Art Dubai Itinerary

Here Ocula correspondent Anabelle de Gersigny gives you the lowdown of the more interesting events, talks and not-to-miss parties!

The Sharjah Biennale kicked off last week, pre-empting the imminent art week in the United Arab Emirates. Already openings pop up every evening, from Sharjah’s new 1971 design space on 11 March to Tashkeel’s annual group exhibition, in the neighbouring emirate, on the same evening. Whilst the main events next week are the 9th edition of Art Dubai and the 4th edition of Design Days Dubai, there is a lot more to it than just the commercial activity.

For instance, Art Dubai’s extensive not-for-profit programme includes a dynamic roster of commissioned projects, film and radio programmes; artists’ and curators’ residencies; educational initiatives for children through to professionals, including the year-round art school Campus Art Dubai; an annual exhibition of works by winners of The Abraaj Group Art Prize; and the critically-acclaimed Global Art Forum.

There are over 40 gallery openings mostly on ‘galleries night’ in Alserkal Avenue, Al Quoz and DIFC, SIKKA art fair in Dubai’s historical district showcasing works by artists living and working in the UAE, and towards the end of the week Abu Dhabi Festival.

Here Ocula correspondent Anabelle de Gersigny gives you the lowdown of the more interesting events, talks and not-to-miss parties!

Monday 16 March

Get a first view of the much-anticipated expansion of Alserkal Avenue at 10am—a developing arts and culture district within the industrial quarter of Dubai. Established in 2007 by founder and patron of the arts Abdelmonem Bin Eisa Alserkal, Alserkal Avenue is currently undergoing a US$14 million expansion which will welcome more than 40 new creatives in art, design, fashion and food, including a black box theatre, independent cinema, and outdoor performance venue. At the press conference AlSerkal will announce the organisations that will be joining them as part of the expansion and the major projects planned, to open in the autumn 2015.

Whilst you’re there, check out the unveiling of a new commission by Manal Aldowayan, part of the Rolls-Royce Art Programme. Manal AlDowayan is a leading female Saudi Arabian artist.

1-2.30pm
AlSerkal Avenue - Warehouse J89

DESIGN DAYS DUBAI OPENS TO THE PUBLIC FROM 4PM
There are a number of talks on 16 March at the design fair including:

DDFC Talks: Intellectual Property Laws in the Middle East – Protect Your Designs
4.30-5.30pm
Free admission
Led by yours truly - Anabelle de Gersigny

Design And Architecture: from micro-space to urban scape
7-8pm
Free admission

Some workshops too:
M-OTTO 3D Space Puzzle
11am-1pm
Led by Marco Bruno
Located in the ‘Studio’
Free admission to workshop

And then Galleries Night kicks off! Expect sparkles, stilettos, lots of red chinos and loafers. Amongst the glam and glitz, there’s some decent art to seek out.

GALLERIES NIGHT
DIFC AND AL QUOZ 
No invitation necessary.
7-11pm

Highlights at Alserkal Avenue and Al Quoz:

MARIA THEREZA ALVES 
Wake: Flight of Birds and People

Located in the Alserkal Avenue expansion
From 7pm

Maria Thereza Alves has created an installation as part of Art Dubai Projects in collaboration with Alserkal Avenue, and on view at Alserkal Avenue for Artweek 2015. The work Wake: Flight of Birds and People is based on extensive research the artist has made in Dubai over the past few months, working with botanists, historians and researchers. The research takes as its starting point plants and seeds in the UAE, and connects those botanical histories to the movement of people, animals, birds, wind, trade, war and meetings weaving different narratives and revealing buried histories.

ISABELLE VAN DEN EYNDE
Hassan Sharif - Images
5 March – 5 May

AlSerkal Avenue
Event 7pm

Hassan Sharif lives and works in Dubai. He has made a vital contribution to conceptual art and experimental practice in the Middle East through 40 years of performances, installations, drawing, painting, and assemblage. In his early artistic maturation, Sharif rejected calligraphic abstraction, which was becoming the predominant art discourse in the region in the 1970s. Instead, he pursued a pointedly contemporary art vocabulary, drawing on the non-elitism and intermedia of Fluxus and the potential in British Constructionism’s systemic processes of making.

