Associate Manager of Curatorial Projects at The NYUAD Art Gallery Tala Nassar commented:
Our intimate Project Space has always been critical to our mission, as part of The NYUAD Art Gallery department, nurturing regional talents, and making a place for experimentation and new ideas. We open this year with a great lineup of exhibitions featuring emerging artists from both our UAE and NYUAD communities. We are very excited to welcome everyone back in person after two years, further broadening and deepening our engagement with the UAE audiences and beyond.
The Project Space’s upcoming exhibition, Almaha Jaralla: Shadia, will open to the public tomorrow, Thursday, September 29, followed by three more exhibitions this Fall. Curated by Emirati artist and curator Hashel Al Lamki, Shadia is the latest body of work by Emirati artist Almaha Jaralla. It recounts the artist’s recent family history of migration in the Arabian Peninsula and documents collective memories of the artist’s maternal family members and their relocation within the region.
Then, opening October 20, Mahmood Al Daoud: The Flow of Stillness is a solo exhibition by Mahmood Al Daoud, a Syrian artist based in Abu Dhabi. This exhibition features mixed-media works, including some where the artist utilizes sand and other materials from nature. Artworks include a light-reflecting resin installation with sand from across UAE, sketches of boats, mixed media works on canvas, and a dark room installation, a short film immersing audiences in a feeling of sandy environments.
The exhibition, Noura Ali-Ramahi: Allow Me Not to Explain, grew out of the Lebanese-born Emirati artist Noura Ali-Ramahi’s struggle to explain her work. Running from November 10–23, Ali-Ramahi invites audiences to experience her work, to meditate on the objects, and to derive their own meaning out of them. Her artistic practice is one of repetitive meditation. She is largely inspired by her daily walks, an act of repetitive movement in and of itself. In her works, Ali-Ramahi portrays the nature that she encounters on her strolls, be it the sunrise, the sunset, the shape of the sun, the earth, or the sea. She recycles found material to create her work: wax paper that came with a cheese order; a piece of cardboard that wrapped an Amazon package; or even a paper-bag from a retail brand.
Finally, opening December 6 is Coin-Op: Exploring the Spirit of ‘80s and ‘90s Arcade Games by artists Jonathan Bonner, Steven Doughty, and Eric Martin. Coin-Op is an interactive installation looking at the retro arcade experience and explores the community and spirit that lived in these spaces. From multiple-player cabinets to single-player experiences, the Coin-Op arcade will give the audience a feel of 80’s nostalgia. Participants will have the opportunity to play many classic 1980s 8 and 16-bit games with a modern twist (designed by Jonathan Bonner). Cabinets designed by Bonner are made mostly of recycled and reused materials and will reflect the interactivity and community aspects of gaming. Participants will also take in uniquely created sights and sounds of the 1980s arcade era while exploring the Coin-Op Arcade (designed by Steve Doughty and Eric Martin).
Located in the The Arts Center and supported by the museum staff of The NYUAD Art Gallery, The Project Space is a non-commercial gallery dedicated to Abu Dhabi community projects. The Project Space gives priority to exhibitions from within the academic and regional community, including the annual Senior Capstone Festival, faculty-curated exhibitions, experimental projects, and the work of regional emerging artists.
About The NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery
Established in 2014, The NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Art Gallery is the Gulf’s first and only university gallery with a program of scholarly and experimental museum exhibitions. The program seeks to map new territories and ideas through presenting exhibitions by internationally established artists, curators, and scholars at its main space. Its auxiliary venue, the Project Space, is an exhibition laboratory for the university community, and for emerging artists and curators.
Situated within NYU Abu Dhabi, the community of which hails from over 115 countries, The Art Gallery organizes free public programs and guided tours in conjunction with its groundbreaking exhibitions. It also produces scholarly publications, which are a core part of its curatorial frame and reflect its academic mission. Collectively, with the Gallery’s Reading Room, these welcoming, intimate spaces open up artistic opportunities and initiate regional and international dialogue.
Explore more Art with The NYUAD Art Gallery
About NYU Abu Dhabi
NYU Abu Dhabi is the first comprehensive liberal arts and research campus in the Middle East to be operated abroad by a major American research university. NYU Abu Dhabi has integrated a highly selective program with majors in the sciences, engineering, social sciences, arts, and humanities with a world center for advanced research. Its campus enables students to succeed in an increasingly interdependent world, and to advance cooperation and progress on humanity’s shared challenges.
NYU Abu Dhabi’s high-achieving students have come from some 120 countries and speak over 115 languages. Together, NYU’s campuses in New York, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai form the backbone of a unique global university, giving faculty and students opportunities to experience varied learning environments and immersion in other cultures at one or more of the numerous study-abroad sites NYU maintains on six continents.
