The founder, Moza Mohamed Al Abbar, a UAE National with a double major in economics and finance, was eager to develop a concept for a venture that would benefit the community. Looking to the burgeoning art scene in Dubai, she merged her passion for the arts and keen interest to help up-and-coming talents from around the region.

Laurel Munshower, marketing executive at The Ara Gallery, spoke to Arab News about the gallery’s mission and vision.

“The Ara Gallery’s mission is to nurture and support the creative youths of the Arab world trying to make a name for themselves in the ever-growing art market of the Arab region, while providing hope, inspiration and motivation for potential artists. We do this by accommodating emerging artists with a professional and high quality space where they can exhibit their talents and create intrinsic value and a brand for their works and themselves as an artist,” said Munshower.

The gallery further provides an engaging space where artists have the opportunity to interact and connect with the right people to advance in the art world as well as take part in critiques, art-related discussions and workshops, which give artists the opportunity to further their skills and art education.

“This dialogue provides aspiring artists with insight to their collections and the workings of the professional art world which we feel will promote a more well-rounded group of future great Arab artists,” added Munshower.

Eventually, The Ara Gallery hopes to expand the current location into a holistic concept that combines art, culture and experience. The gallery strongly lives its vision and values, which provide a “solid venue where artists, clients and visitors can all come to expect high levels of quality and professionalism, while instilling these same values in those breaking into the art market.”

The Ara Gallery holds exhibitions on diverse themes. “Through the Eyes of Africa’s Children” presented art creations by emerging Emirati artists that had been inspired by photographs representing “happiness” taken by the children of Lesotho.

Their upcoming exhibit “Light From Life” opens at The Ara Gallery on Jan. 17 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and is open to the public. Five photographers from the GCC will showcase their imagery from a photography expedition to New Zealand undertaken during the summer of 2011.

The same exhibition held last year consisted of eight talented and motivated nature and landscape photographers from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain. The exhibition takes its name from the knowledge that light is the main source to create an image; it is the only way we can view objects. “Light From Life” is a short explanation of how to capture life through the rays of light to form an image. The exhibition will run through March 3 and will be followed by a solo exhibition from Sheikha Fatima bint Hazza Al Nahyan.