Tea with Culture

Hind Mezaina meets Maya Allison, Bana Kattan and Alaa Edris from NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery to talk about the exhibition But We Cannot See Them: Tracing a UAE Art Community, 1988-2008.

The exhibition looks at the role of one of the most important artistic communities in the history of the UAE that played a key role in developing and influencing artists in the country. A community who turned to one another for support and encouraged radical, formal and conceptual experimentation despite their initial rejection by art and cultural institutions in the UAE.

In tandem with the exhibition there's a a book of interviews with the artists. Together, the exhibition and book begin the process of tracing this pivotal artistic community in the key years of its formation. The exhibition features works by:

Hassan Sharif

Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim

Abdullah Al Saadi

Mohammed Kazem

Hussein Sharif

Vivek Vilasini

Jos Clevere

Ebtisam Abdulaziz

Exhibition link: http://www.nyuad-artgallery.org/en_US/exhibitions/but-we-cannot-see-them/

Exhibition dates: 2 March - 2 September 2017

In this episode, Hind Mezaina interviews Yasmin Atassi from Green Art Gallery in Dubai about the exhibition Modernist Women of Egypt. The exhibition focuses on the period between the 1950s and early 1970s, it reflects on the role of women artists from that period and addresses issues of nationalism, womanhood, activism, traditions and multiculturalism. Yasmin and Hind discuss the reasons behind the show, the artists featured in it, the representation of women in art and if this is a feminist exhibition.

The exhibition features works by Inji Efflatoun, Vessela Farid, Tahia Halim, Zeinab Abdel Hamid, Effat Naghi, Marguerite Nakhla, Gazbia Sirry, and Margo Veillon.

Exhibition link: http://www.gagallery.com/exhibitions/modernist-women-of-egypt

Exhibition dates: 22 May - 27 July 2017

In this episode, Hind Mezaina interviews Yasmin Atassi from Green Art Gallery in Dubai about the exhibition Modernist Women of Egypt. The exhibition focuses on the period between the 1950s and early 1970s, it reflects on the role of women artists from that period and addresses issues of nationalism, womanhood, activism, traditions and multiculturalism. Yasmin and Hind discuss the reasons behind the show, the artists featured in it, the representation of women in art and if this is a feminist exhibition.

The exhibition features works by Inji Efflatoun, Vessela Farid, Tahia Halim, Zeinab Abdel Hamid, Effat Naghi, Marguerite Nakhla, Gazbia Sirry, and Margo Veillon.

Exhibition link: http://www.gagallery.com/exhibitions/modernist-women-of-egypt

Exhibition dates: 22 May - 27 July 2017

In this episode, Hind Mezaina is in conversation with curator Munira Al Sayegh's exhibition Bayn: The In-Between at Warehouse 421 in Abu Dhabi.

The exhibition features work by the following artists:

Asma Al Ahmed

Hatem Hatem

Maytha Al Shamsi

Nasser Alzayani

Saif Mhaisen

Sara Al Haddad

Talal Al Ansari

Talin Hazbar

Manal Al Dowayan, as special guest artist

Exhibition link: http://www.uaeunlimited.org/bayn

Exhibition dates: 25 February - 18 June 2017

In this episode, Hind Mezaina is in conversation with curator Munira Al Sayegh's exhibition Bayn: The In-Between at Warehouse 421 in Abu Dhabi.

The exhibition features work by the following artists:

Asma Al Ahmed

Hatem Hatem

Maytha Al Shamsi

Nasser Alzayani

Saif Mhaisen

Sara Al Haddad

Talal Al Ansari

Talin Hazbar

Manal Al Dowayan, as special guest artist

Exhibition link: http://www.uaeunlimited.org/bayn

Exhibition dates: 25 February - 18 June 2017

Reza Aramesh talks about the series of sculptures he has been working on, after a show at Leila Heller in Dubai in 2016 more work was presented for Art Dubai (when we had this interview) and leading us to his most current installation at Art Basel. Reza explains the conceptualisation of his work, as well as discussing his usage of the male figure, as well as the body (in art) in general.

Reza will be participating in the Parcours section of Art Basel from June 15 to June 18, presenting three larger scale hand-carved and polished marble sculptures “Site of the Fall: Study of the Reaniassance Garden” which use the classical aesthetic, along with male figure from contemporary media to question the traditional representation of suffering as he had explained in this interview.

