But We Cannot See Them: Tracing a UAE Art Community 1988-2008

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