The Dubai Collection has announced that the first physical exhibition will take place to display new pieces of artwork.
The collection will be open from 6 November from 10am to 8pm at Etihad Museum.
Some of the pieces of artwork belong to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, as well as pieces from private and corporate collections.
The exhibition, 'When Images Speak', has been curated by Dr Nada Shabout and will showcase pieces of modern and contemporary art from across the region, tracing a historical survey of Arab modernism and its progression into contemporary trends.
With three thematic chapters, the first will focus on Abstract Variations and will feature artworks by prominent artists from the region.
The first chapter will highlight abstraction in modern Arab art as well as how Arab artists during the mid-and second half of the 20th century used abstraction as a way of claiming identity and a form of resistance while others questioned its ability to connect with the public and prohibited art from playing a bigger role in national education.
The second chapter, Societies in Transition, will feature artists investigations into society, history, family, mythologies and culture.
With a focus on the local struggles for independence and the formation of nations as well as showcasing their own realities.
The last chapter, Evoking the Environment, will highlight how painting cities became a method of constructing and documenting the vision of an ideal nation as well as capturing the transformations of small towns and villages into larger urban spaces.
Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority and Chair of the Dubai Collection’s Steering Committee said, “The opening of When Images Speak is an important milestone in the Dubai Collection’s trajectory, as it presents the actualisation of an innovative initiative conceptualised right here in Dubai. This could not have happened without the trust of our patrons and their belief in the ambition of this project that seeks to bring art in the Emirate to the public and public spaces in the UAE and abroad; connect patrons with locally-based artists, and collectively build Dubai’s art collection supporting its cultural sector.”