Emirati artist Farah Al Qasimi's photography on free display at London's Tate Modern

The National

4 days ago

A selection of photographs by Emirati artist Farah Al Qasimi is available for public display at Tate Modern in London.
The free-to-view installation is part of the Artist and Society wing in Room 12 on Level 2 of the museum's Natalie Bell Building. The current space is curated by Nabila Abdel Nabi and Bilal Akkouche, and will remain on view until October.
The display features works that reflect Al Qasimi 's interest in everyday life and visual culture in the UAE and the US, including images of domestic interiors, beauty salons, small businesses and staged scenes from private homes. The images are layered, extending to the vinyl wallpapers that animate the photographic and videographic work.
Born in Abu Dhabi and based between the UAE and New York, the multidisciplinary creative is known for her use of colour, pattern and humour to explore themes such as identity, gender, and postcolonial influence. Her work often focuses on how culture is shaped and expressed through material objects and interior spaces.
Al Qasimi's work is part of the collections at MoMA New York, Tate Modern, Guggenheim New York as well as the upcoming Guggenheim Abu Dhabi museum, according to Dubai's Third Line gallery.
The artist has participated in residencies at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine, Delfina Foundation in London and Chinati Foundation in Texas. In 2025, she was selected by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to be a Guggenheim Fellow.
One of the featured works in the Tate's collection is Woman in Leopard Print (2019), which is part of a series that focuses on interiors, colour, texture and graphic textiles. According to Tate Modern, the work engages with 'cultural signifiers, gendered expressions of identity and the colonial legacies of the Middle East'.
Al Qasimi said the photograph, which shows a woman in a leopard-print headscarf holding up a make-up compact mirror, 'was modelled after a family photograph of my most fab auntie' in an Instagram post.
Other artists included in the exhibition include Egyptian Wael Shawky, who will serve as artistic director of the upcoming Art Basel Qatar.
The display is part of Tate Modern's ongoing commitment to showcasing contemporary art from the Middle East and North Africa. Admission is free.