There are over a million blue-collar workers in Dubai, building the dreams of the country and its people. Brick by brick, nail by nail, they are also working towards their own dreams of giving their children a better education and hence, a better life.

But we discovered that even though some workers hammer in over 200,000 nails a month, their salaries (as low as 200-300 USD) might never be enough for that dream. SmartLife, an organization for UAE’s blue-collar workers wanted to help build their dreams.

Introducing SAPNA (“Dream” in Hindi or Urdu languages).

With the help of Pointillist artists, we created an image, which was designed to slowly reveal its message over time and transferred it onto a giant canvas, which we installed on an 8 by 3 m wall in the heart of Dubai, during the holiday shopping season.

We then invited people to buy a nail for a minimum of 10 Dirhams (the equivalent of 3 USD) and hammer it into designated points on the wall.

In an interactive manner, this little act of labour gave them the chance to feel a fraction of the workers’ efforts and give back one nail at a time.

Nail by nail, minute by minute the image came to life symbolizing the fulfillment of the workers dreams

At an absolute 0$ cost, our interactive outdoor - The SAPNA Wall - became the first crowd-sourced nail art piece for charity and attracted over 55 different nationalities, popular celebrities and influencers. Unexpected coverage across leading print, radio, TV and online platforms worldwide generated unprecedented earned media for Smartlife (over $730,000 in earned media from across the region and the world). Most importantly through SAPNA, 40 children (and rising) will now receive a first class education and get the chance to go on and lead a better life, which is something their fathers had only ever dreamt about.

Because of its success, we have been invited to install the SAPNA wall in 7 other countries to build many more dreams, one nail at a time.