The fifth edition of Abu Dhabi Art gathered artists and galleries from all around the world for its diverse program of art exhibitions, film-screenings, performances, music and talking panels that was launched last Wednesday at Manarat Al-Saadiyat.
Under the patronage of Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Art opened its doors in the presence of a host of dignitaries.
The platform for modern and contemporary art features 50 galleries said Rita Aoun-Abdo, executive director for the cultural sector at the Abu Dhabi cultural tourism authority.
“This fifth edition reflects a moment of maturity, originality and innovative creations. This year we present dynamics of the engagement of the community and celebrate ideas around a new generation of art. We selected a UAE gallery for the Bidaya (beginning). Every year we give one gallery the opportunity to start from Abu Dhabi and introduce themselves to the world. For the first time ever we present an Emirati gallery,” she said.
Abu Dhabi Art introduced a new section called ‘Artists waves.’ The title reflects the movement and the change that this new section will provoke within the concept of the fair. “This section focuses on the artists and gives collectors and visitors an exhibition setting to discover new artists. Ultimately, its core is the function of the convectional art fair platform. Rather than having artists being chosen by the galleries that represent them, curators chose them and these are searching for innovative artists. The gallery is selected only of because the art they represent,” said Aoun-Abdo.
A new reforming art platform, called Durub Al-Tawaya, was another new addition to Abu Dhabi Art this year. It starts from Saadiyat Island and extends into the city of Abu Dhabi, creating a vibrant and special route connecting artistic events of performances, public art, concerts and contemporary art installations. “The preliminary path connects four points of significance, or tawaya, within the city: Manarat Al-Saadiyat, Mina Zayed, Corniche Beach and Marina Mall.
Each of the path’s four stops will host a series of cultural activities organized in collaboration with various artistic communities and institutions in the city,” said Curator Taleb Abu-Alfutouh. “The project was inspired by the experience of a journey and not just its final destination. Contemporary artists have been commissioned to create interventions inside the public buses that will transport visitors on a journey through the city. This way, the buses themselves become moving artworks, roaming Abu Dhabi while connecting art spaces, historical locations and meeting points,” he added.
Emirati Expressions is an exhibition that is launched every two years sponsored by the Emirati Tourism Commission as an exhibition to showcase different Emirati artists. After the success of the exhibition of Venice Art Fair, the six participating artists Abdullah Al-Saadi, Ebtisam Abdulaziz, Layla Juma, Mohamed Al-Mazrouei, Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim and Mohammed Kazem installed their artwork in Abu Dhabi for the art fair. “The whole thing began when we discovered that many of these exceptional artists had unfulfilled projects and we gave them the support they needed to start their project exclusively for Abu Dhabi Art,” said Reem Fadda, head of Middle Eastern art at Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. “The idea came when we visited their art studios and found out that each of them had an uncompleted project and dream. Some had been waiting as long as 20 years to do it but didn’t for many reasons and it was perfect for both of us to complete them just in time for the art fair,” she added.
This year, it is the third time Emirati Expressions has been held in Abu Dhabi. The other two exhibitions were held in 2009 and 2011 with different artists, different concepts and different curators. Emirati Expressions will be held from Oct. 30 until Jan. 18 at the Manarat Al-Saadiyat arts center.
Small is Beautiful is an attractive artistic corner, located in the mezzanine level of the UAE pavilion, that gathers 42 sculptures and art pieces that are smaller than 50 cm. Some of the pieces have an actual bigger size presented in the galleries but this corner is a parallel exhibition that features small-scale artworks from galleries participating in the Modern, Contemporary and Design section. The name of the section is a tribute to the ‘Small is Beautiful’ theory published in 1974 by British economist E.F. Schumacher.
Two galleries came from Saudi Arabia to represent their artists to the audience of Abu Dhabi Art. Athr Gallery, a Jeddah based gallery, participated in Abu Dhabi Art for the second year and represented nine artists. “Abu Dhabi Art is the best way to expose our artists because not many people and art collectors can come to Saudi to see the creative artists that we represent in the Kingdom,” said Adnan Manjal, business developer at Athr Gallery. “Abu Dhabi Art offers the quality of art that we look for. It is a young fair and only a very selective group of galleries gets to exhibit. This attracts the right people who we are always keen to connect with,” he added.
According to Manjal, there was a lot of interest in the artists that Athr Gallery represent especially those who exhibited the first time outside the Kingdom.
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