![Emirati artist Hassan Sharif, who died in 2016, at his studio at The Flying house in Al Quoz, Dubai, in 2012. Antonie Robertson / The National](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/6ESAYFRFCZQYG3AZIBSRZWWWCQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=0d48dd1f341a98c12881c4e5b9b6a554dd57a6694dc4e236b86649a637a23be0&width=400&height=225)
Emirati artist Hassan Sharif, who died in 2016, at his studio at The Flying house in Al Quoz, Dubai, in 2012. Antonie Robertson / The National
Emirati artist Hassan Sharif, who died in 2016, at his studio at The Flying house in Al Quoz, Dubai, in 2012. Antonie Robertson / The National
A look back: the five UAE artists who shaped the country's contemporary art scene
These Emirati artists are considered to be the pioneers of contemporary art in the UAE, starting in the 1980s