The intricate and detailed decorations on the walls of the Sharjah Art Foundation in Dubai | Photo: Saloni Sakhardande (Own Work) via Wikimedia Creative Commons
"Talent, not gender, is what should define you in the world of art,” affirmed Her Excellency Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development of the United Arab Emirates. And it is talent which is the common denominator among some of the most important names in the artistic scene in Dubai and the Emirates. One of the most important and influential curators on an international level is Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi, President and Director of Sharjah Art Foundation, who, at just 22 years old, took on the direction of the Biennial of Sharjah, making it one of the world’s most interesting art events. She also founded the Sharjah Art Foundation in 2009, through which numerous activities contributed in transforming the artistic scene of the Emirates into a powerful nexus and incubator of ideas. Meanwhile, her colleague, Manal Ataya, Director-General of the Sharjah Museums Authority, is in charge of the overall management of 17 museums and the strategic development of future museum projects. And the art district, Alserkal Avenue, is also in the hands of a woman, Vilma Jurkute. Britain’s Antonia Carver, once director of Art Dubai, now in charge of Art Jameel, has always pointed out, as well as demonstrating it through her own career, just how significant the female presence is in the local art scene. And there are top flight artists as well, like Shaikha Al Mazrou and Sarah Almehairi, and the number of female artists is also surely destined to increase.
Eskandari creates her own collection of modern myths that transport us not only through space but also through time. Each work is imbued with specific cultural references and personal emotional experiences, yet the fluid, otherworldly forms and rich color palette also bring us to an imaginary realm where we are free to create our own stories.
Research, Love, Knowledge, Detachment, Unity, Wonder, Poverty and Annihilation. It is the valleys crossed by birds in the Persian text of the Sufi poet Farid ud-Din Attar that inspire the works exhibited in this exhibition by the artist Ala Ebtekar.
New appointment with the DP World Tour Championship, the European Tour golf tournament which is also the culmination of the Race to Dubai. It is played on the Greg Norman-designed Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates. The tournament was held for the first time in 2009.
One of Bulgari's most iconic shapes, Serpenti, celebrates three quarters of a century this year. A symbol of endless reinvention, it remains faithful to its ...