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Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, the ninth edition of Abu Dhabi Art opened its doors to the public yesterday, with visitors enjoying a rich programme of talks and interactive workshops, in addition to a diverse range of international galleries.
In between discovering an array of installations and artworks on display from globally celebrated and up-and-coming artists, members of the public participated in cultural debates with arts professionals, practitioner and collectors.
The daily Talks Programme, curated by Munira Al Sayegh, began its exploration into a wide array of topics relating to contemporary art developments in the GCC. The Role of Private Foundations and Public Collections saw speakers Olivier Mosset, Artist, Herve Mikaeloff, Curator, Mohammed Afkhami, Collector, Deborah Najar, Co-Founder at Jean-Paul Najar Foundation and Director of the Global Private Museum Network and Venetia Porter, Assistant Keeper, Curator, Islamic and contemporary Middle East, British Museum highlight the importance and underscore the differences and similarities in the roles of private foundations, and public collections. The discussion also emphasised the roles of various art foundations and the significance of collecting for both private and public collections.
Meanwhile, Connecting Collections: Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and Zayed National Museum in Conversation with Ahmed Mater brought together panellists Maisa Al Qassimi, Programmes Manager, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, and Salama Al Shamsi, Senior Project Manager, Zayed National Museum, Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, to highlight points of connection between their respective collections. The distinctiveness of each museum’s narrative was explored through this collaborative talk with artist Ahmed Mater, whose work is in the collections of both Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and Zayed National Museum.
Bringing together participating artists and curators from this year’s Abu Dhabi Art, Collectors and Collections: The Art Fair as a Platform for Commissions: Abu Dhabi Art's Gateway and Beyond (Emerging Artists Projects) featured Maya Allison, Director and Chief Curator, NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery, Curator of Gateway: Line, Abu Dhabi Art, artist Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim, Cristiana de Marchi, Co-Curator of Beyond: Emerging Artists, and artists Shaikha Al Mazrou and Jumairy. The panelists discussed their experiences and outcomes of the commissioning process, underscoring the place of commissions in Abu Dhabi Art, and highlighting the role and the importance of these platforms to this year’s fair.
Visitors also took part in the first in a series of creative and immersive workshops catered to the entire community. Tailored to children, teens and adults, the specially designed art workshop kicked-off today and will run daily until Saturday 11 November from 14:00 – 21:00 at AED 25 per person at the Art Studio at Manarat Al Saadiyat.
Abu Dhabi Art’s performance art platform, Durub Al Tawaya, offered visitors the opportunity to engage with contemporary performance art through a selection of site-specific performances during the fair and across the city. Wednesday’s events included Evros Walk Water, an interactive performance by Daniel Wetzel re-enacting John Cage’s Water Walk, created in collaboration with refugee children living in Athens, A Grand March by choreographer Zan Yamashita, and the launch of Çevdet Erek’s book SSS - How to Imitate the Sound of the Shore Using Two Hands and a Carpet.
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