PICTURE THIS
▶ This month offers art exhibitions galore. Alexandra Chaves rounds up the top events not to be missed this sesason
March is a busy time for the UAE art scene, with Art Dubai and Sharjah Art Foundation’s annual March Meeting set to take place. Contemporary galleries and cultural institutions across the two emirates are lining up their big shows in preparation for the arrival of international visitors keen to soak up the atmosphere and local art lovers who have been waiting for the season to kick off.
Among this year’s highlights is Michael Rakowitz’s first solo show in the region at Jameel Arts Centre; an exhibition on Mohamed Melehi and the Casablanca Art School at Concrete in Alserkal Avenue; and Sharjah Art Foundation’s major exhibition curated by Omar Kholeif titled Art in the Age of Anxiety, which looks at the impact of digital technology on society. In Dubai, there will be Galleries Nights in Alserkal Avenue on Monday, March 23, and in DIFC on Sunday and Monday, March 23 and 24.
Sikka Art Festival
Now in its 10th year, Sikka Art Festival will present the works of more than 60 artists responding to the theme Dreamers. Curator Giuseppe Moscatello, co-founder of Sharjah’s Maraya Art Centre, has put together a programme that includes exhibitions, film screenings, workshops and performances.
Held in Dubai’s Al Fahidi Historical District, Sikka has become one of the city’s biggest platforms for young, emerging artists. The artists shown have been selected from an annual open call that invites cultural practitioners living in the Gulf to submit their project proposals in the realms of film, music, performing and visual arts.
▶ Thursday to Sunday, March 19 to 29; Al Fahidi Historical District, Dubai; www.dubaiculture.gov.ae
Art Dubai
The 14th Art Dubai takes place from Wednesday to Saturday, March 25 to 28. This year, the fair will present its largest Modern section to date, with 19 galleries showcasing works by one leading Modernist artist. Its contemporary section will feature 56 galleries.
Art Dubai has also worked on increasing its curated initiatives. Its Bawwaba section, curated by Nancy Adajania, returns for a second year, with a strong focus on South Asian galleries. Highlighting Africa, the Residents programme has invited four artists to create works specifically for the fair.
Ecology and sustainability are the focus of the commissions programme, complemented by the performance programme’s theme of healing and human connection to the environment. Emerging artists from the Gulf will be showcased at Campus Art Dubai and Gulf Now.
▶ Wednesday to Saturday, March 25 to 28; Madinat Jumeirah Conference and Events Centre, Dubai; www.artdubai.ae
March Meeting
Every year, Sharjah Art Foundation organises its March Meeting, bringing together leading artists, curators and art practitioners from around the world to discuss a selected theme. This year, the event’s topic, Unravelling the Present, looks inwards, examining the evolution of the Sharjah Biennial and past March Meetings in the lead up to the biennial’s 30th anniversary in 2021.
In these meetings, participants will investigate the role of the Sharjah Biennial as a catalyst for dialogue about exhibition-making and cultural exchange. Speakers include curators Tarek Abou El Fetouh, Reem Fadda and Yuko Hasegawa, Sharjah Art Foundation president and director Hoor Al Qasimi, founding director of NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore Ute Meta Bauer, and academics Iftikhar Dadi, Nada Shabout and Thembinkosi Goniwe.
▶ Saturday to Tuesday, March 21 to 23; Sharjah Art Foundation; www.sharjahart.org
Wreckage: An Ethiopian Mother Courage
Based on Ethiopian playwright Tsegaye Gebre Medhin’s play
Enat Alem Tenu – an adaptation of Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children – this theatre performance tells the story of a family whose lives have been impacted by the regime of Emperor Haile Selassie.
Part of The Africa Institute’s seasonal programme, Wreckage highlights the role of theatre and performance in shaping Ethiopia’s politics and reflecting the complex social contexts of the country’s revolution in the 1960s and 1970s. The play is directed by Surafel Wondimu Abebe.
▶ Monday, March 9; Africa Hall, Sharjah; www.theafricainstitute.org
Exhibitions Michael Rakowitz
In one of the biggest highlights of the season, Jameel Arts Centre will present a major survey exhibition of Michael Rakowitz. The renowned Iraqi-American artist is known for his large-scale installations that address the complex histories and politics of the Middle East.
The exhibition will mark Rakowitz’s first solo show in Asia and the Middle East, and an artist talk will place on Saturday, March 14, during which Rakowitz will discuss cultural influences on his work with Shumon Basar.
▶ Wednesday, March 11 to Saturday, August 8; Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai; www.jameelartscentre.org
New Waves: Mohamed Melehi and the Casablanca Art School
From 1964 to 1974, Mohamed Melehi and a group of artists spearheaded a radical movement that influenced arts education in Morocco, encouraging students to look beyond western art history and focus on local art production. New Waves tells the story of the Casablanca Art School, the group’s moniker, and traces Melehi’s career through paintings and archival photography. It will reveal the artist’s crucial role in developing postcolonial Moroccan art and Arab Modernist art.