Sharif graduated from The Byam Shaw School of Art, London, in 1984 and returned to the UAE shortly after. He set about staging interventions and the first exhibitions of contemporary art in Sharjah, as well as translating art historical texts and manifestos into Arabic, so as to provoke a local audience into engaging with contemporary art discourse.

In addition to his own practice, Sharif has encouraged and supported several generations of artists in the Emirates. He is a founding member of the Emirates Fine Art Society (founded 1980) and of the Art Atelier in the Youth Theatre and Arts, Dubai. In 2007, he was one of four artists to establish The Flying House, a Dubai institution for promoting contemporary Emirati artists.

FAHRENHEIT 311: Seven Legends of Machismo
Lawrie Shabibi Gallery
Nadia Kaabi-Linke
16 March – 9 April 2015
AlSerkal Avenue

Private view 7pm

Fresh from a run of international shows including No Frills at Cristina Guerra Contemporary in Lisbon, Portugal, and her London debut with The Mosaic Rooms last October, this exhibition will bring together eight artworks that demonstrate the breath of Kaabi-Linke's practice and preoccupations with modern myths of macho culture and masculinity.

Fahrenheit 311 refers to the melting point of the steroid hormone testosterone, associated with 'manly' characteristics and behavioural patterns. These manifest themselves in the show through themes such as war and heroism, the exploitation of the environment, elitism, violence, heroism, exploitation, pride and ignorance - making connections to the seven deadly sins.

HOSSEIN VALAMANESH - ASSEMBLAGE 1980 - 1985
Grey Noise Gallery
March 16 - April 25
AlSerkal Avenue

Private view from 7pm

Assemblage; 1980 - 1985, the artist's second solo presentation at Grey Noise, gathers together many of the persistent preoccupations of his career: how the individual locates themselves in relation to their environment, ephemeral and material encounters with the world and an exuberant desire for connection, each traceable to Rumi’s influence on the artist. In this exhibition, Valamanesh opens up a space for play, establishing immaculately constructed, yet precariously balanced sites for contemplation and encounter.

ALA EBTEKAR - NOWHERESVILLE \ 'NÄ-KŌJA,-ABÄD \

The Third Line
Street 6, Al Quoz
March 16 - April 18, 2015

Private view 7pm

Working with ideas of the celestial, home to planetary and spiritual configurations that have fascinated humanity since the beginning of time, the artist combines early 12th Century traditions of Persian cosmic philosophy with modern-day scientific imaging of the heavens. His explorations over the years, into the union of both spectrums, and a search for the portals into imagined futures, culminate in this mystical homage to Light.

ABBAS AKHAVAN: STUDY FOR A CURTAIN

The Third Line
Street 6, Al Quoz
March 16 - April 18, 2015
Private view, 7pm

Study for a Curtain is a continuation of Abbas Akhavan's ongoing exploration of gardens and domesticated landscapes. For this special intervention, Abbas will be working in the Project Space on a site-specific installation.

HIGHLIGHTS AT DUBAI INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL CENTER (DIFC):

CUADRO
Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim - Turãb
16 March - 9 April 2015
Private view, 7pm

Tuesday 17 March


BREAKFAST HOSTED BY TASHKEEL
By invitation only, but if you happen to be visiting their Sustaining Identity exhibition at the time …
9.30am – 12.30pm 


An opportunity to meet artists based at Tashkeel studios, including Ammar Al Attar, Alia Dawood, Chris Weaver, Fari Bradley, Latifa Saeed, Areej Kaoud, Myne and yours and Vikram Divecha.
Location: Nad Al Sheba 1, Dubai


Transport: Buses leave the souk Madinat Jumeirah entrance of art dubai at 9am, 10am, 11am and return back to the fair at 10:30am, 11:30am and 12:30pm

