Weekly UAE museum and gallery guide: Last chance to see Quranic manuscripts

Plus, a show dedicated to the works of late Emirati artist Hassan Sharif

The Storyteller explores the late Hassan Sharif’s Objects series through a fresh lens, drawing connections between craft and storytelling. Photo: Gallery Isabelle

Personal storytelling through material innovation is a theme for this week’s round-up of exhibitions.

From artworks crafted from industrial scrap to furniture adorned with a leather-like material developed from seed pods, these exhibitions are redefining the interplay of material, memory and meaning. Plus, a long-running show featuring an impressive collection of Quranic manuscripts is drawing to a close this weekend.

The Storyteller: Hassan Sharif’s Objects Series at Gallery Isabelle

Hassan Sharif, considered the UAE’s greatest contemporary artist, died in 2017. Antonie Robertson / The National

The Storyteller explores the late Hassan Sharif’s Objects series through a fresh lens, drawing connections between craft and storytelling. The exhibition presents Sharif’s practice, not only as a formal or technical exercise, but as an experimental and narrative act. It highlights how Sharif used everyday materials and repetitive processes to construct meaning, embedding stories within the act of making.

Known for calling himself a “single work artist", Sharif’s legacy is re-examined here as a complex, layered narrative rather than a singular statement.

Monday to Friday, 10am to 6pm; Saturday, 12pm to 6pm; until May 30; Gallery Isabelle, Dubai

Niche Leukeather Goods by Nuhayr Zein at 1971 - Design Space

Niche Leukeather Goods explores sustainability, identity and cultural memory through material innovation. Photo: 1971 - Design Space

A solo exhibition by Egyptian architect and researcher Nuhayr Zein, Niche Leukeather Goods explores sustainability, identity and cultural memory through material innovation.

Leukeather is at the heart of the exhibition. The plant-based material is a leather alternative that has been crafted from discarded seed pods of the white popinac tree, which is native to the UAE. Zein’s work with the material is a deeply personal journey, where design is a means for self-exploration and environment consciousness.

The exhibition showcases handcrafted objects, such as the Sara’ir cabinet, which is inspired by the designer’s Egyptian heritage and upbringing in Al Ain. As such, Niche Leukeather Goods is as much about sustainable design as it is about personal story telling.

Saturday to Thursday, 10am to 9pm; Friday, 2pm to 9pm; until October 23; 1971 - Design Space, Sharjah

The Eternal Letters at Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation

The Eternal Letters is running until Sunday. Photo: Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation

Eternal Letters: Qur’an Manuscripts from the Abdulrahman Al Owais Collection is an exhibition that focuses on the history and religious significance of Arabic calligraphy.

The exhibition presents 81 Quranic manuscripts that have never been shown to the public before. The manuscripts come from across the Islamic world and show the breadth of calligraphic styles that emerged from China, Turkey, Iran and the Mediterranean, among other places. The works cover more than a millennia of Islamic history and are part of the private collection of Abdulrahman bin Mohammed Al Owais, the UAE Minister of Health and Prevention and the Minister of State for FNC Affairs.

Saturday to Thursday, 8am to 8pm; Friday, 4pm to 8pm; until May 25; Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation