Latest news with #AWildStitch
What's On
14-04-2025
- Entertainment
- What's On
4 art festivals to catch in Dubai before the end of April
Art for all… We're halfway through April, and if you're looking to finish off the month with some art to explore, we've got you covered. These are some of the biggest art and culture festivals to take place on the city's annual calendar – cut into not just local, but also global artistic spaces with these celebrations of creativity. Alserkal Art Week Alserkal Art Week is back in the new year – in great news for all the art enthusiasts, culture crawlers and fine philosophy fiends – and this year, the week-long programme invites you to lose yourself and discover a new meaning of rebellion with A Wild Stitch , the theme of this stint. Running from April 13 to 20, this edition comes as a challenger to singular perspectives, as always responding to the need of the hour and the region, and reaffirming it's role in sparking a flame of unabashed, bold conversation around the present. Singularity is a fallacy, but why? Why do we need perspectives of variety, of multiplicity, hybridity? Through this curation, take an alternate look at narratives that refuse to be neatly stitched into submission. Discover the full programme here. Alserkal Art Week, Alserkal Avenue, Apr 13 to 20, @alserkalavenue World Art Dubai The region's largest contemporary art fair is back for another exciting edition. The holy grail of art exhibitions will run from April 17 to 20, 2025. This year, brought to you in collaboration with Dubai Culture, World Art Dubai 2025 is all about empowering local and international creative prowess. With over 400 artists and galleries from more than 65 countries, this year's fair promises an immersive experience with 10,000+ artworks, live art demonstrations, and new international pavilions from Zimbabwe, Mongolia, Australia, Estonia, and more. This edition also introduces new features, including a VIP Preview, a Hosted Buyer Programme, a Textile Hub, and a Public Art Initiative extending beyond the exhibition halls. World Art Dubai, World Trade Centre, Dubai, April 17 to 20, Dhs15, @worldartdubai Art Dubai One of the biggest, boldest, and most unmissable events on the global art calendar, Art Dubai is where creativity, culture, and cutting-edge ideas collide. Expect jaw-dropping installations, world-class galleries, and a serious dose of inspiration. But it's not just for art insiders, there's a packed schedule of talks, performances, digital art explorations, and even fun activities for the little ones. All of this unfolds over three electric days at Madinat Jumeirah from April 18 to 20, with previews on April 16 and 17. This year, Art Dubai brings together 120 galleries from 67 cities across 39 countries, with nearly half hailing from the GCC and the rest spotlighting underrepresented voices from the Global South. Expect fresh perspectives, bold statements, and an art experience that goes way beyond the white cube. Art Dubai, Madinat Jumeirah Conference & Events Centre, Al Sufouh 1, Dubai, April 18 to 20, Tel: (0)4 563 1400, Bluewaters Art Festival Taking place at Bluewaters Dubai, the nine-day art festival will add a splash of colour to the city's prominent waterfront destination. It is set to take place starting this weekend, from April 12 to 20, 2025. The Bluewaters Art Festival will centre around the theme 'Reconnect', and will feature over 20 awe-inspiring murals, interactive installations, live performances, and hands-on workshops. It takes place under the night sky, essentially turning Bluewaters Dubai into a vibrant open-air gallery. The festival will run from 4pm to midnight – so you don't have to worry about burning your skin exploring under the sun. Bluewaters Art Festival, Bluewaters Island, until April 20, @bluewatersdubai Images: Supplied/Socials > Sign up for FREE to get exclusive updates that you are interested in
The National
21-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
What to see at Alserkal Art Week in April, from exhibitions to public discussions
Dubai's arts district, Alserkal Avenue, has announced a week-long programme of exhibitions and public discussions in April. Alserkal Art Week will run from April 13 to 20 under the theme A Wild Stitch. The programme 'gathers voices challenging the single grand narrative, carefully threading space for multiplicity, hybridity and alternative perspectives that refuse to be neatly stitched into place'. Among the highlights is Vanishing Points, a mixed-media exhibition inspired by South Asian cityscapes, at Concrete. The show will include photography, video, painting, and a site-specific installation. Works by Emirati artist Nujoom Al Ghanem and Indian artist Shilpa Gupta will be displayed throughout Alserkal Avenue. Curated by writer Fatos Ustek, Al Ghanem's photography explores the connection between identity and the surrounding physical landscape, while Gupta's sculptures take inspiration from the desert and the