Ignite embodies the fundamental tenets of Coffee Art Marathon: community involvement, sustainability, accessibility, and innovation. The challenge, which uses coffee as a natural pigment, demonstrates that creativity frequently starts with common materials and supports eco-conscious art practices.
The winner is the artist who completes the most original postcards in the allotted time, not just for speed but also for consistency, creativity, and perseverance. But in the end, Coffee Art Ignite honors each participant, understanding that the real triumph lies in creativity. Coffee Art Ignite embodied the essence of CAM2, bold, participatory, and purposefully brewed, in its intensity and inclusivity. Winners were determined based on the number of completed original postcards and jury-selected works, evaluated by Prof. Dr. Mohamed Yousif, pioneer Emirati artist, sculptor, and Fine Arts professor at the University of Sharjah, UAE. VIP guests included Ali Al Zakary, Ajab Yusuf Bharbhaya, Tasneem Hussain Turabally, and Hussain Ibrahim.
Demonstrating exceptional creativity and speed, the winning artist produced 42 original coffee-painted postcards, earning the title Coffee Art Ignite Champion. Participants included both professional artists and emerging creatives, such as Cristina Gabiela, Noreen Nawab, Jesno Jackson, Fathimath Thasleema, Maiia Opuk, Alisa Volnova, Zara Bekmurzaeva, Vasilisa Eliseeva, and Sophie Bekmurzaeva, reflecting the inclusive spirit of the Coffee Art Marathon. Vasilisa Eliseeva won 1st Prize in the Artist category, while Sophie Bekmurzaeva took 1st Prize in the Student category.
A Three-Month Cultural Journey (February – April)
The RAK Edition marks the beginning of an ongoing three-month program under CAM2, featuring:
- Live coffee painting activations
- Interactive art workshops
- Artist showcases and exhibitions
- Community-driven creative sessions
- Collaborative café-based art experiences
- Cultural networking gatherings
Running from 25th January through April 2026, the extended format ensures sustained creative engagement, allowing audiences to witness the evolution of coffee art across multiple venues and formats.
About the Coffee Art Marathon (CAM2)
A creative movement that originated in the United Arab Emirates, Initiated by Jesno Jackson & Rengi Cherian - Founders of Art4you Gallery, Coffee Art Marathon (CAM2) turns coffee from a daily ritual into a potent artistic language. The program, which has its roots in sustainability and innovation, investigates coffee as a living medium that conveys texture, tone, emotion, and aroma into canvas and paper, rather than just as a beverage.
Through a series of live coffee events, live competitions, curated exhibitions, seminars, talks, demonstrations, and cooperative art activations, CAM2, which is envisioned as a multi-city cultural adventure, unites artists, students, cafés, galleries, and creative communities. The project redefines how modern art can be made and viewed while promoting environmentally friendly artistic practices by promoting experimentation with coffee as a natural pigment.
Beyond a series of events, COFFEE ART MARATHON EDITION is a nationwide creative movement redefining how art is brewed, shared, and experienced.
Image Credit @dxb24art