PARIS, FRANCE
Rula Halawani
‘Ce que la Palestine apporte au monde’ exhibition at the Institut du Monde Arabe
31 May | 19 November 2023
We are happy to share that one of Rula Halawani’s artworks is featured at the ‘Ce que la Palestine apporte au monde’ exhibition at the Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris.
SHARJAH, UAE
Sama Alshaibi
Maraya Art Centre
27 February | 3 August 2023
We are happy to announce Sama Alshaibi's solo exhibition at Maraya Art Centre in Sharjah. 'Tell It to the River' is a mid-career survey co-curated by Mo Reda and Cima Azzam.
Read more in the link below.
Read more in the link below.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji
Landscape of Memory: Seven Installations from the Barjeel Art Foundation (Sharjah, UAE)
30 January | 4 June 2023
We are pleased to share that one of Sadik Kwaish Alfraji's artworks is featured at the 'Landscape of Memory: Seven Installations from the Barjeel Art Foundation (Sharjah, UAE)' exhibition in McMullen Museum of Art at Boston College.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
artgenève fair 2023
A Language Under My Skin | Sadik Kwaish Alfraji
26 January | 29 January 2023
We are pleased to announce that we are participating in artgenéve's 2023 edition from 26 - 29 January 2023.
JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA
Mouteea Murad
Misk Art Intitute
24 January | 20 March 2023
We are happy to share that Mouteea Murad’s works are featured at the ‘Geometry and Art in the Modern Middle East’ exhibition at Misk Art Institute in Jeddah, which is coinciding with the Islamic Biennale.
KARLSRUHE, GERMANY
Tammam Azzam
Fragile States of Being
21 January | 4 March 2023
We are pleased to share that Tammam Azzam's works are featured in the duo exhibition 'Fragile States of Being' curated by Anabel Roque Rodríguez at the Yvonne Hohner Contemporary.
SINGAPORE
Samia Halaby
7th Edition of the Singapore Biennale, Natasha
16 October 2022 | 19 March 2023
We are pleased to share that a series of Samia Halaby's Kinetic Paintings for the 80s are featured at the 7th edition of the Singapore Biennale entitled Natasha.
Made in the 1980s, these computer-based kinetic artworks explore how new approaches to painting may transform the way we perceive the world. Notably, these works do not replicate existing imagery. The works and imagery were created in entirety by Halaby; each colour and line she used is imbued with specific meaning. Halaby also explores the potential for computer programming as an artistic medium, to reflect reality. The works are accompanied by archival documentation from Halaby’s personal collection and provide a rare glimpse into the creative processes of the abstract painter.
Read more on their website the the PDF below.
Made in the 1980s, these computer-based kinetic artworks explore how new approaches to painting may transform the way we perceive the world. Notably, these works do not replicate existing imagery. The works and imagery were created in entirety by Halaby; each colour and line she used is imbued with specific meaning. Halaby also explores the potential for computer programming as an artistic medium, to reflect reality. The works are accompanied by archival documentation from Halaby’s personal collection and provide a rare glimpse into the creative processes of the abstract painter.
Read more on their website the the PDF below.
MUSEUM OF ISLAMIC ART, DOHA, QATAR
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji
Baghdad: Eye’s Delight
26 October 2022 | 25 February 2023
We are pleased to share that two of Sadik Kwaish Alfraji's works are featured at the Baghdad: Eye’s Delight exhibition at the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha. Curated by Julia Gonnella, the exhibition celebrates the capital of Iraq as one of the most important and influential cities in the Islamic world.
Included are Seasons of Lost Baghdad, 2016 and In Search of Lost Baghdad, 2017.
Make sure to visit and read more on the MIA website.
Included are Seasons of Lost Baghdad, 2016 and In Search of Lost Baghdad, 2017.
Make sure to visit and read more on the MIA website.
PHOENIX ART MUSEUM, ARIZONA
Sama Alshaibi
Generation After Generation
17 September 2022 | 14 May 2023
We are proud to share that Sama Alshaibi has a solo exhibition 'Generation Arter Generation' at Phoenix Art Museum.
Sama Alshaibi is the recipient of the 2021 Arlene and Morton Scult Artist Award. Her solo exhibition at Phoenix Art Museum showcases her latest projects of photographic imagery, video, and installation, which link themes of dispossession, mobility, peripheries, refuge, ecological entropy, and future and historical imaginings.
Read more in the link below.
Sama Alshaibi is the recipient of the 2021 Arlene and Morton Scult Artist Award. Her solo exhibition at Phoenix Art Museum showcases her latest projects of photographic imagery, video, and installation, which link themes of dispossession, mobility, peripheries, refuge, ecological entropy, and future and historical imaginings.
