COMMISSIONS & INSTALLATIONS
Bringing art to the public arena, Abu Dhabi Art provides a platform for commissioned installations as part of the Beyond programme and collaborates with partners to bring commissioned projects to different locations in Abu Dhabi.
Beyond: Emerging Artists
An annual initiative since 2017 that aims to provide three emerging artists in the UAE with a platform from which to develop their practice and realise ambitious art projects. The selected artists are chosen by a guest curator each year. They undertake a year-long programme of workshops and studio visits under the mentoring and the supervision of the curator which leads toward the realisation of a project for the Abu Dhabi Art fair in November. The works remain on exhibition to the public for several months beyond the fair dates.
Beyond: Artist Commissions
Launched in 2017. Each year, Abu Dhabi Art invites three established and well-known artists to create site-specific works in historic sites in Al Ain and the wider Abu Dhabi emirate, to activate these sites and draw new audiences to them. The works created by the commissioned artists are revealed during Abu Dhabi Art and remain on show to the public for several months afterwards.
Public Art
Abu Dhabi Art collaborates with corporate partners to bring commissioned permanent public art to Abu Dhabi Emirate.
2020 Beyond: Emerging Artists
In a year of forced hiatus, experiences of time have become distorted. Aborted plans have altered our sense of the future; drawn-out periods of isolation have prompted reassessments of the past. These conditions have provided productive new spaces to consider the qualities and possibilities of memory, from the collective and cultural to the personal and traumatic. Through their distinctive practices, each artist investigates how experiences of remembrance are constituted.
Curator: Maya El-Khalil
Artists: Hind Mezaina | Afra Al Dhaheri | Afra Al Suwaidi
Special Olympics Garden
Six major permanent public artworks were commissioned by Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi 2019 to celebrate people of determination as part of the legacy of the Games. Developed in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi, the works were created by six internationally renowned artists in a commissioning process managed by Abu Dhabi Art.
Artists: Etel Adnan, Sfeir-Semler Gallery | Mehmet Ali Uysal, Pi artworks | Nadim Karam, Ayyam Gallery | Noh Jun, Leehwaik Gallery | Pascale Marthine Tayou, GALLERIA CONTINUA | Wael Shawky, Lisson Gallery
Location: Special Olympics Garden, Manarat Al Saadiyat
Reem Central Park
Aldar Properties PJSC (‘Aldar’), in partnership with Abu Dhabi Art has commissioned a series of public artworks in its Reem Central Park as part of its ongoing efforts to enhance Abu Dhabi’s urban landscape with accessible art within its destinations across the Emirate.
Local artists Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim and Ramin Haerizadeh, Rokni Haerizadeh and Hesam Rahmanian, were commissioned to embellish surfaces of Reem Central Park on Reem Island, creating an even more interesting environment for visitors to the one million square foot park.
The artists were inspired by the multitude of visitors to the park from different cultures, as well as pre-Islamic poetry, Arabic folklore, and motifs found on items from collections at Louvre Abu Dhabi and Etihad Museum. The public art works now adorn 24 pillars surrounding the 2,400 sqm skate park, staircases and four playgrounds, and four bollard walls, adding another element to the popular attraction, which also features sports facilities and a water and light show.
Artists: Ramin Haerizadeh, Rokni Haerizadeh and Hesam Rahmanian (Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde) | Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim (Lawrie Shabibi)
Location: Reem Central Park, Al Reem Island
