Latest news with #HectorZamora
FACT
19-03-2025
- Entertainment
- FACT
Alserkal Art Week returns to Dubai this April
Check out these shows from local and international artists. We're calling it: Alserkal Avenue is the art hub of Dubai. The streets are bursting with an impressive range of galleries, workshops and concept stores, all ready to provide you with a culture fix. To keep the momentum going, Alserkal Art Week is returning to the emirate. Taking place from 13 to 20 April, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai's leading creative hub in Al Quoz, will once again transform into an epicentre of contemporary art, creativity, and dialogue for Alserkal Art Week. Expect a mix of exhibitions, public art installations, talks, and performances that will spark your imagination. This year's theme, A Wild Stitch, dives into the messy, multi-layered nature of today's world. It's all about embracing complexity and voices that don't fit into standardised boxes. Expect bold conversations, alternative narratives, and plenty of surprises. Hector Zamora's Existence-emitting Movements The highlight of Alserkal Art Week is a show by Pakistani artist Imran Qureshi at Concrete, curated by Nada Raza. In this work, Imran Qureshi blends video, photography, painting, and installation to blur perspectives. His work beautifully captures the layered cityscapes of South Asia — think Mughal and Sikh architecture colliding with modern design. Moving on, new public art commissions will pop up at Alserkal Avenue as well. Under the theme and inspiration of Between a Beach and Slope — a poem by Emirati artist Nujoom Alghanem — Fatos Ustek has curated this display. Highlights here will include Indian artist Shilpa Gupta's light sculpture. Hector Zamora's performance-installation Existence-emitting Movements will also be on the agenda. Featuring performers interacting with vessels, this show will complement the artist's display at Art Dubai and its ongoing collaboration with Alserkal Avenue. Now, we know that art is subjective, but what happens when art enthusiasts get together under one roof to debate? Majlis Talks, curated by Stephanie Bailey, will bring together a set of artists, tackling questions about the art scene in the UAE. Several galleries will also be displaying their groundbreaking work as part of Alserkal Art Week. These include Efie Gallery spotlighting Cuban artist Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons' work exploring migration and ancestral memory, Zawyeh Gallery showcasing British-Palestinian artist Bashir Makhoul's piece, Ayyam Gallery displaying Baghdad's landscapes by Iraqi-Palestinian artist Sama Alshaibi, Leila Heller Gallery representing Iranian artist Reza Derakshani and much more. Beyond installations and exhibitions, Alserkal Art Week will also feature a lineup of artist talks, live workshops, film screenings and much more, offering plenty to dive in. Best of all, most of the exhibitions are free. So, when you need a break from painting the town, spend those dirhams at the local favourites like Bkry, LILA Molino, NALA and the FACT award-winning Nightjar Coffee Roasters. GO: Visit for more information.
FACT
06-03-2025
- Entertainment
- FACT
Art Dubai makes a much-awaited return to the city this April
This is the exhibition's 18th edition. The UAE is dedicated to preserving and encouraging culture and the arts. With numerous exhibitions and events taking place across the emirates, it's clear that the region wants to stay at the forefront of this sector. One event that stands out in this landscape is Art Dubai, and it's making an exciting return this year. Taking place from 18 to 20 April at Madinat Jumeirah, Art Dubai 2025 is back once again, supporting and enhancing Dubai's cultural ecosystem. Bringing together local and international artists, collectors and art enthusiasts, this event is one not to be missed. You can expect an exceptional lineup of over 120 exhibitors, installations and discussions at Art Dubai 2025. Mexican artist Hector Zamora will present a new series of performances and installations, marking the start of a multi-year partnership between Art Dubai and Alserkal Avenue. The fair will feature digital works as well, including those by Emirati artist Mohammed Kazem presented by Julius Baer, Ouchhh Studio, Breakfast, Jacopo Di Cera and Hybrid Xperience. You can also expect works exploring the relationship between technology, nature and human experience, with contributions from artists like Ania Soliman and Total Arts at the Courtyard. Engaging discussions with art collectors and experts will provide insights into collecting practices, emerging art trends and under-explored art histories. Piaget returns to Art Dubai 2025 with a commission by Kuwaiti artist Alyamamah Rashed, featured in the Play of Shape exhibition. Inspired by Piaget's bold styles from the 1960s and 1970s, this piece will debut at the fair. This year's Global Art Forum, titled The New New Normal, will delve into the intersection of art, technology and evolving cultural landscapes. Additionally, the Art Dubai Digital Summit, titled After the Technological Sublime, will explore the impact of AI and digital advancements on the art world. Art Dubai has been crucial in shaping the regional and global art scene since 2007. Now in its latest edition, the fair continues to foster collaborations to create opportunities for artists and cultural leaders. If you're an avid art collector or looking to immerse yourself in creativity, this is an event you won't want to miss. Tickets for Art Dubai 2025 are not live yet, but stay tuned at FACT for all the insights. GO: Visit for more information.
