Exclusive: Sunny Rahbar on two decades of the third line and 'the only way out is through'

The Third Line’s landmark 20^th-anniversary exhibition, The Only Way Out Is Through: The Twentieth Line, curated by Shumon Basar, has been extended until December 28, 2025 - a testament to its depth, relevance, and the enduring presence of the gallery it celebrates.

Taking its title from a phrase often invoked in times of hardship, the exhibition captures both endurance and reflection. Through a sweeping retrospective of works spanning 2005 to 2025, it traces The Third Line’s story alongside two turbulent decades of global and regional transformation.

“When Shumon and I first began discussing the exhibition, we wanted to resist the idea of an anniversary as purely celebratory,” says Sunny Rahbar, the gallery’s co-founder and director. “The Third Line’s history runs parallel to Dubai’s transformation and many political, economic events that have shaped our world, and it felt important to acknowledge that complexity.”

“Shumon’s multilayered curatorial framework allowed us to hold this complexity,” she continues. “Bringing together works by all of our artists from our archives has allowed us to honor their extraordinary practices and how they have evolved or remained remarkably consistent over time.”

Across four chronological sections - 2005–2009, 2010–2015, 2016–2020, and 2021–2025 - the exhibition weaves a dialogue between artistic evolution and historical context. Works by artists such as Fouad Elkoury, Hassan Hajjaj, and Farah Al Qasimi sit alongside a timeline of global events that literally runs along the gallery floor. “We also purposefully selected works that capture Dubai in the past - such as Fouad Elkoury’s Emaar ad & Workers (2005) and Palm ad & Road (2005), Hassan Hajjaj’s Al Quoz (2007), and Farah Al Qasimi’s Sandcastles (2014) and Old McDonald’s (2014) - which allowed us to look back on the rapid transformation this city has gone through,” Rahbar explains. “Yet, displayed alongside them as a timeline on the floor and wallpapers are global political, economic, and environmental events that remind us of the turbulence and uncertainty underpinning these practices - and our lives - throughout the last two decades.”

Each crisis chronicled on that floor - from the 2008 financial crash to the Arab uprisings to the COVID-19 pandemic - left its mark. “Each of those moments left a mark, but the 2008 financial crisis was perhaps the first real rupture,” Rahbar reflects. “It forced everyone - artists, galleries, institutions - to rethink sustainability and purpose. Other events, such as the Arab uprisings and later the pandemic, continued to reshape how we relate to audiences and to each other. Those experiences reminded us that community and resilience are urgent necessities.”

Revisiting two decades of archives unearthed both transformation and continuity. “What struck me most was the persistence of certain questions - identity, belonging, the politics of image-making - that run through so many of our artists’ practices, even as their mediums and languages evolved over time,” Rahbar says. “For some, the early works felt almost prophetic in light of where they are now.”

She describes a particularly revealing part of the process: “With the help of researcher Tara Timberman, we also conducted a statistical analysis of ourselves - through which we discovered interesting insights, such as our roster being evenly split between female and male artists; the breadth of nationalities, mediums, and themes represented across our program; and the most frequently used adjectives to describe our artists’ practices. These are displayed at the entrance of the exhibition as infographics (designed by UBIK), so that visitors are able to understand The Third Line at a glance. I hadn’t realized these facts about us before, so it was fascinating to learn them. They’ve helped me think more critically about where we are and what could (and should) come next.”

That introspective thread runs throughout the show - not only through data, but through the act of re-examining forgotten works and old instincts. For Rahbar, the revival of The Third Line’s early “Backroom Sales” was part of that same impulse. “The Flash Sales were called ‘Backroom Sales’ in the early days, and they were a playful and accessible way to encourage friends and collaborators to collect art,” she recalls. “Bringing them back now felt right because the art scene of this region has grown so much, yet we still want to encourage that first step of engagement.”

“The 2025 iteration reimagines that spirit for a new generation of collectors who are curious but may not yet see themselves reflected in the art market,” she adds. The Flash Sales Specials, curated by Basar and organized as 48-hour pop-ups, appear and disappear like fleeting digital stories - grouping long-unseen works around “Search Word” themes.

“History is a living part of how art is produced and received,” Rahbar says, describing how the exhibition’s timeline physically guides visitors through time. “The timeline was our way of making that visible. You can’t separate an artist’s evolution from the conditions that shaped them, and the timeline invites visitors to walk through that intertwined history.”

She gives one example: “While a single event, like ‘August 2008: Beijing hosts the Summer Olympics,’ highlighted in the timeline, may seem irrelevant to Farhad Moshiri’s work, Saffron of Ghaenat (2003), for instance, when considering the ripple effects the event has, one comes to realize that it often shapes broader cultural, political, or social contexts that subtly inform an artist’s practice.”

The show’s anniversary program extends beyond the walls, with a series of conversations bringing together key figures in the gallery’s story. “The conversation between myself, Claudia, and Shumon, moderated by curator Tirdad Zolghadr, a longtime friend and collaborator, was particularly resonant,” Rahbar recalls. “We reflected on the beginnings of The Third Line, the challenges and uncertainties of launching a gallery in Dubai at that time and sustaining it until today. It was a rare moment to look back collectively and see how early decisions - driven as much by intuition as by strategy - have shaped our ongoing commitment to supporting artists from the MENASA region. It reminded me that thoughtful, long-term engagement with artists and ideas is vital.”

Over the years, The Third Line has built one of the most diverse rosters in the region, including Hassan Hajjaj, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, and Jordan Nassar, among others. “Diversity and fluidity have always been central to who we are,” Rahbar says. “We’ve never been about representing a single aesthetic or generation. We hold space for intergenerational and cross-disciplinary conversations by regularly organizing curated group exhibitions, like our current show curated by Shumon. Another way we do this is by rotating our exhibitions, which ensures all of our artists have opportunities to show their work and fosters a dynamic exchange of ideas across the gallery program.”

When Rahbar co-founded The Third Line in 2005, Dubai’s art world was still a question mark. “There was no blueprint for an art gallery when we started,” she recalls. “We were part of a generation of artists and gallerists trying to imagine what a contemporary art ecosystem in Dubai could look like.” Two decades later, that imagination has become reality. “Dubai has become a genuine meeting point between South and North, East and West, institutional and independent, and offers alternative routes into global conversations about art,” she says. “With the establishment of institutions such as Alserkal Avenue, Art Dubai, and Jameel Arts Centre in the city (and more across the UAE, such as the Louvre and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, as well as the Sharjah Biennial) over the years, and with more and more young artists building their careers here, I think Dubai has now really become a place for artists to experiment, connect across geographies, and engage with global art discourse on their own terms.”

As The Third Line approaches its next chapter, Rahbar’s vision remains guided by flexibility and care. “If there’s one lesson, it’s to stay open,” she says. “The art world and our home, Dubai, changes relentlessly, and what’s sustained us has been the ability to adapt without losing our core values. The next chapter is about continuing to support artists in ways that feel relevant to the moment. I’d also love to cultivate the next generation of artists, who are doing really interesting work right here on the ground. As our exhibition title says, the only way out is through, which is to keep pushing, keep doing the work we’ve been doing with care and intention.”