Read more in the link below.
WASHINGTON DC, VIRGINIA
Rula Halawani
More Than Your Eyes Can See: Contemporary Photography from the Arab World
6 June | 21 October 2022
We are pleased to share that Rula Halawani's 'For You Mother' series is featured in the 'More Than Your Eyes Can See: Contemporary Photography from the Arab World' exhibition curated by Laila Jadallah and co-founder and photo editor of Tribe Magazine, Sueraya Shaheen at the MEI Gallery in Washington DC.
"The Middle East Institute Arts and Culture Center cordially invites you to the opening of More Than Your Eyes Can See: Contemporary Photography from the Arab World, an exhibition celebrating the work of 15 photographers from the Arab world and its diaspora who are defining the practice of photography in the Middle East. Employing photojournalism and fine art photography, their diverse work provides an intimate and dynamic lens through which to see the Arab world."
Read more in the link below.
"The Middle East Institute Arts and Culture Center cordially invites you to the opening of More Than Your Eyes Can See: Contemporary Photography from the Arab World, an exhibition celebrating the work of 15 photographers from the Arab world and its diaspora who are defining the practice of photography in the Middle East. Employing photojournalism and fine art photography, their diverse work provides an intimate and dynamic lens through which to see the Arab world."
Read more in the link below.
AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji
A Language Under My Skin at W139
14 May | 3 July 2022
We are pleased to share that Sadik Kwaish Alfraji's has a solo exhibition entitled 'A Language Under My Skin' at W139 in Amsterdam.
"We are born into worlds, environments, and circumstances that are outside of our control—we are born into language. The language(s) we speak impact how we think about, and interact with, our environments. They influence our thought processes, our feelings, how we think about time and space. Questions surrounding language not only touch on linguistics, but they have engaged philosophers, lawyers, religious scholars, cognitive scientists, anthropologists, psychologists, and many others."
The exhibition features an animated film, graffiti murals, and large-scale drawings that transform the exhibition space. Sadik’s drawings and animations echo the notions of the body as a language, a manuscript, a carrier of languages, shapes, meaning.
Read more about the exhibition below.
"We are born into worlds, environments, and circumstances that are outside of our control—we are born into language. The language(s) we speak impact how we think about, and interact with, our environments. They influence our thought processes, our feelings, how we think about time and space. Questions surrounding language not only touch on linguistics, but they have engaged philosophers, lawyers, religious scholars, cognitive scientists, anthropologists, psychologists, and many others."
The exhibition features an animated film, graffiti murals, and large-scale drawings that transform the exhibition space. Sadik’s drawings and animations echo the notions of the body as a language, a manuscript, a carrier of languages, shapes, meaning.
Read more about the exhibition below.
DUBAI (AL QUOZ)
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji at 2139 Jeddah
Jeddah - Don’t miss our very own Sadik Kwaish Alfraji, as he exhibits two of his works at SAC's “Amakin", part of 21,39's 9th edition curated by Venetia Porter.
MADINAT JUMEIRAH
Art Dubai 2022
We are pleased to announce that we are participating in Art Dubai's 2022 edition from 10 - 13 March 2022.
DUBAI (AL QUOZ)
Noor Bahjat
Ayyam Gallery is pleased to announce the addition of Noor Bahjat to its roster of artists.
Bahjat is a surrealist self-portrait artist working in a painterly expressionistic style with a primarily figurative subject matter. Creating deeply atmospheric canvases with her reoccurring female protagonist, Bahjat is able to address the intricacies of life.
Bahjat is a surrealist self-portrait artist working in a painterly expressionistic style with a primarily figurative subject matter. Creating deeply atmospheric canvases with her reoccurring female protagonist, Bahjat is able to address the intricacies of life.
DUBAI (AL QUOZ)
Muatasim Alkubaisy
Ayyam Gallery is proud to announce the addition of Muatasim Alkubaisy to its roster of artists.
For over two decades now, Alkubaisy has shaped his career as a sculptor highlighting the serious and drastic changes taking place in post 2003 Iraq. In search for answers and pure expression, the artist freed himself from traditional forms and imitation, creating series of bodies encompassing his beliefs and identity. In his relentless quest to stand up against tyranny, slaughter, and diversity of degeneration, while staying true to his skill, tools, and training, the artist created ‘The Generals’ series.
For over two decades now, Alkubaisy has shaped his career as a sculptor highlighting the serious and drastic changes taking place in post 2003 Iraq. In search for answers and pure expression, the artist freed himself from traditional forms and imitation, creating series of bodies encompassing his beliefs and identity. In his relentless quest to stand up against tyranny, slaughter, and diversity of degeneration, while staying true to his skill, tools, and training, the artist created ‘The Generals’ series.
