Programme to commission five artists-in-residence and one curator-in-residence for three-month residencies, exhibitions and site-specific projects
A.i.R Dubai to host additional short-term, multidisciplinary residencies from January to March; residencies to range from two weeks to one month
Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood
Dubai, UAE: The Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), the Emirate’s dedicated Authority for culture, arts, and heritage, in collaboration with Art Dubai, Tashkeel, and the Delfina Foundation, has announced the selected Emirati and international artists for the fourth edition of the Artists-in-Residence (A.i.R) Dubai programme.
The annual residency, to be held from January 7 to March 31, at Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood, the cultural nerve-centre of the city, will coincide with Art Week, Dubai’s premier umbrella arts initiative, which includes Art Dubai, SIKKA – the Authority’s artist-led contemporary art fair, and Design Days Dubai.
The selected Emirati artists include Maitha Demithan, Maryam Al Qassimi, and Sara Al Haddad, who are currently participating in Campus Art Dubai, the alternative art school by Art Dubai, held in collaboration with Dubai Culture. Their international contemporaries include Nadia Ayari and Sunoj Damodaran with Curator-in-Residence, Ipek Ulsoy.
The outcomes of the three-month residency will be showcased in an Open Studios Exhibition held in parallel to SIKKA Art Fair in March 2014. In addition, all artists will create new site-specific works for Art Dubai Projects, the fair’s not-for-profit programme of new commissions.
The progamme will further build on its position as a platform to offer practitioners with the opportunity to engage with the resident artists and local arts scene through short-term, multidisciplinary residencies, ranging from two weeks to one month. Artists, writers, and curators participating in these residencies will be announced in due course.
Khalil Abdulwahid, Manager of Visual Arts, Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, said: “The selected artists, symbolising the new wave of artistic talent from across the world, along with Dubai’s position as a multicultural destination, will once again come to the forefront through the 2014 edition of the Artists-in-Residence Dubai programme. We are confident that the artists will lend momentum to the region’s burgeoning arts scene, while establishing Dubai as an incubator that nurtures aspiring artists.”
Maitha Demithan chooses her subjects from the family and friends close to her, using scanographies to document intense moments of encounter, capturing the three-dimensional in a series of two-dimensional planes and projections, installation, video, and transfers onto cloth; while Maryam Al Qassimi‘s work uses found imagery and material from the local community to explore the vernacular of the UAE and how its interchange of language has shaped local pop-culture. Sara Al Haddad activates interior architectures, visualising affect through the knitting of life-size sculptural forms and the weaving of text.
Nadia Ayari amasses thick layers and strokes of paint that envelope each surface she works on. Her explorations with fresco have added a third, sculptural dimension to her richly dense pieces. Sunoj Damodaran explores our multi-faceted relationship with nature, using as a starting point his move from a rural environment to urban dwellings, and subtlety revealing the fissures between these two living conditions.
Hailing from Istanbul, Curator-in-Residence, Ipek Ulusoy Akgul previously served as the curatorial associate at Borusan Contemporary in Istanbul (2012-2013), where she coordinated new media exhibitions and commissions. Ipek has worked at various museums and arts organizations such as The Whitney Museum of American Art (2009-2010) and Independent Curators International (ICI) (2010) in New York, as well as the 9th and 10th Istanbul Biennials, Sakip Sabanci Museum (2005-2007), and Galeri Mana (2011-2012) in Istanbul.
A.i.R Dubai aims to support artists by providing a platform to develop their practice and create new work, while facilitating exchange between the artists, the local communities, and the broader cultural landscape.
For more information, please contact Dubai Culture on 04 8004003 or e-mail artsServices@dubaiculture.ae). More information is also available via the Dubai Culture website (www.dubaiculture.ae), Art Dubai website (www.artdubai.ae), Tashkeel (www.tashkeel.org), and Delfina Foundation (www.delfinafoundation.com).
AiR Dubai 2013:
AIR Dubai’s 2013 programme featured the following six artists: Ammar Al Attar, Dina Danish, Ebtisam Abdul-Aziz, Joe Namy, Reem Falaknaz, and Yudi Noor. The 2013 curator-in-residence was Bérénice Saliou. All six artists – who worked closely with Saliou – exhibited as part of the Open Studios programme included alongside SIKKA Art Fair during Art Week 2013. Danish, Namy and Noor were also commissioned by Art Dubai Projects to make new site-specific work exhibited during Art Dubai 2013.
The Dubai Culture & Arts Authority:
The Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) was launched on March 8, 2008 by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President & Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. Dubai Culture plays a critical part in achieving the vision of the Dubai Strategic Plan 2015 of establishing the city as vibrant, global Arabian metropolis that shapes culture and arts in the region and the world. The organisation has announced several initiatives that strengthen the historic and modern cultural fabric of Dubai. These include: Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Patrons of the Arts Awards: A first-of-its-kind regional initiative to honour patrons of the arts from around the world for their valuable support in encouraging and strengthening the cultural scene of the Emirate; Sikka Art Fair: An annual art fair aimed at promoting Emirati and local artists in the UAE; and Dubai Festival for Youth Theatre: An annual festival that celebrates and fosters the art of theatre in the UAE.
Art Dubai:
The eighth edition of Art Dubai takes place in Madinat Jumeirah, March 19-22, 2014. Besides the gallery halls, comprising Contemporary, Modern and Marker, the fair’s extensive not-for-profit programme includes site-specific works and commissioned performances (Art Dubai Projects); an exhibition of works by winners of the annual The Abraaj Group Art Prize; and the critically acclaimed Global Art Forum. Art Dubai is held in partnership with The Abraaj Group and is sponsored by Cartier. The Dubai Culture & Arts Authority is a strategic partner of Art Dubai, and supports the fair’s year-round education programme, including Campus Art Dubai, the Saturday art school for UAE-based artists, curators and writers. artdubai.ae
The Delfina Foundation:
Delfina Foundation is an independent, non-profit foundation dedicated to facilitating artistic exchange and developing creative practice through residencies, partnerships and public programming, with a special focus on international collaborations with the greater Middle East & North Africa (MENA). To date, Delfina Foundation has hosted nearly 100 artists, curators and writers from 18 different countries at its base in London and with partners throughout MENA. www.delfinafoundation.com
Tashkeel:
Established in 2008 by Lateefa bint Maktoum, Tashkeel is a contemporary art organisation based in Dubai committed to facilitating art and design practice, creative experimentation and cross-cultural dialogue.
Placing the artist at the core, Tashkeel supports the UAE’s creative community through studio facilities, artists’ residencies, international fellowships, a programme of exhibitions, events and professional as well as recreational workshops.
Tashkeel’s exhibition space accommodates up to six main projects a year, as well as a series of small-scale events. The programme includes solo and thematic exhibitions, screenings, workshops and seminars, fulfilling Tashkeel’s commitment to bringing art and culture to a wider audience and engaging the local community.