Curated by Morad Montazami and Madeleine de Colnet, the show will present previously unseen works from Melehi, including a collection of his documentary photography from 30 years of travel. Works by Farid Belkahia, Mohamed Chaba and Hossein Miloudi will also be on display.
▶ Saturday, March 14 to Saturday, April 4; Concrete, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai; www.alserkalavenue.ae
Art in the Age of Anxiety
Featuring more than 30 artists, this exhibition considers how the internet and the rise of digital technology have affected our lives. Confronting critical issues such as digital surveillance, privacy, data mining, artificial intelligence and social media, the exhibition will feature more than 60 works across various mediums including sculpture, print, video, virtual reality and algorithmic programmes. Participating artists include those who have been tackling these issues in their practice for years – Trevor Paglen, Cao Fei, Guan Xiao, Cory Arcangel, Jeremy Bailey, Jon Rafman and Lawrence Abu Hamdan, to name a few.
Curated by Omar Kholeif, the exhibition will be designed like a maze, which visitors will have to learn how to navigate to see the works. Kholeif has been researching the subject for more than a decade, and, in a statement, has described Art in the Age of Anxiety as “an exhibition that grew out of my own anxiety about the future”.
▶ Saturday, March 21 to Sunday, June 21; Sharjah Art Foundation; www.sharjahart.org
Maryam Hoseini: Solo Exhibition
In Maryam Hoseini’s paintings, fragmented bodies appear scattered in strange landscapes, evoking violence and tension in their semi-abstracted forms. The artist, who was born in Tehran, examines the relationship between the human body to physical space as she distorts perspective and scale in these flat compositions.
Now based in New York, Hoseini embeds personal experiences in her work while allowing viewers to project several interpretations on to her canvases. Though she considers her subjects as female nudes, their deconstructed anatomical shapes often obscure that fact and instead present a critique of the censorship of the female figure in various cultural contexts.
▶ From Monday, March 23; Green Art Gallery, Dubai; www.gagallery.com
Byzantine Journeys
Visual elements from Byzantine and medieval tapestries are rendered with a modern eye in Timur D’Vatz’s figurative works. The artist, who studied at London’s Royal Academy of Arts, borrows inspiration from ancient legends and myths to paint the subjects in his canvas. There are also elements linked to textile art, specifically Chinese silk printing and the patterns from the Nabis school, a movement that influenced the transition from Impressionism to Abstract art.
D’Vatz’s interest in melding East and West comes from his upbringing. Raised in Tashkent, he was always aware of the historical significance and legends of the Silk Road.
▶ Sunday, March 9 to Friday, October 9; Andakulova Gallery, Dubai; www.andakulova.com
Plastic
Tashkeel’s latest group show is dedicated to a man-made material that has transformed our lives in many ways: plastic. Can we consider sustainability in the face of mass production and consumption? What awaits future generations?
Featuring more than 30 artists from the UAE, the show explores the social, economic and cultural dimensions of the issue, while proposing alternative solutions. A series of workshops and seminars on the topic will accompany the exhibition.
▶ Tuesday, March 3 to Saturday, April 14; Tashkeel Studio and Gallery, Dubai; www.tashkeel.org
Homebound: A Journey in Photography
This is the first of a two-part exhibition curated by Salah M Hassan. It chronicles Aida Muluneh’s progress as an artist and photojournalist, showcasing images that explore issues of identity and race.
Muluneh was born in Ethiopia in 1974, and spent her childhood between Yemen and England.
She has also studied and lived in Cyprus, the US and Canada. In her art, she often paints her subjects in various colours and creates symbolic visuals that blend the surreal with the fantastical.
▶ Saturday, March 14 to Saturday, May 30; Sharjah Art Museum; www.sharjahmuseums.ae
The Cup and The Saucer
Hashel Al Lamki’s first solo exhibition explores the concept of unity, separation and individualism. What happens when you remove the individual from its collective unit?
Using the imagery of a cup being lifted from the saucer as a metaphor for separation, the artist considers the importance of individualism as a condition for change.
Curated by Munira Al Sayegh, who has also put together this year’s Gulf Now at Art Dubai, the exhibition will showcase works made from a variety of mediums, including an installation comprised of 52 paintings. There will also be sculptures, video and a sound piece. Artist and curator have collaborated closely on the show, which has been two years in the making.
▶ Saturday, March 7 to Sunday, May 17; Warehouse 421, Abu Dhabi; www.warehouse421.ae
Michael Rakowitz’s show is a highlight. He is known for his installations that address the complexities of the Middle East