Emirati Expressions returns to Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi: The fourth edition of Emirati Expressions, an exhibition by Emirati artists, will open on November 12 at Manarat Al Saadiyat on Saadiyat Island.

The event, which will run alongside Abu Dhabi Art in November, will include works by 15 Emirati artists and will be on display until March 31, 2016.

The exhibition is titled ‘Emirati Expressions IV: Conventions of Arts’ and this year’s theme has been placed around Abu Dhabi’s social clubs and their part in social engagement through the arts.

Organisers have included artists with a wide range of talents to participate in this event. Artworks will include wearable textiles, photography, furniture design, interactive video installations, paintings, illustrations and large-scale sculptures.

Maisa Al Qasimi, one of the curators of Emirati Expressions, told Gulf News she and Reem Fadda, another curator, came up with this year’s theme by exploring the notion of functionality and usability in art. This research led them to investigate Abu Dhabi’s diverse social and cultural clubs which was then interpreted into this year’s theme.

Maisa explained that the selection process of the artists involved conducting numerous studio visits throughout the UAE to choose the artists that they felt were most successful in combining language of form and use in their artwork.

“We hope that visitors will experience new aspects of contemporary art in the UAE at Emirati Expressions IV: Conventions of Arts, and enhance their understanding of the development of the dynamic creative scene, said Maisa.

“Our curatorial concept reflects on the social heritage and inherently communal aspects of life in the UAE and draws attention to the historic institutions within Abu Dhabi.”

Ammar Al Attar is an artist who is returning to Emirati Expressions for the second time, having participated once before in 2011. He is a photographer whose work concentrates on documenting changes, mostly through photography.

The 34-year-old will be exhibiting 10 photographs of “makeshift” prayer areas. Additionally, he will have one piece of a mosque’s water feature in a form of wallpaper.

“I went for the outdoor prayer areas on the road between Abu Dhabi and Musaffah but concentrating on the Musaffah area,” he explained.

The idea, he said, is to show the difference in prayer venues and how you can pray anywhere. “We can build a small thing and we can pray in it, it doesn’t have to be very decorative,” he explained.

Al Attar’s participation in the 2011 Emirati Expressions opened many doors for him, which included a number of exhibitions within the UAE and abroad. “It was a turning point for me,” said Al Attar.

First timer at the exhibition Khalid Mezaina is a 30-year-old who works with graphic design and illustrations. Mezaina has produced illustrations based on Abu Dhabi’s social hubs, which will be part of the event’s official branding.

“I’m really excited, this year is a very different approach. It is not just art works on walls, the contribution of Emirati artists are from different mediums,” said Mezaina.

Mezaina hopes the exhibition will help show another side of Abu Dhabi. “There are other communities that live and thrive and have their own world that they appreciate. So I hope art visitors of a different background get to see that.”