The Cultural Foundation Abu Dhabi’s three new exhibitions, launched simultaneously, are a captivating exploration of the future, diversity and legacy of the region's art world.
Among the trio is Life is a Circus — the Foundation’s first NFT art exhibition, which is an immersive and playful collection of work connecting the UAE’s contemporary artistic heritage with its digital future. Building on the foundation laid by Emirati artist Jalal Luqman, who produced the foundation's first digital art exhibition in 1996, Life is a Circus invited 22 digital artists living in the UAE to produce work specifically for the show.
Exploring the evolution of digital art, the images tackle the fickle nature of the online world and the highly visual language of contemporary life. As the Foundation’s first NFT art exhibition, these artworks are also available to purchase online.
The second exhibition, Lullabies: A Journey Through Song, is an expansive and engaging curation of sleep tunes from various regions, including the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
Highlighting the historical context and nature of each lullaby through different mediums, the exhibition offers an insight into the shared values they hold across generations and cultures — as one of the first forms of communication, bridging music and storytelling.
However, the foundation’s flagship exhibition is Fahrelnissa and the Institutes: Towards a Sky — a monumental, compelling exhibition, featuring includes a selection of abstract works by four pioneering internationally acclaimed female artists from Jordan — Fahrelnissa Zeid, Wijdan, Hind Nasser and Ufemia Rizk.
The exhibition is a tangible reminder of the progressive prowess and nuance of contemporary female Arab artists and their continued influence on art, mentorship and community in the region.
Zeid, who was born in Turkey and later settled in Jordan, in particular is a powerhouse of great influence. While framed in the exhibition as one of Jordan's quintessential artists, her work demonstrates an outward-looking, international focus — ahead of her time in her approach, execution and quality of work.
Reem Fadda, the director of The Cultural Foundation, tells The National it is time "to talk about the influence of Fahrelnissa Zeid".
“I've long been invested in telling the stories of our region, our thinkers, intellectuals and artists. And these women are it. These are the ones that shouldered progressive thinking for our societies. And the fact that they're all women is not lost on me, or on anyone.”
During her expansive career, Zeid established The Royal National Jordanian Institute Fahrelnissa Zeid of Fine Arts at her home in Amman, where women were challenged and pushed to further their artistic limits.
Wijdan, another influential driving force, also established educational frameworks in Amman that taught and nurtured artists. Nasser and Rizk, who are Zeid's former students, have created their own profound and exploratory bodies of work, while contributing to community building in the art world.
Each of the artists’ work is given its own section, starting with Zeid. Her dynamic style is instantly captivating not only for her manipulation of light and colour, but also by the skill she possesses as an artist to command large canvases.
“We are not trying to overemphasise that she is the embodiment of globalisation,” says Fadda.
“She is from the Middle East and knows how to carry that culture into a universal language completely. She also takes cues from her western influences and puts them into her own unique vocabulary. She's unmatched in terms of the scale of her paintings and abstracted style.”
Zeid’s work speaks for itself. She infuses many elements of life and culture, from the tangible and intangible, into a highly sophisticated visual language that is both transcultural and timeless.
Aside from the individual abstract voices of these artists, the incredible large-scale paintings, thoughtfully curated in the space, highlights that link of mentorship, education and community between artists and women.
Nasser’s entrancing works clearly display that lineage of mentorship between women, so intrinsically fundamental to the exhibition.
“Unconsciously, women in our part of the world want to prove themselves to themselves, before proving themselves to others. And this was my journey with things,” she says.
Nasser, whose work is brilliantly overwhelming, yet balanced in her understanding of colour combinations and her command of painterly gestures, emphasises the importance of understanding that creative work comes from continuous work, cultural exposure and mentorship — much like what she experienced under the guidance of Zeid.
“These histories should have been told and celebrated from the start,” says Fadda.
“I think we're at least 40 years late to showcase them. It's unfortunate that we're always playing catch up to our own histories and our own legacies.”
All three exhibitions are running at the Cultural Foundation, Abu Dhabi, until February 2.
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Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
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LAST 16
SEEDS
Liverpool, Manchester City, Barcelona, Paris St-Germain, Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig, Valencia, Juventus
PLUS
Real Madrid, Tottenham, Atalanta, Atletico Madrid, Napoli, Borussia Dortmund, Lyon, Chelsea
UAE v IRELAND
All matches start at 10am, and will be played in Abu Dhabi
1st ODI, Friday, January 8
2nd ODI, Sunday, January 10
3rd ODI, Tuesday, January 12
4th ODI, Thursday, January 14
Gifts exchanged
- King Charles - replica of President Eisenhower Sword
- Queen Camilla - Tiffany & Co vintage 18-carat gold, diamond and ruby flower brooch
- Donald Trump - hand-bound leather book with Declaration of Independence
- Melania Trump - personalised Anya Hindmarch handbag
RESULTS
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The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
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Founders: Michele Ferrario, Nino Ulsamer and Freddy Lim
Started: established in 2016 and launched in July 2017
Based: Singapore, with offices in the UAE, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand
Sector: FinTech, wealth management
Initial investment: $500,000 in seed round 1 in 2016; $2.2m in seed round 2 in 2017; $5m in series A round in 2018; $12m in series B round in 2019; $16m in series C round in 2020 and $25m in series D round in 2021
Current staff: more than 160 employees
Stage: series D
Investors: EightRoads Ventures, Square Peg Capital, Sequoia Capital India
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
