Art Dubai Projects 2014
March 19–22, 2014
Madinat Jumeirah
Dubai
UAE
Art Dubai Projects includes artists and collectives from the Middle East, North Africa and Asia, commissioned to create new works that are exhibited throughout the fair.
Selected artists are invited to intervene in and comment on the fair, creating new works that engage audiences and interact with the fair environment.
Artists participating in Art Dubai Projects 2014 are Nadia Ayari, Youmna Chlala, Clark House Initiative, Sunoj D, Maitha Demithan, Sara Al Haddad, Shuruq Harb, Amina Menia, Maryam Al Qassimi, Mounira Al Solh and Hajra Waheed.
The new commissions, developed and organised with this year’s Projects Curator, Fawz Kabra, include site-specific installation, painting and performance works exhibited throughout Art Dubai’s halls, as well as interventions in the catalogue and online platforms.
The 2014 projects will generate situations and create environments that reorganise space, propose new ways of navigating the fair, re-present histories of the Arabian Gulf, and explore underrepresented narratives in art. Among the various projects, Clark House Initiative’s research project combines modern and contemporary artists with histories of visual culture from the UAE and India; Shuruq Harb mines alternative archives, connecting unresolved narratives with images and speculative text; and Youmna Chlala’s installation paves new trails in the fair’s halls using locally grown plants.
Art Dubai Projects is held in parallel to A.i.R Dubai—the residency programme run by the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, Tashkeel, Delfina Foundation and Art Dubai. Curator Ipek Ulusoy and artists Nadia Ayari, Sunoj D, Maitha Demithan, Sara Al Haddad and Maryam Al Qassimi are resident in Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood from January to March and will participate in the Open Studios at SIKKA Art Fair, as well as creating new works for Art Dubai Projects.
Art Dubai’s not-for-profit programme also features a live radio station, run by producer and presenter Fari Bradley, of Six Pillars radio; The Sheikha Manal Little Artists programme for children and teenagers; and film—including Moving Images, a recently launched partnership between Dubai International Film Festival, Sharjah Art Foundation and Art Dubai. Moving Images, dedicated to artists’ films and filmmakers’ art, features discussion programmes and film screenings during the fair and throughout the year.
Art Dubai Projects has become an incubator for some of the most compelling artists and curators from the Middle East and Asia. It offers an alternative and experimental way to activate, challenge and respond to the more formal structures of the fair and marks Art Dubai’s commitment to sustaining a dialogue with its immediate environment, while working in partnership with institutions, artists and cultural producers.
For the first time, the artists and collectives will engage across Art Dubai’s three gallery programmes: Contemporary; Modern, the newly launched gallery hall dedicated to 20th century art from the Arab world, Iran and South Asia; and Marker, focusing in 2014 on Central Asia and the Caucasus, and curated by Slavs and Tatars. The Global Art Forum continues its dynamic programming of live talks, projects and publications. The fair’s programming also features an exhibition of new works by winners of the annual The Abraaj Group Art Prize: Abbas Akhavan, Kamrooz Aram, Bouchra Khalili, Basim Magdy and Anup Mathew Thomas, working with Guest Curator Nada Raza.
Art Dubai Projects 2014 is supported by Alserkal Avenue and the British Council.
The list of selected artists for Art Dubai Projects 2014 with their biographies is available here.
Art Dubai is held in partnership with The Abraaj Group and is sponsored by Cartier and Emaar. Madinat Jumeirah is home to the event.
The Dubai Culture and Arts Authority is a strategic partner of Art Dubai, and supports the fair’s year-round education programme.
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