Our top arts picks this week: artists discuss creativity at NYUAD and more

Plus: how culture spread across Central Asia and a lens on India's rural communities.

Mays Albeik. Courtesy Mays Albeik

How commerce and culture spread in Central Asia

The Seljuqs were Central Asian nomads who controlled a huge amount of territory stretching across Turkmenistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey, from 1038 to 1307. Under their rule, the arts flourished and there were tremendous advances in science and technology, along with an increased prosperity. This exhibition in New York looks at their legacy. About 270 objects are on display, including textiles, metalwork, ceramics, glass, stucco, works on paper and woodwork, from loans from collections across the globe. Court and Cosmos: The Great Age of the Seljuqs runs from April 27 to July 24 at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art in New York. For more information, visit www.metmuseum.org

Vividly capturing India’s rural communities

This exhibition in India showcases the range of photographer Gauri Gill. Gill studied art in Delhi and explores emigration and the human condition. The photographs on display continue to engage with these themes. Her Notes from the Desert project, for example, looks at man's impact on landscapes in rural Rajasthan, such as the barbed wire boundary dividing India and Pakistan, water wells and graveyards. Other photographs document drawings made by local schoolchildren such as maps of their villages. Gauri Gill, The Mark on the Wall runs at the Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke in Mumbai until June 3. For more information, go to www.galeriems.com

Artists discuss creativity at NYUAD’s Gallery

Mohamed Al Mazrouei's preferred subjects are faces and the human form. The local artist has held four solo shows in the UAE. Mays Albeik, meanwhile, a third-generation Palestinian refugee born in the UAE, examines the stories that have shaped her identity, working with materials such as concrete blocks and candle wax. Both artists will participate in a panel discussion at New York University Abu Dhabi's Art Gallery, to explore themes relevant to their creative process. The discussion is also relevant to Diana Al Hadid's Phantom Limb, the exhibition currently on show there. The will be moderated by Salwa Mikdadi, an expert on the history of modern Arab art. Artist vs Material takes place at NYUAD Art Gallery on April 30. For more information, visit www.nyuad-artgallery.org