Then over at Art Dubai the patron’s opening starts … apart from the galleries there are a number of events and talks. Keep a look out for the galleries from the region and south Asia and you’ll find work you wouldn’t normally get access to if you’re coming from Europe or USA: Chatterjee & Lal, Mumbai; Dastan's Basement, Tehran; Exhibit 320, New Delhi; Experimenter, Kolkata; Green Art Gallery, Dubai; Grey Noise, Dubai; Gypsum Gallery, Cairo; Inda Gallery, Budapest; Latitude 28, New Delhi; Lawrie Shabibi, Dubai; Isabelle Van Den Eynde, Dubai; Pi Artworks, Istanbul / London; Gallery SKE, Bangalore / New Delhi; The Third Line, Dubai; Viltin Gallery, Budapest; WHATIFTHEWORLD, Cape Town; Yay Gallery, Baku.

And the Marker section this year focuses on Latin America, led by curator Luiza Teixeira de Freitas: Tijuana (Brazil/pan-Latin America) & The State (UAE/pan-Arab world), Videobrasil (Brazil), Maria Jose Arjona (Colombia/pan-Latin America), Marina Buendia (Brazil) and Maria Quiroga (Colombia)  

As with every year, there is a strong performative element, I’m looking forward to Rheim Alkadhi’s, an artist in resident on the A.i.R programme, in Dubai since January 2015.

PERFORMANCE: ON THE LABORS OF LOVERS
Location: across the fair
  (daily)
Taking place intermittently throughout the day
Durational work by Art Dubai Projects artist Rheim Alkadhi. One of four interactions with cohorts and objects, On the Labors of Lovers (moist towelettes) is a roaming contact point in the corridors and halls of the art fair, activated by Alkadhi and friends.


PERFORMANCE: SYNESTHETIC FRAGRANCE
Location: across the fair
  (daily)
Taking place intermittently throughout the day
Durational work by Art Dubai Projects artist Rheim Alkadhi. One of four interactions with cohorts and objects, Synesthetic Fragrance (perfume) is a roaming contact point in the corridors and halls of the art fair, activated by Alkadhi and friends.

PERFORMANCE: SUPPLICATION ACTIVITY
Location: across the fair
  (daily)
Taking place intermittently throughout the day
Durational work by Art Dubai Projects artist Rheim Alkadhi. One of four interactions with cohorts and objects, Supplication Activity (amulets) is a roaming contact point in the corridors and halls of the art fair, activated by Alkadhi and friends.

PERFORMANCE: HAIRS OF THE OPPRESSED
Location: across the fair
  (daily)
Time: Taking place intermittently throughout the day
Durational work by Art Dubai Projects artist Rheim Alkadhi. One of four interactions with cohorts and objects, Hairs of the Oppressed (finger puppet theatre) is a roaming contact point in the corridors and halls of the art fair, activated by Alkadhi and friends.

PREVIEW: THE ABRAAJ GROUP ART PRIZE EXHIBITION

6pm

Location: Water Terrace of The abraaj Group Lounge, Madinat Jumeirah
Launch, announcement and opening of the sixth The Abraaj Group Art Prize, with Chair Savita Apte, Guest Curator Omar Kholeif, winning artist Yto Barrada and shortlisted artists Sarnath Banerjee, Setareh Shahbazi and Mounira Al Sohl

TOUR: ART DUBAI MODERN

7.30 – 8pm

Location: Meet at the Mashreq Private Banking Lounge, Mina a’salam, Madinat Jumeirah
Led by a member of the Art Dubai Modern curatorial committee (Savita Apte, Catherine David, Kristine Khouri, Nada Shabout and Bisi Silva)


PATRONS PARTY ART DUBAI – INVITE ONLY
From 5-9.30pm

AFTER PARTY ON ‘THE ISLAND’, ABSOLUT ART BAR
9pm-2am 
Location: Fort island, Madinat Jumeira

Wednesday 18 March

Art Dubai Terrace Talks – VIP passes only
4.30pm – 5.30pm

Patron Dr. Ramzi Dalloul in conversation with patron and curator Alia Al-Senussi
Economist, investor and collector Dr. Ramzi Dalloul discusses his major collection of pan-Arab works, and his aim to launch an Arab Cultural Foundation for the Fine and Performing Arts.

