Abu Dhabi Art opens as a virtual fair today
ABU DHABI: Held under the patronage of Sheikh Khaled Bin Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Office, the 12th edition of Abu Dhabi Art will open on Thursday 19th November as a virtual fair, featuring 68 galleries and more than 200 artists from around the globe.
Collaborating with the largest number of curators to date, Abu Dhabi Art, which is organised by the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), will run for an extended period, from 19th to 26th November 2020, with a series of commercial exhibitions dedicated to Contemporary art from South Korea, Africa, India, and the UAE alongside regular Modern and Contemporary booths, a dedicated performance art sector and the Beyond: Emerging Artists plaform.
This year’s virtual fair will, for the first time, integrate live-stream video interviews with artists, curators and gallerists, and feature a lively talks programme.
Highlights include:
Modern and Contemporary: 37 galleries from 15+ countries around the world will exhibit works in virtual booths offering curatorial frameworks for each presentation.
The Day Ater: Abu Dhabi Art’s first ever sector dedicated to Contemporary African art. By leading curator Simon Njami, the sector brings together works from seven new galleries, exploring concepts of time during the pandemic.
Material - Real: A new sector exploring Contemporary art from South Korea, curated by Sung woo Kim and featuring 13 new galleries.
India Today: Curator Ashwin Thadani returns to Abu Dhabi Art to present works from across the Indian subcontinent.
A Picture Held Us Captive: Nada Raza brings together five galleries to showcase works by Contemporary artists based in the UAE. Beyond: Emerging Artists: This year, the annual programme, which commissions new work by up-and-coming Emirati artists, is curated by Maya El-khalil and dedicated to the theme of memory. It will showcase works by artists Hind Mezaina, Afra Al Dhaheri and Afra Al Suwaidi. Works can be viewed online and at Manarat Al Saadiyat, where they will be exhibited from 19th November until the end of December 2020.
Performing Arts Programme: Curated by Rose Lejeune, the programme presents four new works by Alice Theobald, Raed Yassin, Maitha Abdalla and Nastio Mosquito, created during the pandemic and filmed in 360-degrees in Berlin, London, Abu Dhabi and Lisbon.