UAE Now is the newest section of Art Dubai, focusing on home grown, grass roots initiatives that reveal genuine artistic development within the UAE.

Art Dubai’s contemporary halls are a reflection of the myriad influences and narratives shaping our region and indeed far beyond. With a common thread of helping us understand the perception of others, just some of the highlights from the 2019 edition of the fair are summarised here.

His practice has come to represent his personal journey, his country, the landscape as well as a kind of primal language that is accessible to everyone yet explainable by none. Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim is one of the UAE’s treasures - here is my interview from our studio visit.

The inaugural section of Bawwaba at Art Dubai features 10 solo presentations from artists across the Global South. Curated by Elise Atatanga, the idea is to present a narrative as well as a window into different artist practices.

Art Dubai’s Modern section has evolved over the years to become a place for learning and contextualisation for contemporary art from across the region. This year, the 11 galleries present historical works from around the world and the accompanying symposium is a platform for intellectual exchange.

Art Dubai’s second residents programme features 12 of the leading artists from Latin America. They will spend 4-8 weeks in the UAE in the lead up to the fair producing new work based on their experiences.

For the launch of the newly renovated Tahrir Cultural Center in the American University of Cairo, Shiva Balaghi curated a show of two prominent Egyptian artists: Sherin Guirguis and Huda Lutfi.

After spending his lifetime taking stunning wildlife photographs across Africa, Dr Harold Vanderschmidt had his first exhibition at the age of 64. He is completely self-taught and has a natural skill, stemming from his deep passion for the animals.

The issue of script, legibility and art was the focus of the latest issue of Canvas magazine. Here is my take on it with a feature on the work of eL Seed.

It was a game changer when it opened in November, here are some of my thoughts about the Jameel Arts Centre and if you haven’t been yet, I encourage you all to go.

The Dubai Future Foundation is the home of visionary foresight and thanks to several innovative initiatives, the foundation is driving the UAE forward towards its goals of being 10 times ahead of the rest of the world.

Mattar Bin Lahej is one of the UAE’s leading artists, specialising in public art sculptures and large-scale works that depict movement and power. I interviewed him for Shawati magazine’s Winter 2018 edition.

As part of the one-year celebrations at Louvre Abu Dhabi, Salem Al Mansoori created an interactive and digital artwork that utilised visitor date and cast it into a starry constellation.

As part of an investigation into the use of Arabic script in art, I peered into the practice of Hassan Hajjaj to find out more about his fusion of Pop and Arabic culture and his overriding positivity.

As an accompaniment to my review on Ways of Seeing, this is a Q&A interview with curators Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath.

Art Dubai and Cinema Akil have just entered into a long-term partnership. In light of this, I spoke to Butheina about her labour of love, the UAE’s first and only arthouse picture-house

Ahead of the anticipated opening of the Jameel Arts Centre in Dubai next month, I interviewed Antonia Carver for Art Dubai.

Abdulqader Al Rais is one of the first Emirati’s to pursue art as a professional career and his versatile talent has served him well over his five decade career. A large international retrospective of his work is now on show in Paris.