Location: Water Terrace of The Abraaj Group Lounge, Madinat Jumeirah

ART DUBAI TERRACE TALKS

VIP passes only
5.30pm – 6.30pm

Modern Talk: Vali Mahlouji and Sumesh Sharma in conversation with Catherine David
Curator Vali Mahlouji is engaged in archiving, curating and exposing the work of Iranian photographer Kaveh Golestan (the subject of Art Dubai Modern’s project space); his archive includes over 500,000 unseen negatives. Sumesh Sharma is a member of the Bombay-based curatorial collaborative and artist union Clark House Initiative whose practice involves the investigation of modernist histories, representation and visibility. This special Art Dubai Modern talk, chaired by curator Catherine David, explores the complexities of preserving, reading and exhibiting artists’ archives.
Location: Art Dubai Modern, Mashreq Lounge

ART DUBAI TERRACE TALKS

VIP passes only
6pm – 7pm

Terrace Talks: Rehana Saigol in conversation with Sameera Raja; presentation of the ArtNow Lifetime Achievement Award to Jalal Uddin Ahmed
Collector Rehana Saigol in conversation with architect and gallerist Sameera Raja, followed by the presentation of the ArtNow Lifetime Achievement Award, which honours Pakistani individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the arts. ArtNow founder Fawzia Naqvi presents the 2015 award to archivist, critic and editor Jalal Uddin Ahmed.
Location: Water Terrace of The Abraaj Group Lounge, Madinat Jumeirah

Take a chance to visit Sharjah if you have a VIP pass:

Sharjah Biennial 12: ‘The past, the present, the possible’

10am – 1pm


Welcome by Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi, President and Director of Sharjah Art Foundation and Eungie Joo, Sharjah Biennial 12 Curator, followed by guided tours of Sharjah Biennial 12.


Location: Sharjah Art Foundation art spaces, Sharjah


Transport: Buses leave the souk Madinat Jumeirah entrance of Art Dubai at 9am and 9:30am and depart back to the fair at 2pm. Buses also leave Sharjah Art Museum at 1pm for the Barjeel Art Foundation and Maraya Arts Centre and depart back to the fair at 2pm from the Barjeel Foundation

Lunch
1pm – 2pm
 

Co-hosted by the British Council and Sharjah Art Foundation in the presence of Sheikha Hoor al Qasimi, President and Director of Sharjah Art Foundation and Sharjah Biennial 12 curator Eungie Joo

Location: Bait al shamsi, arts area, Sharjah

Exhibition Preview: The Barjeel Art Foundation and Maraya Art Center
1:30pm – 3pm

‘Aid Memoire II’, curated by Mandy Merzaban, at the Barjeel Foundation and ‘Accented’, curated by Murtaza Vali at Maraya Art Centre

Location: Barjeel Foundation, Level Two, Maraya Art Center, Al Qasba, sharjah
Transport: Bus leaves the Souk Madinat Jumeirah entrance of Art Dubai at 12:30pm and returns back to the fair at 3pm

A PRESENTATION BY THE GUJRAL FOUNDATION: MY EAST IS YOUR WEST: INDIA & PAKISTAN AT THE VENICE BIENNALE 2015
7pm – 8pm


Location: Mashreq Private Banking Lounge, Mina a’salam, Madinat Jumeirah


Born out of the desire to reposition the complex historical relations between the South Asian states of India and Pakistan, The Gujral Foundation will present My East is Your West at the 56th Venice Biennale. Internationally recognised artists Shilpa Gupta (Mumbai, India) and Rashid Rana (Lahore, Pakistan) will collaborate on a shared exhibition that will present India and Pakistan together on a singular stage. As neither India nor Pakistan has a permanent national pavilion in Venice, this presentation will provide a unique platform for artists from the Indian subcontinent to enter into a dialogue through the arts.

