Abu Dhabi Art this year welcomes esteemed art historian Rachida Triki, gallerist Jade Yeşim Turanlı, and arts journalist Riccarda Mandrini as guest curators and collaborators for galleries at the fair….reports Asian Lite news
The 14th edition of Abu Dhabi Art Fair will open to the public at Manarat Al Saadiyat at 5pm today (16 November) and will run until Sunday (20 November). Entry to this year’s fair is free of charge, and tickets can be booked upon pre-registration via the Abu Dhabi Art website.
Organised by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), the fair returns with its largest and most diverse line-up to date. There are 80 galleries from 28 countries representing more than 300 artists from around the globe and presenting over 900 artworks. This year’s edition will feature 33 new galleries joining from Colombia, France, Tunisia, Italy, Nigeria, South Korea, Italy, Morocco, Turkey, the UAE and beyond, as well as a rich, curated fair programme experience.
Abu Dhabi Art this year welcomes esteemed art historian Rachida Triki, gallerist Jade Yeşim Turanlı, and arts journalist Riccarda Mandrini as guest curators and collaborators for galleries at the fair. Dr. Omar Kholeif will curate My Life in the Metaverse, as part of Abu Dhabi Art’s Gateway programme, and the Artist Commissions in Cultural Sites programme includes new works by Abdullah Al Saadi, Marinella Senatore, Shilpa Gupta and Conrad Shawcross. As part of the year-round programme Beyond: Emerging Artists, three UAE-based emerging artists, Majd Alloush, Sarah Al Mehairi and Mohamed Khalid, have created new commissioned works to be exhibited at the fair.
Abu Dhabi Art will also host CookBook Abu Dhabi, an exceptional culinary art experience featuring renowned chefs Kasper Kurdahl, Maksut Askar, Ivan Brehm and Sahar Parham Al Awadhi and artists Caique Tizzi, Greta Alfaro, Hicham Berrada and Emeka Ogbah.
Highlights of Abu Dhabi Art Fair 2022 include:
Focus: New Tomorrows: Art historian, Professor of Philosophy, and curator Triki is the guest curator of this year’s Focus section, under the theme New Tomorrows. The section will spotlight galleries and artists from North Africa and explore the artistic evolution of the region.
Gateway: Dr. Omar Kholeif, author, curator, broadcaster, and cultural historian, has curated My Life in the Metaverse, the fair’s 2022 Gateway exhibition, which will be on display at Manarat Al Saadiyat from 16 November 2022 to 22 January 2023. My Life in the Metaverse is a multi-disciplinary exhibition that spans a variety of media, including sculpture, painting, photography, installation, video, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), with a journey through a simulation guided by Dr. Kholeif’s alter ego, Dr. O.
Beyond: Emerging Artists: Three UAE-based emerging artists, Majd Alloush, Sarah Al Mehairi and Mohamed Khalid, have created new commissioned works to be exhibited at the art fair in November. Each artist has brought their unique perspective to explorations of the notions of borders, home, man-made territories, and geographical mapping.
Artist Commissions in Cultural Sites: Abu Dhabi Art has commissioned four artists to create new public installations, to be placed in sites of historical significance across the emirate, as part of this year’s Artist Commissions in Cultural Sites programme. The 2022 commissions include new works by Abdullah Al Saadi, Marinella Senatore, Shilpa Gupta and Conrad Shawcross.
In & Around: This year, seven established artists will be exhibiting their work as part of the programme In and Around: Shaikha Al Mazrou, Lawrie Shabibi; Ngozi-Omeje Ezema, Kó; Abdulla Al Saadi; Marinella Senatore, Mazzoleni; Conrad Shawcross, Galerie Isa; Farah Al Qasimi, The Third Line; Slimen El Kamel, La La Lande; Farid Belkahia, Le Violon Bleu. They will be joined by three art students who participated in the Christo and Jeanne-Claude award.
