Origins and traditions
Emirati culture has never ceased to be enriched by migratory movements. Iran, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh participate in the mixing in all serenity. The precepts of Islam as well as Arab and Bedouin traditions permeate the visual arts as well as daily life. Moreover, Arabic calligraphy deserves the status of an artistic practice. The beautiful letters inspire arabesques and geometric patterns of rare elegance. Emirati calligraphy pioneer Muhammad Mendy, born in Abu Dhabi in 1977, shares his talent in a variety of media, such as banknotes and public murals. His work includes the walls of the Dubai New Hospital and the Ministry of Justice Court.
Growth of cultural life
Abu Dhabi is experiencing an unprecedented cultural boom. Large-scale projects are being implemented to develop the museum offer. On Saadiyat Island, the development of the cultural district brings together the most sumptuous museums in the Emirates, including the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. The Guggenheim, a futuristic fantasy designed by Franck Gehry, will not welcome visitors until 2026. As for the Louvre Abu Dhabi, designed by Jean Nouvel under a huge moucharabieh dome, it is the first universal museum in the Arab world. Thousands of years of artistic creation are brought together: Buddhist, Egyptian, Turkish, Ottoman masterpieces... The particularity of the collection lies in its linking of cultures that are a priori distant, whether in time or in space. It also brings together modern creations, including paintings by Chagall, Paul Klee and Cy Twombly
A real craze for contemporary art is emerging. The Abu Dhabi Art Program is establishing itself as the rising platform for the art scene. Exhibitions, conferences and workshops are held throughout the year at several locations in the city. To encourage young creation, since 2017, Emerging Artists supports the projects of three promising artists. The Abu Dhabi Art Fair closes the event every year in November. Internationally renowned galleries, such as Perrotin, now participate in the fair, which has nothing to envy to the one in Dubai.
Emirati painting
A discipline recently encouraged in the UAE, painting has been affirmed by two generations of painters. Among the representatives of the first generation, Abdulrahim Salim (born in 1955 in Dubai) is a painter and sculptor. He is considered a pioneer of fine arts in his country, as well as Hassan Sharif or Abdul Qader Al Raes and Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim. The avant-garde collective "The Flying House" brings together in the 1990s and 2000s Hassan Sharif and his brother Hussain Sharif, Abdullah al Saadi and Mohamed Kazem and Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim. Hassan Sharif (1951-2016) is one of the most influential artists in the Arab world. His extremely varied work includes drawings, performances, accumulations of objects and collages, for the most part. He was the first to show that an art detached from calligraphy was possible.
Also born in 1951, Abdulqader Al Rais is both a precursor and a major reference on the Emirati scene. The works of this self-taught artist adorn the walls of countless palaces and government offices, but also public places through frescoes executed on commission. The Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris traced his career in a solo exhibition, from his youth in Kuwait in the 1960s to the paintings he created for the occasion. After revolutionizing the artistic landscape, Abdulqader Al Rais multiplies initiatives to promote the young generation. He was the first to marvel at the fact that some sixty art galleries have sprung up where, in his early days, there was hardly anything.
The visual artist Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim (born 1962) immerses himself in the landscapes of his native region of Khor Fakkan to "let forms be created". His sculptures bring together mixed materials (clay, plants, paper) in pieces that are not unrelated to his training as an archaeologist. In 1997, he founded the Art Atelier located at the Khor fakkan Art Centre and frequently exhibits in Europe.
Born in 1956, Najat Makki is also one of the adventurers of the current scene. The artist draws her inspiration from the emotions of her environment. The first Emirati woman to obtain a government scholarship to study art abroad, she began her career in sculpture and then metalwork in Cairo. Her career is divided into abstract, realistic and expressionist periods. If the female figure and symbols are her favorite themes, she superimposes in recent years layers of painting in a new kind of abstraction.