You can see more of his work at http://www.leilahellergallery.com/artists/reza-aramesh

and for more information on the pieces at Art Basel https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/17392

Reza Aramesh talks about the series of sculptures he has been working on, after a show at Leila Heller in Dubai in 2016 more work was presented for Art Dubai (when we had this interview) and leading us to his most current installation at Art Basel. Reza explains the conceptualisation of his work, as well as discussing his usage of the male figure, as well as the body (in art) in general.

Reza will be participating in the Parcours section of Art Basel from June 15 to June 18, presenting three larger scale hand-carved and polished marble sculptures “Site of the Fall: Study of the Reaniassance Garden” which use the classical aesthetic, along with male figure from contemporary media to question the traditional representation of suffering as he had explained in this interview.

You can see more of his work at http://www.leilahellergallery.com/artists/reza-aramesh

and for more information on the pieces at Art Basel https://www.artbasel.com/catalog/artist/17392

An interview with Hadeyeh Badri and Hala Al Ani from Möbius Design Studio about Design House 2017: Change, Coordinates + Someone Else an exhibition curated by Möbius Design Studio at 1971 Design Space in Sharjah.

The exhibition is a result of investigating the conditions of a location and a group of people and the proposed design-driven solutions that came out of these investigations which address existing short-comings or uncover hidden potentials that could support, improve the quality of life, or give voice to the people they spoke to.

The exhibition includes the following projects:

- Adaptive Space by Cristiano Luchetti

- Emptiness by Caravan (Ivan Parati, Emanuela Corti)

- The Little Ambassadors by Mays Albeik

- Little Syria in the Heart of Sharjah by Reem Falaknaz and Tulip Hazbar

- Nomadic Shadow by Juan Roldan Martin and Beatriz Itzel Cruz Megchun

- Stitchanonymous by Ola Dajani

- Wajha: Sharjah Edition by Ali Almasri and Hussein Alazaat

"What is considered change? In its simplest forms, change is a shift, a development or deterioration, a revision, or a redefinition, a transformation, an adjustment, an evolution, a revolution. Change is often instigated by curiosity and imagination; curiosity to find answers to unsolved mysteries and/or an imagination that goes wild, beyond what currently is to what could potentially be. Change starts with an observation, a question; a critical, uncompromising eye."

The show is up until Saturday 27 May, 2017 10:00PM

Read more here --> 1971design.ae/en/exhibitions/146…ates-someone-else/.

An interview with Hadeyeh Badri and Hala Al Ani from Möbius Design Studio about Design House 2017: Change, Coordinates + Someone Else an exhibition curated by Möbius Design Studio at 1971 Design Space in Sharjah.

The exhibition is a result of investigating the conditions of a location and a group of people and the proposed design-driven solutions that came out of these investigations which address existing short-comings or uncover hidden potentials that could support, improve the quality of life, or give voice to the people they spoke to.

The exhibition includes the following projects:

- Adaptive Space by Cristiano Luchetti

- Emptiness by Caravan (Ivan Parati, Emanuela Corti)

- The Little Ambassadors by Mays Albeik

- Little Syria in the Heart of Sharjah by Reem Falaknaz and Tulip Hazbar

- Nomadic Shadow by Juan Roldan Martin and Beatriz Itzel Cruz Megchun

- Stitchanonymous by Ola Dajani

- Wajha: Sharjah Edition by Ali Almasri and Hussein Alazaat

"What is considered change? In its simplest forms, change is a shift, a development or deterioration, a revision, or a redefinition, a transformation, an adjustment, an evolution, a revolution. Change is often instigated by curiosity and imagination; curiosity to find answers to unsolved mysteries and/or an imagination that goes wild, beyond what currently is to what could potentially be. Change starts with an observation, a question; a critical, uncompromising eye."

The show is up until Saturday 27 May, 2017 10:00PM

Read more here --> 1971design.ae/en/exhibitions/146…ates-someone-else/.

Interview with Hadeyeh Badri about her solo exhibition The Body Keeps the Score at Tashkeel in Dubai.

“The Body Keeps the Score” by Hadeyeh Badri explores the intimate and personal account of losing her late aunt, Shahnaz Badri. The body of work started as an act of commemoration with Badri safekeeping her late aunt Shahnaz Badri's belongings out of an innate fear that she would be forgotten. Observations from the hospital dominate some of Badri’s most cherished and at the same time, most dreaded memories. As her aunt’s primary caretaker at the hospital, she was witness to repeated waves of recovery and relapse, and eventually, as the doctors coined it, ‘deterioration’. “Language is insufficient when describing painful or traumatic experiences” says Badri.

Read more and see images from the exhibition at http://tashkeel.org/exhibitions/the-body-keeps-the-score

Exhibition dates: 13 April - 13 May 2017 (extended till 17 May 2017)