Art residency programme aims to create ‘cultural dialogue’ with Pakistan
An art residency programme between the UAE and Pakistan is inviting artists to explore the concept of rain.
Dubai’s independent art space Bayt AlMamzar and the creative platform Dastaangoi have launched the artist exchange residency programme for this year with a focus on dialogue and forging a cultural bridge between the two countries.
Titled Once Upon a Rain, the residency is open to artists who live in either country.
One artist from each will be selected and will spend a month on the exchange, creating work in their new environments.
One artist from Pakistan will come to Dubai and complete their residency at Bayt AlMamzar and one artist from the UAE will go to the Dastaangoi gallery.
“Water, and specifically rain, is a very interesting subject for the two countries,” Amad Mian, the co-founder and curator of Dastaangoi tells The National. “Pakistan with its problems with flooding, UAE with its cloud seeding efforts and deficit of water – this is also the first year that Pakistan had cloud seeding done and the UAE government helped facilitate it.”
Mian adds: “There are so many ways of looking at rain, water scarcity, global warming – these are the narratives that are so extremely relevant and important in our time.
“Water and rain are deeply rooted in the essence of our being. Residencies like this can allow us to ascertain research and other ways of communicating on these subjects.”
Mian believes the residency will provide a cultural connection between countries with historical links.
“The residency touches on the long-standing relationship the two countries have had,” he adds. “It’s also a unique opportunity for the two artists selected to explore the respective countries, their cultures and methodology of living.”
Dastaangoi’s other artist-in-residence programme, now in its second intake, focuses on inviting artists from all over the world to Pakistan. In 2022, three artists from Europe travelled across Pakistan to capture the country’s countryside. That was shown from the perspective of each of the three painters in an exhibition, titled The North, at Dubai’s ICD Brookfield Place.
This, Mian believes, is the power of artist-in-residence programmes – to help reshape perspectives and explore new narratives. “It allows the artists to not have to think about space and instead be able to focus on their work and new lived experiences,” he adds.
The residency will take place from April 1 to 30.