Missing the world of art and theatre? A series of shows are happening across the UAE. From film and photography installations to theatrical productions that take place over a phone call, here’s what’s on this month.
Zarina Bhimji: Black Pocket
October 2 — April 10
Galleries 4, 5 and 6, Al Mureijah Art Spaces, Al Mureijah Square, Sharjah
Sharjah Art Foundation presents the solo exhibition ‘Black Pocket’ by Ugandan Asian photographer Zarina Bhimji. Hoor Al Qasimi, the director of SAF, curated the exhibition, which features Bhimji’s seminal works from the realms of film, photography and installation, spanning over more than 30 years.
“Zarina Bhimji’s work encourages viewers to think beyond mainstream historical narratives, fusing autobiography, history and collective memory together. In combining her personal narrative with historical archives and postcolonial testimony, she creates a reflection on place and belonging,” said Al Qasimi. “As the first major survey devoted to the artist’s work in the region, ‘Black Pocket’ is a wonderful opportunity for audiences to experience her rich practice.”
This exhibition is part of SAF’s autumn 2020 programme, also featuring Vantage Point Sharjah 8 and Homebound: A Journey in Photography, Tarek Atoui: Cycles in 11 and Lindsay Seers and Keith Sargent: Nowhere Less Now3 [flying saucer].
The exhibition is free to attention, but bookings must be made in advance online.
A Thousand Ways: Part 1
October 7-18
Telephonic performance presented by The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi
‘A Thousand Ways’ is a three-part theatrical telephonic experience — a poetic one-on-one telephone call, where the audience encounters a stranger through moments of guided interactions that unfold into an unexpected journey. The unconventional production, co-commissioned by The Arts Center at NYUAD, Stanford Live at Stanford University, and Festival Theaterformen, ‘A Thousand Ways’, raises the question of how to make new human connections at a time of physical distancing.
The interactive performances takes place over the phone from 3.30pm to 9.30pm between October 7-18.
“There’s a level of risk you take as a presenter in presenting brand new work, and in these times of reinvention, 600 Highwaymen were the perfect artists to explore the new possibilities created without a physical theatre,” said Bill Bragin, the Executive Artistic Director at The Arts Centre at NYUAD.
Tickets, which are free to acquire, are available online.
Theatre of Digital Art (ToDA)
October 13
Souk Madinat Jumeirah
The ToDA will bring world-renowned multisensory and multimedia immersive exhibitions to Dubai, showcasing nine celebrated artists in the inaugural exhibition, ‘From Monet to Kandinsky, Revolutionary Art’, led by Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet and Wassily Kandinsky.
The European digital production house Vision Multimedia Projects will transform the Souk Madinat Jumeirah into its biggest immersive digital art space.
Tickets, available online, range between Dh45 for children, Dh75 for adults and Dh150 for VIP.