ART DUBAI VIP OPENING FROM 6PM – VIP INVITE ONLY

GLOBAL ART FORUM COCKTAIL RECEPTION

8pm – 9pm

By invitation only


Location: Mashreq Private Banking Lounge, Mina a’salam, Madinat Jumeirah

YAZAN KHALLILI’S ‘THE ISLAND’, AN ABSOLUT ART BAR
Invitation Only
8pm – 2am
Madinat Jumeirah’s Fort Island (next to Art Dubai)

Palestinian artist Yazan Khalili will collaborate with Absolut during Art Dubai on an Art Bar titled The Island, located on Madinat Jumeirah’s Fort Island. Inspired by Dubai’s skyline and the artist’s concept of ‘past futures’, the Art Bar will be enclosed within a 15 metre-high façade of a mountain, juxtaposing Dubai’s natural desert landscape of mountains and sand dunes against its modern cityscape. Deconstructed neon signs – previously a staple on the Dubai streets since the 1980s – will decorate the DJ booth, and large scale projections of 80s video games set in the region, including ‘Prince of Persia’  and ‘Desert Heat’, will cover the walls of the Art Bar, referencing the city’s underlying fixation on technology and modernity. For each night’s entertainment, Yazan will collaborate with local bands and performers, reproducing the energy and vibrancy that is apparent in city. His series of Absolut cocktails inspired by the themes of his installation will be served in vessels used in mountain climbing, offering a literal reference to the mountain at the centre of The Island.

Thursday 19 March

Art Dubai Terrace Talks
By invitation only
3pm – 4pm

Terrace Talks: Madame la Ministre Fleur Pellerin and Institut du Monde Arabe president Jack Lang in conversation with H.E. Zaki Nusseibeh
The Minister of Culture and Communication of France, and the President of the Institute du Monde Arabe (and former Minister of Culture) Jack Lang, and H.E. Zaki Nusseibeh, Advisor to the U.A.E Presidential Court, discuss the question, ‘How can arts and culture contribute to a mutual and increased understanding between Europe and the Middle East?’
Held in association with Thinkers & Doers
Location: Water Terrace of The Abraaj Group Lounge, Madinat Jumeirah

Art Dubai Terrace Talks – VIP passes only
5pm – 6pm

Terrace Talks: Beatrice Bulgari and Masbedo in conversation with Nathan Clements-Gillespie
Patron and collector Beatrice Bulgari discusses her early years in film – as a costume designer for Giuseppe Tornatore’s Cinema Paradiso – through to her role as a producer for Masbedo’s The Lack, via her support for museums, in particular Rome’s MAXXI and MACRO. The conversation is chaired by Nathan Clements-Gillespie.
Location: Water Terrace of The Abraaj Group Lounge, Madinat Jumeirah

AFTERNOON TEA HOSTED BY THE NATIONAL PAVILION UAE AND THE COMMISSIONER SALAMA BINT HAMDAN AL NAHYAN FOUNDATION IN THE PRESENCE OF PAVILION CURATOR, SHEIKHA HOOR AL QASIMI AND SELECTED ARTISTS

4pm – 5pm


Location: Julius Baer Lounge, Madinat Jumeirah
By invitation Only

The National Pavilion United Arab Emirates la Biennale di Venezia, commissioned by the Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation, and supported by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Community Development,
is pleased to celebrate Sheikha Hoor Al-Qasimi’s vision for the 56th International Art Exhibition in Venice. Selected artists with works in the exhibition will
be in attendance.


Art Dubai Terrace Talks – VIP passes only
6pm – 7pm
Henry Kim in conversation with Aisha Khalid and Imran Qureshi
Artists Aisha Khalid and Imran Qureshi discuss their practices and recent works with the director of Toronto’s recently opened Aga Khan Museum.
Location: Water Terrace of The Abraaj Group Lounge, Madinat Jumeirah

PRIVATE DINNER: HOSTED BY ABDELMONEM BIN EISA ALSERKAL TO CELEBRATE THE EXPANSION OF ALSERKAL AVENUE
8:30pm
By invitation only