A disciple of Hassan Sharif, Mohammed Kazem (born in 1969) opens the way to the second generation of artists. He expresses himself through video, sound art, photography, objects and performance to question globalization. He likes to represent his body in drawing or photo, at the heart of a whirlwind of changes that he strives to document. As an exhibition curator, he directs events designed to promote the new generation.Art Galleries
The Ghaf Gallery was born in 2006 at the initiative of two artists, Mohamed Kanoo and Jalal Luqman. It remains a reference
In the port area of Abu Dhabi, WAREHOUSE421 was created for the Abu Dhabi Art Fair 2015. This eco-responsible space presents temporary exhibitions, workshops and debates around art. A must for contemporary art enthusiasts.
Since 2014, the Etihad Modern Art Gallery has been exhibiting UAE artists, more or less recognized, alongside international artists. After the visit, the Art House Café promises a surprising break
The N2N Gallery opens its program to European art. Founded by two Ukrainian expatriates, Natalya Muzaleva and Natalia Petrukha, the gallery supports sculpture, graphic arts, painting and mixed media.
In a splendid setting, Gallery One is a safe bet. In the past, it has hosted such luminaries as Wissam Shawkatt, Helen Abbas and Tariq Dajani. Thematic exhibitions are organized from time to time to showcase the local culture
On the way to Abu Dhabi airport, the Lebanese artist Salwa Zeidan founded the Salwa Zeidan Art Gallery. The gallery is home to some of the biggest names on the contemporary scene: Hassan Sharif, Mohammed Kazem and Nedim Kufi.
Photo
The annual Emirati Expressions exhibition, part of Abu Dhabi Art, has been showcasing photographic art since 2008, providing a platform for local artists to represent the Emirati identity. On this occasion, international artists such as Stephen Shore and JR have lent their support to young Emirati photography.
In 2021, Salem Sarhan was the first Emirati photographer to win the National Geographic
photo contest. He won the gold medal with an original shot that shows his brothers at prayer time, at home, during confinement. While he most often focuses on nature and urban views, Sarhan made a point of standing out for the contest. At only 27 years old, Sarhan only got into photography in 2015, after finding a camera during a trip to Oman. After that, he started capturing landscapes and then got into the game. He shows an instinctive sense of construction. And when he takes nature as a model, he waits for hours to catch a lightning bolt or a star shower. Among the talents to watch, multimedia artist Ammar Al Attar has a soft spot for photography. A teacher at NYU Abu Dhabi and a photographic artist, Tarek Al Ghoussein blurs the lines between landscape, self-portraiture and performance. Al Ghoussein exhibits in Europe, the United States and the Middle East.Street art
In recent years, Abu Dhabi's streets have seen an explosion of creativity. Under the direction of the Ministry of Transport, the For Abu Dhabi program allocates funds for the beautification of public spaces. And muralists from here and abroad are having a field day.
Emirati artist Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim has let his imagination run wild on the walls of the Madinat Zayed neighborhood, which is popular for its shopping mall. Where once people walked between sad gray pillars, they now stroll through a forest of acidic totemic forms.
Others come from afar to color Abu Dhabi, like the Brazilian Kobra who paints huge kaleidoscopic portraits, often smiling. His huge Tolerencia wraps an entire building in Al Bateen. The "soldier of the street -art
" has created murals in some forty countries. Similarly, the Argentinean Elian Chali signs a minimalist work on the facade of a building on Al Falah Street. Primary colors and abstract drawings are his signature.Born in Lithuania, Ernest Zacharevic likes to transform buildings into works of art. In 2017, he participated in the metamorphosis of the2nd December Street, in Satwa as part of the Dubai Street Museum Project. Recently, he returned to take part in the Kids of Abu Dhabi series ,
portraits of children playing in the streets of Madinat Zayed.The famous German graffiti artist MadC covered a building
on Al Ruwaysi Street, near Fathima Supermarket. In 2015, maestro Ben Eine responded to a commission for the British Embassy. True to his style, Ben Eine spread his typographic work over a forty meter frieze. Pictorial performances invite the artists to paint live. In 2016, eight artists were invited to express themselves on maritime containers. The "3D transportable canvases" were then exhibited across the city, on the corniche, at Manarat Al Saadiyat or even at Yas Marina. In Abu Dhabi, there is no shortage of ideas for combining art with everyday life!
