Tafawut: Year of Tolerance
A group show in Showcase Gallery explores tolerance in light of the UAE’s 2019 Year Of Tolerance. It includes a primary presentation of work by Jessica Watson-Thorp, who used her art as a bridge to explore Islam.
Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival: Horizon
The one-month Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival is back for a bigger and better edition this year. Alongside several top-class art presentations, there are also 161 workshops will be held in subjects such as calligraphy, Islamic ornamentation and sand-writing as well as lectures and artist tours.
Huda Lutfi: Still
Huda Lutfi’s third solo show at The Third Line in Dubai was a quiet moment in her sometimes outspoken practice, but sometimes, the loudest messages come through in silence.
A 100-year journey through Japanese books
This exhibition of book design takes viewers on a journey through art, architecture, cosmology and philosophy, as well as words.
Letters from Abu Dhabi Art
Letters is an exhibition that takes its cue from Omar Saif Ghobash’s novel Letters To A Young Muslim. It cleverly captures through a range of artists from UAE and Saudi, the predicament of today’s young Muslim.
Fernando Botero: A Still Life Retrospective
Columbian artist Fernando Botero is well known for his art using exaggerated volume and rounded forms. He is currently holding his first retrospective in the Middle East and it focuses solely on his still life works.
People on the Move: 70 years of forced migration
The Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award, in collaboration with the United Nations is showing an exhibition highlighting the plight of forced international migration over the past 70 years.
Look again: Ways of Seeing
Ways of Seeing is the third iteration of an exhibition that takes its roots in the seminal 1970s text by John Berger. It asks audiences to question the methods of viewing the works and includes leading Emirati artists for the Abu Dhabi edition.
Mohammed Kazem: A Prime Activity
An exploration and extension of painting as a medium with strong subject matter relating to the social and economic structure of the UAE makes Mohammed Kazem’s most recent show an excellent presentation both conceptually and formally.
Shaikha Al Mazrou: Expansion / Extension
Shaikha Al Mazrou explores with colour, form and materiality to create visual illusions based within the formal language of minimalism in her debut solo exhibition in Dubai
Lantian Xie: Full Special
Through his exhibition titled Full Special, Lantian Xie offers a humourous and ironic look at life in the UAE and all its bizarre idiosyncrasies.
Kahlil Gibran: A Universal Philosophy Timelessly Impacted
It is 95 years since Kahlil Gibran’s seminal text The Prophet was published. This London exhibition featuring 38 Middle Eastern artists celebrates his timeless impact.
Shakespeare, Shelley and Cyberspace
With literary references in this show abound, this exhibition tantalises the senses and also throws an interesting perspective on life and love in the 21st century.
The Diving Bell and The Butterfly
The Diving Bell & The Butterfly explores artistic practices that places themselves within some kind of restriction but also celebrate creative freedom. Curated by me, Anna Seaman, the show was contains the work of 11 artists who either live and work in the region or who have roots in the Middle East.
Nicky Nodjoumi: Fractures
Nicky Nodjoumi’s use of satire, found imagery and political commentary makes Fractures a hard hitting show that also pays homage to his first and foremost priority: painting.
Houssam Ballan: Beings
Houssam Ballan’s exhibition is his first in Dubai. His paintings use flat colour planes and movement to convey both a sense of emotion as well as the complexities of human perception.
Art & Jewellery: wearable creations
This exhibition brings together some of the biggest names in Western art with Middle Eastern practitioners to display 80 pieces of jewellery as a celebration of wearable art.