Art Jameel, a non-profit organisation that supports arts, education and heritage in the Middle East, has announced a number of initiatives designed to enrich the thriving cultural scene in the region and beyond.
Building upon its strong history of exhibitions, educational initiatives, institutional partnerships and community outreach, Art Jameel is entering a new phase of development, marked by two major announcements: a new Arts Centre in Dubai, due to open in winter 2018, and a long-term partnership with New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, which will enable the Museum to acquire works by modern and contemporary artists from the Middle East.
One of the first non-profit contemporary arts institutions in Dubai, the Jameel Arts Centre Dubai will present curated exhibitions that draw from the Jameel Art Collection, as well as regional and international solo and group shows. The Jameel Arts Centre—a 10,000 square metre, three-story multi-disciplinary space designed by UK-based firm Serie Architects—is designed as a hub for educational and research initiatives, while its wider programming embraces collaboration and partnerships with local, regional and international artists, curators and organisations. Art Jameel director Antonia Carver is developing a Curatorial Council to advise on the organisation’s exhibitions and collections programming, which at this stage includes Jessica Morgan, director, Dia Art Foundation, New York, and the curator and writer Murtaza Vali, based between Sharjah and New York.
Overlooking the Dubai Creek, the Centre includes more than 1,000 square metres of dedicated gallery space, plus a 300 square metre open-access research centre dedicated to artists and cultural movements of the Gulf and wider Arab world; additional flexible events spaces; a roof terrace (designed for film screenings and events); an outdoor sculpture area; and a café, restaurant and bookshop.
Renowned landscape architect Anouk Vogel has drawn inspiration from the desert biome for the concept for the courtyards that punctuate the building: each outdoor space will represent a distinct desert environment, and include some rare plants sourced from the UAE and around the world.
Art Jameel’s partnership with the Metropolitan Museum of Art continues the organisation’s core mandate to raise the profile of contemporary Middle Eastern artists and increase international dialogue.
The Art Jameel Fund was established in collaboration with the Metropolitan Museum of Art to support activities related to The Met’s Middle Eastern initiatives including: acquisitions, global contemporary programming, and the Arabic translation of education resources. The fund most recently supported the Museum’s acquisition of two works by Egyptian artist Maha Maamoun: the single channel video 2026 (2010) and Domestic Tourism I (2005), a series of four photographs.
In advance of the opening of the Jameel Arts Centre Dubai in winter 2018, the organisation has opened a temporary Project Space in Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, with a dynamic programme of exhibitions, projects, talks and events. The inaugural exhibition, featuring And yet my mask is powerful I (2016), a five-channel video installation by Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme, is part of a series focussing on single works from the Jameel Art Collection.
About Art Jameel
Art Jameel is a not-for-profit organisation that supports artists and creative communities. Current initiatives include running heritage institutes and restoration programmes, plus a broad range of arts and educational initiatives for all ages. The organisation’s programmes foster the role of the arts in building open, connected communities; at a time of flux and dramatic societal shifts, this role is understood as more crucial than ever.
Art Jameel’s model is collaborative: major institutional partners include the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Prince’s School of Traditional Arts and the Metropolitan Museum of Art; locally, the organisation works with individuals and organisations to develop innovative programming that embraces both ancient and new technologies, and encourages entrepreneurship and the development of cultural networks.