Memorial for artist Tarek Al-Ghoussein to be held in Abu Dhabi

Warehouse421 is inviting friends, family and fans of the Kuwaiti-Palestinian artist to a gathering on June 22

Kuwaiti-Palestinian artist Tarek Al-Ghoussein, who has died at the age of 60 in New York, in Abu Dhabi's Warehouse 421 in November 2018. Reem Mohammed / The National

Abu Dhabi Archipelago (Hami Roha Gassar), 2016. Photo: Tarek Al-Ghoussein

Tarek Al-Ghoussein's Abu Dhabi Archipelago – Island Making (2015), shown at the MEI Art Gallery in Washington. Photo: MEI Gallery

Tarek Al-Ghoussein, Abu Dhabi Archipelago, (Marawah), 2015. Photo: Tarek Al-Ghoussein

Abu Dhabi Archipelago (Abu Dhabi), 2018. Photo: Tarek Al-Ghoussein

Abu Dhabi Archipelago, (Ramhan), 2015. Photo: Tarek Al-Ghoussein

Tarek Al-Ghoussein's 'Odysseus' series featured in a 2021 exhibition, 'Between the Sky and the Earth: Contemporary Art from the UAE', in Washington DC. Photo: Tarek Al-Ghoussein

Tarek Al Ghoussein, '(In)Beautification-No.2581' (2012). Photo: courtesy the artist and The Third Line, Dubai

Tarek Al-Ghoussein, Al Sawaber 5003_2015-2017_Digital print_21 x 28 cm. Photo: courtesy the artist and The Third Line

Untitled 4, 2009, From the D II series, Inkjet Print. Photo: courtesy the artist and The Third Line and Taymour Grahne Gallery, New York

Tarek Al-Ghoussein photographed Abu Dhabi's islands for his Odysseus project. This is Abu Dhabi Archipelago (Al Alia) – the first photograph he shot in five months due to the Covid pandemic. Photo: Tarek Al-Ghoussein

Tarek Al-Ghoussein said this is one of his favourite images from his series K Files 735, 2013, which was shown at the Kuwait Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2013. Photo: courtesy the artist and The Third Line

Tarek Al-Ghoussein, Abu Dhabi Archipelago (Gassar 2). Photo: Tarek Al-Ghoussein

Tarek Al-Ghoussein's K Files consists of eight photographs he shot himself inside the stock market, a dilapidated palace, a football field, an old school and beside Kuwait's first oil well with the famous water towers spiking the horizon in the distance. Photo: courtesy the artist and The Third Line

Abu Dhabi Archipelago (Al Habel Al Abyad). Photo: Tarek Al-Ghoussein

Tarek Al-Ghoussein's "Abu Dhabi Archipelago (Salaha Gassar)", part of his Odysseus project to document Abu Dhabi's 215 islands. Here he stands amid nesting cormorants. Photo: Tarek Al-Ghoussein

The UAE arts community was left "shocked and saddened" after the news that Kuwaiti-Palestinian artist Tarek Al-Ghoussein died suddenly in New York at the weekend.

The artist, who was a resident of Abu Dhabi, had worked rigorously, and steadily as a photographer, but was also an educator and mentor to a generation of young artists at the American University of Sharjah, and since 2013 at New York University Abu Dhabi.

To pay tribute to Al-Ghoussein, Warehouse421 in Abu Dhabi is hosting a memorial gathering on June 22, inviting all friends, family and fans of the artist to attend.

We would love nothing more than for our community and people in the UAE and region to recognise the positive impact Tarek had on all of us

Faisal Al Hassan,
head of Warehouse421

"It is often hard to find the right words at times like this," said Faisal Al Hassan, head of Warehouse421, in an email invite. "Tarek’s passing has hit us hard, and its shock is yet to dissipate. Tarek was a dear friend and a great support to many of us. He was a mentor to many artists and creatives from our community. He was kind to everyone who knew him, generous with his time and advice. He was a cornerstone to our creative community."

Hassan says everyone is invited to the event, which will take place at 6pm in the Zayed Port gallery.

Al-Ghoussein was born in 1962 in Kuwait to parents of Palestinian origin. His father was a diplomat and he grew up in various locations around the world, including the US, Morocco and Japan.

The artist earned his bachelor of fine arts degree in photography from New York University in 1985 and then a masters in photography from the University of New Mexico in 1989. He worked as a photojournalist after graduating, later transitioning into art photography.

His last work, the unfinished project Odysseus, set out to document all of Abu Dhabi’s 214 islands. He had begun working on the series in 2015, persevering through the Covid-19 pandemic, and had captured about 160 islands by the end of his life.

Scroll through the gallery below to see more of Tarek Al-Ghoussein's 'Odysseus' project

'Abu Dhabi Archipelago, (Marawah)' by Tarek Al-Ghoussein. All images courtesy the artist and The Third Line, Dubai

'Abu Dhabi Archipelago (Ras Gharab 2)' by Tarek Al-Ghoussein

'Abu Dhabi Archipelago, (Ramhan)' by Tarek Al-Ghoussein

View of Tarek Al-Ghoussein's 'Odysseus' at The Third Line

'Abu Dhabi Archipelago (Al Habel Al Abyad)' by Tarek Al-Ghoussein

'Abu Dhabi Archipelago, (Hami Rohah Gassar)' by Tarek Al-Ghoussein

'Abu Dhabi Archipelago (Gassar 2)' by Tarek Al-Ghoussein