Warehouse421 has unveiled its program for the upcoming fall season, designed to provide more opportunities for creative learning and exploration of regional themes. The fall season will see the center continue to collaborate with partners to aid the development of the local arts scene in the UAE through exhibitions and diversified learning experiences. Warehouse421 has also expanded its workshop programming, offering practices which encourage both creative professionals and the general public engagement with artistic practice.

Faisal Al Hassan, General Manager of Warehouse421, commented: “Warehouse421 is continuing on its mission to aid the development of the creative ecosystem in the UAE and to achieve this, we have devised a new approach to our programming that will further encourage the progress of grassroots artists and push regional themes to the fore of public programming and discourse.

“The fall season will see public displays which share the works of emerging locally based artists, whilst our programming of workshops, talks and short courses will provide further opportunities for creative learning.

“We have also been working on developments within the space, alongside planning our four year anniversary in November, which will be a chance to reflect on the work which we have completed so far and opportunities for the future,” he concluded.

Kicking off with the fall season, Warehouse421 will be welcoming Salama bint Hamdan Emerging Artists Fellowship (SEAF) for the Community & Critique: SEAF 2018/19 Cohort 6 show, which will run from 14 September to 24 November. Following a ten month artistic education and development program, the exhibition will present the artworks of emerging artists who are based in the UAE.  Fifteen artists will exhibit over the course of the show and alongside it, Warehouse421 will be hosting a talk featuring artists from the latest SEAF cohort to discuss their works and answer questions from the public on the day of the opening. The session will focus on the value of constructive language as an integral tool in the artistic process.

Also opening on 14 September will be the Hollowed exhibition, a film installation created by the emerging Emirati visual artist, Maitha Abdalla. Abdalla focuses on providing social commentaries through her artwork, inviting audiences to explore the human condition in narrative form. Hollowed explores the feeling of emptiness as either a place or a feeling. Through the exhibition, Abdalla meditates on the theme of hollowness and its gradual transformation into feelings of emptiness, memory, waiting, and finally rebirth. The exhibition will run until 13 October.

The program will also feature an exhibition by the research-based artist, Talin Hazbar, titled Structures of Impermanence. In this exhibition, Hazbar explores the relationship between nature and architecture, focusing on structural forms which interact symbiotically with their natural surroundings. Hazbar focuses on the use of water within the traditional Syrian household, and how the presence of water acts as a center of social discourse. Her exhibition, which is research based, will explore the interwoven connections between nature, architecture, and cultural heritage. The exhibition will open in early November.

The season will also see an exhibition on the art of independent publishing, titled Shape-shifting texts and other publishing tactics. The exhibition, which will open in December, will explore independent publishing from a variety of historical and contemporary reflections, and will examine the relationship between independent publishing and how it more widely comments on public life. The exhibition is curated by artists, Maha Maamoun and Ala Younis, and Warehouse421 will bring a new iteration of the exhibition to audiences in Abu Dhabi, in which the exhibition will focus on the act of sharing artistic work with publics.

Warehouse421 will continue their ongoing partnerships with both Cinema Akil and Gulf Photography Plus. Cinema Akil will be running film screenings throughout the fall season, with screenings exploring regional themes and narratives. Meanwhile, Gulf Photography Plus will be welcoming photographers to workshops at Warehouse421 throughout the fall season, helping to develop skills in those new or old to the art form.

Warehouse421 will also be collaborating with Goethe Institute, the cultural institute of Germany, on a new film series about the lives of artists – from a respected classicist to a forgery expert Screenings will include the 1971 Goya – oder Der arge Weg der Erkenntnis, which was shot in the German Democratic Republic, and Beltracchi: The Art of Forgery. All screenings will be available for free.

Speaking further on the season, Al Hassan said: “The upcoming fall season presents a range of programming that will explore a variety of regional narratives and a plethora of crafts. We are enthusiastic to hear from local artists who will present at this year’s SEAF exhibition, and it will be our pleasure to explore the evolution of these emerging talents. This year, two SEAF alumni will have solo exhibitions at Warehouse421, and it is encouraging to see their growth as artists in this upcoming exhibition.

“Our fall program will be bringing a range of new disciplines in workshops to the center for the first time, and through our exhibitions, we will see further work with international partners to bring artworks to the community. We are delighted with the offering that has been curated at Warehouse421 this season, and hope the public enjoy it as much as we have putting it together,” Al Hassan concluded.

Warehouse421 will reopen its doors to start the fall season on 14 September, which will run through until December 2019. For more information, visit warehouse421.ae 

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