The National
05-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
What to expect at Art Dubai 2025: Digital work by Mohammed Kazem and AI-driven data sculptures
A digital commission by Emirati artist Mohammed Kazem and a series of performances and site-specific installations by Mexican artist Hector Zamora are among the highlights to expect at this year's Art Dubai. The fair will take place place at Madinat Jumeirah from April 18 to 20, with invitation-only previews on April 16 and 17. More than 120 exhibitors will be participating at the event. "For nearly two decades, Art Dubai has played two complementary roles, as the region's leading commercial art platform and as a unique institution that is rooted in and significantly contributes to the local cultural ecosystem,' says Pablo del Val, artistic director of Art Dubai. 'This year's programme continues this long-term approach, working in partnership with local institutions, business and government to create new opportunities for artists, and enhancing Dubai's reputation as a centre of innovation and thought leadership.' Art Dubai has now revealed the first details of its talk programme, as well as the commissioned works that will be revealed at the fair. Transformation is a focus of the Art Dubai Commissions programme this year. Zamora has interpreted this idea with sculptural pieces and group performances that interact with the terracotta objects. The artist will also unveil a site-specific installation at Alserkal Avenue. The work marks a new partnership between Art Dubai and Alserkal as the two organisations co-commission an artist whose practices are rooted in performance. A series of digital artworks, meanwhile, reflect on the theme: After the Technological Sublime. The works examine how technological advancements instill awe for human achievements, but they also evoke anxiety as the systems go beyond our control and distract us from vital environment, social, cultural and political challenges. Ouchhh Studio, for instance, will return to the fair to present MotherEarth. The AI-driven data sculpture transmutes raw climate data – such as air quality and CO2 emissions – into a sensory experience. Breakfast, a data artist living and working in New York, will exhibit Carbon Wake, a kinetic installation that is digitally controlled and makes use of real-time energy data collected from around the world to show the impact of individual choices. Other highlights include Retreat by Italian artist Jacopo Di Cera. The work underscores climate issues by showing the melting of the Brenva glacier in the Italian Alps in a four-metre-tall piece comprising more than 30 screens. Dubai's Hybrid Xperience, meanwhile, will give audiences a chance to visualise their dreams using AI technology. In Kahrabaa, Arabic for electricity, Ania Soliman presents a large-scale installation that was created in response to Beirut's ongoing energy crisis. Soliman, who has Egyptian, Polish and American backgrounds, presents her work on a five-metre-high canvas, which features technological and organic materials. Total Arts at the Courtyard will present Reconstructed Landscape, a work that brings together various found objects from UAE's mountains and urban environments into an imagined topology. Kazem will unveil a digital commission presented by Swiss wealth management company Julius Baer. The installation is titled Directions (Merging). The work places Dubai's co-ordinates in the centre of a walled, immersive space. The walls present a collection of static co-ordinates against a backdrop of rolling waves. The work touches upon resource exchange and the interconnectedness in the modern world, while also reflecting on Dubai's evolution as global hub. Piaget is also returning to the fair to present a commission by Kuwaiti artist Alymamah Rashed. The work will be in Rashed's idiosyncratic surrealist style and will be part of Piaget's exhibition Play of Shape, which will present boldly designed jewellery and watch collections. Art Dubai is also known for its talk programme. This year, its Global Art Forum will examine the ever-changing nature of the modern world and how it may instill uncertainty and anxiety about the future. The forum will be held under the title The New New Normal. Panels will tackle developments in quantum computing, artificial intelligence, gamified economics and cultural geopolitics. They will also look at beauty and luxury industries and the impact of social media on personal and political spaces. Cultural figures taking part will include architect Rem Koolhaas and artist Lawrence Abu Hamdan. The Digital Summit will also return for its second year. A part of Art Dubai Digital, the sessions will explore the theme After the Technological Sublime. The programme will be a platform to discuss how art and technology are meeting critical environmental, social, cultural and political issues. The Collector Talks will, on the other hand, explore whether the practice and motivation of collecting has shifted recently. The sessions will examine whether contemporary collectors have bolstered goals beyond personal gratification, and are now instead motivated by other drivers. Finally, Art Dubai's Modern Talks will also return. The programme has been a staple of the fair and is dedicated to promoting scholarship and highlighting art histories that have not had their due attention. The talks will explore cultural connections between West Asia, North Africa and Latin America. It delves into their shared experiences and explores how artists today are using heritage as a tool to reflect upon contemporary realities. Both Art Dubai's Collector and Modern Talks are presented in partnership with Dubai Collection, the city's institutional collection of modern and contemporary art. Other talks include a new Conversations with Artists series, which will highlight the processes of artists participating at the fair, and a conversation series by Huna – a food, art and culture platform – that will have leading cultural voices from the UAE discuss their lives and practices.