sea. A diverse selection of regional and international galleries will present exhibitions centred on themes of displacement, resilience, and identity. I Am Soil. My Tears Are Water, a solo exhibition by Cuban artist Magdalena Campos-Pons at Efie Gallery, is a reflection on ancestral memory shaped by colonial histories across Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. Meanwhile, Iraqi-Palestinian artist Sama Alshaibi will present a photographic series capturing Baghdad's shifting landscapes at Ayyam Gallery. Leila Heller Gallery is staging Iranian artist Reza Derakshani's first solo exhibition in five years. I Paint Your Grace, I Paint Your Pain, I Paint Your Love is a meditation on memory and personal transformation. The programme also includes Majlis Talks, a series of public discussions in which participants will debate 'unrealistic questions and impossible positions' within the UAE's arts scene. Alserkal Avenue will also host the Hong Kong Film Festival, from Saturday until March 28 at Cinema Akil. Presented by the Asian Film Awards Academy, the festival screens a selection of films spanning romantic fantasy, classic cinema and action genres. This year's programme features newly released titles alongside timeless classics of Hong Kong cinema. Among the films showing is An Abandoned Team, starring Lawrence Cheng, Amy Lo and Jay Fung, and Montages of a Modern Motherhood, starring Hedwig Tam, Patra Au and Chun Yip Lo. In the classics slot is 1993's The Bride with White Hair, a beloved film in the wuxia (adventures of martial artists) genre, the film follows a young man who is set to succeed to his clan's throne, as he battles the powers of evil while falling in love with a female warrior.
What's On
19-03-2025
- Entertainment
- What's On
Alserkal Art Week 2025: Welcome dissent with A Wild Stitch
No neat stitches at Alserkal Art Week… Alserkal Art Week is back in the new year – in great news for all the art enthusiasts, culture crawlers and fine philosophy fiends – and this year, the week-long programme invites you to lose yourself and discover a new meaning of rebellion with A Wild Stitch , the theme of this stint. Running from April 13 to 20, this edition comes as a challenger to singular perspectives, as always responding to the need of the hour and the region, and reaffirming it's role in sparking a flame of unabashed, bold conversation around the present. Singularity is a fallacy, but why? Why do we need perspectives of variety, of multiplicity, hybridity? Through this curation, take an alternate look at narratives that refuse to be neatly stitched into submission. The flagship exhibition The highlight of the week, the flagship exhibition of this edition is Vanishing Points debuting new works by Pakistani artist Imran Qureshi, presented for the first time at Concrete. Curated by Nada Raza, the exhibition is all about miniature art and showcases photography, video, painting, and site-specific installations by Qureshi. Qureshi is a leading figure from the acclaimed Lahore school of contemporary Indo-Persian miniature painting, renowned for his innovative reimagining of this classical form. He captures the layered cityscapes of South Asia, where Mughal and Sikh architecture merge with the post-industrial present, rejecting the singular, narrow gaze of European perspective, by collaborating with skilled practitioners. Public Art Commissions Curated by independent writer and curator Fatoş Üstek, this year's public art commissions across the Avenue include Between a Beach and Slope , inspired by Emirati artist Nujoom Alghanem's poem of the same name and Indian artist Shilpa Gupta's light-text sculpture in The Yard, Still They Know Not What I Dream , gives form to silence and resistance. The commissions will be accompanied by talks by the artists and curator, live block-printing workshops,and a film screening. Majlis Talks Curated by Stephanie Bailey, the Majlis Talks hosts a special edition of Crit Club, a performance project. Framed as a sports tournament, the talks invite participants into a site-specific arena to dialogue and debate on unrealistic questions and impossible positions—drawn from conversations within the UAE art scene. Gallery Exhibitions Alserkal Art Week brings together artists from the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, and Latin America, with 16 galleries presenting exhibitions that confront histories of displacement, resilience, and identity. Some of these include Cuban artist María Magdalena Campos-Pons' I Am Soil. My Tears Are Water, Zawyeh Gallery's British-Palestinian artist Bashir Makhoul's The Promise, and Ayyam Gallery showcasing Iraqi-Palestinian Sama Alshaibi's photographs, reconstructing Baghdad's shifting landscapes through LiDAR technology and archives, bodies and identity. Discover the rest of the programme here… Alserkal Art Week, Alserkal Avenue, Apr 13 to 20, @alserkalavenue Images: Supplied > Sign up for FREE to get exclusive updates that you are interested in
