Press Report:
Additional opportunities to present dynamic work, engage with Abu Dhabi Community and celebrate ideas around new trajectories in art
October 9, 2013 Abu Dhabi | A new artist-led section within Abu Dhabi Art’s fair , an expanded design programme with a focus on architecture and UAE aesthetics, a launch of a performing arts platform that coincides with the four day event (20-23 November) are some of the many highlights of the Abu Dhabi Art 2013 edition.
Reflecting the growth of Abu Dhabi’s artistic scene the new performing arts programme titled Durub Al Tawaya which refers to the Emirati term tawaya (points of respite where desert travellers could find underground water springs and respite). Curated by Tarek Abou El Fetouh, the programme begins in Saadiyat Cultural District and expands into the city of Abu Dhabi, creating a special route connected by enactments and cultural happenings.
Audiences are invited to follow paths on buses – ‘contemporary installations’ commissioned by artists from the UAE and abroad – to several outdoor, communal spaces transformed by performances and artistic interventions. Each of the four stops on the route are of significance within the city (Manarat Al Saadiyat, Mina Zayed the city’s historic port, the Corniche Beach and the Marina area) and will host a series of activities and performances with a diversity of artists, poets, performers and institutions. This includes Afra Al Dhahri, Contemporary Image Collective, Cao Fei, Mobius Studio, Ho Tzu Nyen, Selma and Sofiane Ouissi, Salem Al Qassimi, Hamdan Al Shamsi, Wael Shawky, Rayyan Tabet, Hiroaki Umeda, 98 Weeks, and an evening of poetry will run in collaboration with UAE Writers Union.
A new section of Abu Dhabi Art will also be launched in the 5th edition, titled Artists’ Waves, a concept that places the discovery and re-discovery of artists at the core of the four-day event, through a curated exhibition. Works reflect the dynamism of new artistic movements and shifting perceptions. The section includes a special salon in which visitors can engage with galleries representing the participating artists, in a rotating programme, reminiscent of the age-old tradition of the salon as a place for creativity and the sharing of ideas.
“The 5th edition of Abu Dhabi Art heralds a moment of maturity, creativity and renewal for the city’s art scene. Artists’ Waves gives collectors and visitors an exhibition-setting to discover new artists. Ultimately it’s a discourse on the function of the conventional art fair platform because rather than artists’ work being chosen by galleries that represent them, inclusion in this section is determined by curators,” says Rita Aoun-Abdo, Executive Director, Culture Sector, Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority.