PRIVATE PARTY: HOSTED BY GEORGES MAKHOUL
9pm
By invitation only

THE ART BAR BY ABSOLUT

9pm – 2am

Location: Fort island, Madinat Jumeirah

Friday 20 March

ARTIST STUDIO AND PRIVATE COLLECTION: MOHAMMED KAZEM AND CRISTIANA DI MARCHI FOLLOWED BY TOUR OF FARHAD BAKHTIAR’S PRIVATE COLLECTION

11am – 12noon
Al Quoz 1. Both visits are located directly opposite each other on the same street

Transport: Buses leave the souk Madinat Jumeirah entrance of art dubai at 10:45am

PERFORMANCE: UMASHANKAR AND THE EARCHAEOLOGISTS
4pm
 

Location: Art Dubai Modern, Mina a’salam, Madinat Jumeirah
Umashankar and the Earchaeologists a collective comprised of Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Nida Ghouse and Umashankar Manthravadi, embarks on a two-year ‘acoustic archaeology’ commission with Art Dubai, looking at how sound can influence our understanding of ancient—and contemporary—sites. The project, supported by the British Council, manifests through an audio essay in 2015, building up to a multifaceted project at Art Dubai 2016.


TALK : THE JOURNEY OF THE GRIFFIN, GALLERIA CONTINUA
6pm – 7pm
 

Location: Julius Baer Lounge, Madinat Jumeirah

A talk with Moataz Nasr, Egyptian international artist, and his last experiences between Egypt and Europe in the last 3 years: the Journey of the Griffin from the MESANA region to Europe.


GLOBAL ART FORUM: 89PLUS DUBAI
6pm – 7.30pm
 

Location: Global art Forum, art dubai Modern, Mina a’salam, Madinat Jumeirah

The final day of the Global Art Forum features a discussion and presentation by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Simon Castets, founders of 89plus, joined by Abdullah Al-Mutairi marking the launch of the youth programme in the UAE.


Saturday 21 March

SALE DAY OF RCA SECRET DUBAI
12pm

Location: Water Terrace, Art Dubai

The Royal College of Art’s (RCA) renowned anonymous postcard exhibition
 goes global with the launch of RCA Secret Dubai at Art Dubai, coinciding with its London counterpart RCA Secret. Up to 1,000 unique postcard-sized artworks– created by some of the world’s leading artists and designers, RCA students and alumni, alongside local and regional talent–will be available to buy for only 500 dirhams each. 100% of the proceeds goes towards the RCA Fine Art Student Bursary Fund and will also contribute to establishing RCA courses in Dubai. Past contributors have included Grayson Perry, Jarvis Cocker, Yoko Ono, architect Zaha Hadid, fashion designers Sir Paul Smith and photographer David Bailey.

WORKSHOP WITH LAWRENCE ABU HAMDAN

12pm – 2pm

Location: Forum Fellows room

Art Dubai Projects artist Lawrence Abu Hamdan leads a workshop on methodological approaches to the use of sound as an investigative tool, engaging participants in strategies and exercises in listening as a way to think about history and performance.


Grab a taxi and head to Sharjah – the Biennale and Maraya Art Center are well worth the visit for an authentic experience of the UAE.

SHARJAH ART BIENNALE: THE PAST, THE PRESENT, THE POSSIBLE
Curated by Eungie Joo
5 March – 5 June

Film screening: A River Changes Course, 2013 (83 minutes)
8.30 pm
SAF Art Spaces, Mirage City Cinema

Excursion to Kalba to view installation by Adrián Villar Rojas and installation by Hassan Khan at the Flying Saucer
10am-5pm

'ACCENTED' - CURATED BY MURTAZA VALI
Third Floor Gallery, Maraya Art Center, Sharjah
Ends 16 May, 10am-5pm

MAGIC OF PERSIA NOWROUZ AUCTION GALA
6.30pm – 2.30am
 

By invitation only


Location: Jumeirah Emirates Towers


Keynote speaker HE Sheikh Nahayan bin Mubarak Al Nahayan followed by Nowrouz concert featuring Shahram Shabpareh.