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA
Faisal Samra
Diriyah Biennale
December 2021 | March 2022
We are proud to share that Faisal Samra's work is featured at the Diriyah Biennale, the first exhibition of its kind in Riyadh. The Biennale's curator Philip Tinari focuses on Saudi art, presenting its perceptions and visions of the global scene.
"Samra's light 'objects'. presented in a repetitive series, are images that allude to human body perts or to forms in nature, shrouded and confined within the wire mesh. The artist subjected his forms to the test of time by means of various sophisticated erosions and burns. He eloquently demonstrates that the ravages of time can bring about new richness and give rise to a second creation".
Brahim Alaoui (Art Historian, Critic and Curator)
"Samra's light 'objects'. presented in a repetitive series, are images that allude to human body perts or to forms in nature, shrouded and confined within the wire mesh. The artist subjected his forms to the test of time by means of various sophisticated erosions and burns. He eloquently demonstrates that the ravages of time can bring about new richness and give rise to a second creation".
Brahim Alaoui (Art Historian, Critic and Curator)
AMERSFOORT, THE NETHERLANDS
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji
Museum Flehite
2 October 2021 | 21 November 2022
We are proud to share that Sadik's solo exhibition 'Bagdad - Amersfoort' at Museum Flehite, Amersfoort, is now open for the public. The exhibition will be up until November 21, 2022.
Curated by Onno Maurer, the exhibition showcases over a hundred selected drawings, etchings, woodcuts, and paintings, covering Sadik's career spanning from the 1980s to the 2000s. It houses more than 100 etchings, woodcuts, drawings, and paintings from the 1980s that deal with, among other things, the war between Iraq and Iran, but also themes such as love and freedom.
Museum Flehite shows the etchings and drawings that Alfraji made in Iraq in the 1980s, in which he exposes the violent conflict with neighboring Iran. At the time, in Saddam Hussein's Iraq, the figurative style that the artist uses was too confrontational to show.
Curated by Onno Maurer, the exhibition showcases over a hundred selected drawings, etchings, woodcuts, and paintings, covering Sadik's career spanning from the 1980s to the 2000s. It houses more than 100 etchings, woodcuts, drawings, and paintings from the 1980s that deal with, among other things, the war between Iraq and Iran, but also themes such as love and freedom.
Museum Flehite shows the etchings and drawings that Alfraji made in Iraq in the 1980s, in which he exposes the violent conflict with neighboring Iran. At the time, in Saddam Hussein's Iraq, the figurative style that the artist uses was too confrontational to show.
AMERSFOORT, THE NETHERLANDS
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji
Kunsthal KAde
25 September 2021 | 9 January 2022
We are proud to share that Sadik Kwaish Alfraji's exhibition at the Kunsthal KAdE is now open to the public. Sadik's works are featured in a double solo exhibition along with Natasja Kensmil's works.
Alfraji has been living in Amersfoort since the 90s. In his work, Alfraji highlights his migration story and his family's, looking back on Baghdad, where he comes from.
His forms of expression are animations, videos, installations, paintings, drawings, sculptures, and photography. For Sadik, memories are a powerful engine for reflection on personal history. "For me, art starts with an idea, an image, a memory, a social or political event, a normal daily scene, or an emotion," says the artist.
The exhibition will be on view from 25 September 2021 through 9 January 2022. Tickets are available at the link below.
Alfraji has been living in Amersfoort since the 90s. In his work, Alfraji highlights his migration story and his family's, looking back on Baghdad, where he comes from.
His forms of expression are animations, videos, installations, paintings, drawings, sculptures, and photography. For Sadik, memories are a powerful engine for reflection on personal history. "For me, art starts with an idea, an image, a memory, a social or political event, a normal daily scene, or an emotion," says the artist.
The exhibition will be on view from 25 September 2021 through 9 January 2022. Tickets are available at the link below.
DUBAI (AL QUOZ)
Reduced Hours
Ramadan 2021
13 April | 13 May 2021
Wishing everyone a Ramadan Kareem.
The Gallery will be open 11am - 4pm, Sunday through Thursday throughout the Month of Ramadan.
Please email us if you have additional questions or need further information.
The Gallery will be open 11am - 4pm, Sunday through Thursday throughout the Month of Ramadan.
Please email us if you have additional questions or need further information.
OTHER
Sama Alshaibi
Guggenheim Fellowship
2021
Sama Alshaibi was awarded the 2021 Guggenheim Fellowship, long considered one of the most important grants series in the art world and the humanities and sciences at large.
