Art Jameel, an independent organisation that supports arts, education and heritage in the Middle East, today announced the much-anticipated opening of the Jameel Arts Centre in Dubai on November 11.

 

Designed as a 10,000-sq-m, three-storey, multi-disciplinary space by UK-based Serie Architects, Jameel Arts Centre is the first non-governmental contemporary arts institution of its kind in the Gulf.

 

In addition to 10 galleries of dedicated exhibition space and a 300-sq-m research centre and library, Jameel Arts Centre houses a project space, writer’s studio, members’ lounge, a restaurant, a shop and a series of gardens – embedded in the architecture and designed by landscape architect Anouk Vogel – that reflect local and global desert biomes. The gardens feature a collection of sculptural plants native to the world’s deserts, while striking vegetal textures, subtle mineral hues and unusual paving provide each garden with a unique character.

 

The Centre is also home to the Art Jameel Collection, and will also host major, co-curated and touring exhibitions that draw upon Art Jameel’s long-term partnerships with international institutions. 

 

Reflecting the institution’s commitment to dynamic programming that resonates with a diverse audience, Jameel Arts Centre launches with a series of four solo shows – Artist’s Rooms – by eminent artists from the Middle East and Asia, drawn in part from the Art Jameel Collection; a curated group exhibition, ‘Crude’, that considers the complex theme of oil within both historic and contemporary contexts; and a selection of large-scale installations and sculptural works, several newly commissioned for the Centre’s roof terrace and gardens. 

 

Antonia Carver, Director of Art Jameel, explained: “After years of engaging with communities in the region and globally through heritage, educational and arts-related programming, we are excited to launch our first dedicated space, here in the United Arab Emirates. Jameel Arts Centre is set to not only expand the public’s engagement with our extensive collection and library, but also present museum-quality exhibitions in partnership with local, regional and global collaborators. Through new commissions of immersive works, a dedicated research space, and ongoing public programming for many communities of all ages, Jameel Arts Centre aims to be a truly innovative new cultural hub.” 

 

Opening Exhibitions

Spread across five galleries and 500 sq m, the inaugural group exhibition – ‘Crude’ – brings together 17 artists and collectives from the region and beyond to explore oil as an agent of social, cultural and economic transformation across the region, as well as a driver of geo-political upheaval. Developed by Sharjah- and New York-based curator Murtaza Vali, ‘Crude’ considers some of the complex histories of oil as a catalyst of modernity across the Middle East, tracing its effects through the archives, infrastructures, and technologies it has produced. 

 

The exhibition showcases works by contemporary artists including: Latif Al Ani, Manal AlDowayan, Monira Al Qadiri, Alessandro Balteo-Yazbeck, Media Farzin, GCC (Khalid Al Gharaballi, Nanu Al-Hamad, Abdullah Al-Mutairi, Fatima Al Qadiri, Monira Al Qadiri, Aziz Al Qatimi, Barrak Alzaid, Amal Khalaf), Raja’a Khalid, Lydia Ourahmane, Houshang Pezeshknia, Monira Al Qadiri, Hassan Sharif, Wael Shawky, Nasrin Tabatabai and Babak Afrassiabi, Rayyane Tabet, Hajra Waheed, Michael John Whelan, Lantan Xie and Ala Younis.  

 

In addition to gallery-based exhibitions, Jameel Arts Centre features major installations by local and international artists that interact with the building itself: the lobby features a new, interactive work by Lara Favaretto; a sculptural work by Vikram Divecha is suspended above one of the seven gardens; and Shaikha Al Mazrou presents the first in an annual series of commissioned projects for the Artist’s Garden. Al Mazrou has opted to create a sculptural sectioned glass house for this experimental, light-filled, creekside outdoor space. - TradeArabia News Service