Art in the UAE this weekend: Ayesha Sultana, Bouchra Khalili and 7 Sins

Sharjah Art Foundation is also hosting an exhibition by Maori creative Emily Karaka

Emily Karaka, Local Government Tea Party. Her work is on display at Sharjah Art Foundation until December. Photo: Sharjah Art Foundation

Several landmark exhibitions are opening this weekend, including the first major survey of Emily Karaka, an accomplished Maori artist with a body of work that spans more than five decades. A new play, meanwhile, will explore the notion of the seven deadly sins reimagined with a fun, contemporary twist in Dubai.

Here are four art-related things to see in the UAE this weekend.

Ayesha Sultana: Fragility and Resilience, Ishara Art Foundation

Pools, hand-blown glass, Ayesha Sultana. Razmig Bedirian / The National

Ayesha Sultana is marking her first solo exhibition in the Gulf through Fragility and Resilience. The exhibition, which opened at Ishara Art Foundation on Friday, examines the balance between the planet’s vulnerability and hardiness. Sultana does this through oil paintings, watercolours on Japanese silk tissue, as well as photographs.

Works on clay paper, meanwhile, record her breathing through various moments of her life. The Bangladesh-born artist, who has had exhibitions around the world, is also unveiling a series of hand-blown sculptures.

Ayesha Sultana: Fragility and Resilience is running at Ishara Art Foundation until December 7

Bouchra Khalili: Between Circles and Constellations, Sharjah Art Foundation

Bouchra Khalili, The Public Storyteller. Commissioned and co-produced by Kunstenfestivaldesarts and Sharjah Art Foundation. Photo: Sharjah Art Foundation

Moroccan-French artist Bouchra Khalili is renowned for her unique methodology. She often works with people from marginalised communities to coax out sidelined narratives and histories. Her works exist in the nexus between documentary and fiction.

The title of her exhibition at Sharjah Art Foundation, Between Circles and Constellations, itself offers insight into her practice. The circle is a nod to a Moroccan tradition known as al halqa, where people gather in a circle to share stories and political ideas. This notion is exemplified in recent works that explore the theatre groups founded in France in the 1970s by migrant workers from North Africa. A newly commissioned work, The Public Storyteller, also draws inspiration from al halqa.

Bouchra Khalili: Between Circles and Constellations is running until December 1

Emily Karaka: Ka Awatea, A New Dawn, Sharjah Art Foundation

Emily Karaka, Te Uri O Te Ao. Photo: Sharjah Art Foundation

The Sharjah Art Foundation is hosting the first major survey of the art of Karaka. The exhibition brings together five decades of works by the Maori artist, alongside newly commissioned works. Karaka often reflects on the politics of colonisation in her work. Her paintings are driven by themes of Maori autonomy, while also containing expressions of love for family and the planet.

Emily Karaka: Ka Awatea, A New Dawn is running at the Sharjah Art Foundation until December 1

The 7 Sins; The Junction

The 7 Sins is a play that is set in Dubai and brings together a cast of 11 nationalities. It explores how these biblical vices have evolved in modern times with a motley group of characters that range from TikTok users taking on a food challenge to an envious stand-off between influencers. Elon Musk is even embedded into the story in a part that addresses wrath.

The 7 Sins is showing at The Junction between Friday and Sunday