A new era of experimentation and tributes to the region’s evolving landscape synergise in the NYUAD Art Gallery’s latest exhibition
PARTNER CONTENT: In the heart of Abu Dhabi, a groundbreaking exhibition is reshaping the regional art landscape. Between the Tides: A Gulf Quinquennial marks the first of what will be a recurring event every five years, bringing in fresh perspectives to contemporary issues facing the larger region.
For Executive Director of the NYUAD Art Gallery Maya Allison, the exhibition also serves as a marker of the gallery’s decade.
“We’ve done shows every two years looking at art of the UAE. Then in 2022 with Khaleej Modern we started to look at the region more broadly. And this was a helpful way to understand even more about the artists around us today. So it was really nice to think about not just each country’s production, but their interactions,” she explains.
This exhibition, therefore, isn’t just a showcase of individual works; it’s a tapestry of interwoven narratives, a way of reconnecting the regional art community. The dialogue between senior artists and emerging talent creates a sense of continuity across generations, offering a glimpse into an evolving art history.
As Art Gallery Curator and Research Assistant Professor Duygu Demir points out, the curatorial process was less about adhering to a rigid theme and more about seeing what organically surfaces.
“Normally, you have a theme or a concept, but because our limitation was time and geography, we tried to cast a net as wide as possible, and then let the themes emerge out of the things that were of interest. Among those themes, urban transformation, heritage and of course, individual histories emerged organically.”
The visitor experience reflects this fluidity. As one moves through the gallery space, different emotional and intellectual registers come into play.
Maya notes, “There’s a tough moment in the exhibition when the visitor reaches the work of Hazem Harb, who is dealing with themes of grief and loss in his community. Then you emerge into a sequence of portraits by Camille Zakharia and Ali Ismail Karimi. The portraits capture the community in Bahrain during a festive time of gathering. It is a surprising shift in tone, but a productive one, that acknowledges both of these realities.”
The exhibition skillfully offers moments of levity, creating a nuanced journey steering clear of stereotypes that often accompany discussions about the Arab world. Faissal El-Malak’s work, for instance, stands as a nice contrast to international narratives about what’s happening in this region.
Highlighting some moving parts of the exhibition, Duygu speaks of Christopher Benton’s installation of light boxes, made in collaboration with Mubeen Calligraphy’s designer Faisal Abdu, accompanied by the text that inspired the work, a list-poem by NYUAD faculty Deepak Unnikrishnan titled Pravasis?, featured in his book Temporary People.
Another sort of new commission, Duygu shares, “will be the walk that Mariam M. Alnoaimi will do. She’s done the walk before in Bahrain of course, but because the UAE is so different it’s kind of amounting to a new commission, even though, in theory, it’s very site-specific. So the intertidal walk only has a sign-up sheet for now and will later be an event.”
As with all endeavours, sustainability has been a key consideration here, with efforts made to reduce the carbon footprint of the works on display. Whether it’s using videos and vinyl installations or using uncoated paper for the accompanying booklet, mindful efforts are being made.
“It’s a trade-off between shipping and the potential for waste created when more ephemeral, temporary work is installed, it’s something all galleries and museums are grappling with,” Maya reflects.
Through the convergence of diverse voices, new artistic collaborations, and thoughtful curation, Between the Tides offers visitors an experience that is both intellectually stimulating and emotionally resonant.
For more information, visit nyuad-artgallery.org/
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