"A standing ovation for the 2021 Fellows in the Creative Arts. Through their writing, filmmaking, painting, sculpting, photography and beyond, these artists are exploring subjects including rising water levels, architectural markers of segregation, and legacies of immigration."
About the artist
Situated within natural environments, Sama Alshaibi’s multimedia work explores spaces of conflict and the power struggles that arise in the aftermath of war and exile. Alshaibi is particularly interested in how such clashes occur between citizens and the state, creating vexing crises that impact the physical and psychic realms of the individual as resources and land, mobility, political agency, and self-affirmation are compromised.
Through performance, video, photography, and installation, Alshaibi positions her own body as an allegorical site that makes the byproducts of war visible. Though the artist uses her own body as the subject of the images, she does not consider the works to be self-portraits. By using elements of her experiences, anxieties, and curiosities, the artist is able to embody different characters that perform various issues, people and concepts.
Born in Basra to an Iraqi father and a Palestinian mother, Sama Alshaibi is based in the United States where she is Chair and Associate Professor of Photography and Video Art at the University of Arizona, Tucson. Alshaibi holds a BA in Photography from Columbia College and an MFA in Photography, Video, and Media Arts from the University of Colorado. She was a recipient of the Fulbright Scholar Fellowship in 2014 as part of a residency at the Palestine Museum, where she developed an educational program while conducting independent research.
Recently, Alshaibi has featured in solo and group exhibitions at Artpace, San Antonio, Texas (2019); Cairo International Biennale (2019); Pen + Brush, New York (2019); Ayyam Gallery, Al Quoz, Dubai (2019, 2018, 2015); Arizona Biennale, Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, USA (2018); American University Museum, Washington (2018, 2017); Beirut Spring Festival, Beirut, Lebanon (2018); Palazzo Granafei- Nervegna, Brindisi (2017); Tuscon Museum of Art, Arizona (2017); Johnson Museum of Art, New York (2017); Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College, New York (2017); Marta Herford Museum, Herford (2017); Museum De Wieger, Deurne (2017); Brentwood Arts Exchange, Maryland (2017); Honolulu Biennial, Honolulu (2017, 2014); Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Arizona (2016); Desai Matta Gallery - the California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco (2016); FotoFest, Houston (2016, 2014); Pirineos Sur Festival, Lanuza (2015); Palais De La Culture, Constantine (2015); Ayyam Gallery, London (2015); Arab American National Museum, Dearborn (2015); the Maldives Pavilion of the Venice Biennale (2013); University of Southampton, Southampton (2013); Edge of Arabia, London (2012); HilgerBROTKunsthalle, Vienna (2012); Institut Du Monde Arabe, Paris (2012); Maraya Art Centre, Sharjah (2012); and Museum of Modern Art, New York (2012).
Alshaibi’s works are housed in public and private collections, including the Nadour Collection; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas; Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah; Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Tunis; Light Work Collection, Syracuse; University of Illinois, Chicago; University of Colorado Art Museum, Boulder; The Photo Archive of the Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles; and the C.N. Gorman Museum at the University of California, Davis.
In 2015, Aperture Foundation published Alshaibi’s first monograph, Sand Rushes In.
"A standing ovation for the 2021 Fellows in the Creative Arts. Through their writing, filmmaking, painting, sculpting, photography and beyond, these artists are exploring subjects including rising water levels, architectural markers of segregation, and legacies of immigration."
About the artist
Situated within natural environments, Sama Alshaibi’s multimedia work explores spaces of conflict and the power struggles that arise in the aftermath of war and exile. Alshaibi is particularly interested in how such clashes occur between citizens and the state, creating vexing crises that impact the physical and psychic realms of the individual as resources and land, mobility, political agency, and self-affirmation are compromised.
Through performance, video, photography, and installation, Alshaibi positions her own body as an allegorical site that makes the byproducts of war visible. Though the artist uses her own body as the subject of the images, she does not consider the works to be self-portraits. By using elements of her experiences, anxieties, and curiosities, the artist is able to embody different characters that perform various issues, people and concepts.
Born in Basra to an Iraqi father and a Palestinian mother, Sama Alshaibi is based in the United States where she is Chair and Associate Professor of Photography and Video Art at the University of Arizona, Tucson. Alshaibi holds a BA in Photography from Columbia College and an MFA in Photography, Video, and Media Arts from the University of Colorado. She was a recipient of the Fulbright Scholar Fellowship in 2014 as part of a residency at the Palestine Museum, where she developed an educational program while conducting independent research.
Recently, Alshaibi has featured in solo and group exhibitions at Artpace, San Antonio, Texas (2019); Cairo International Biennale (2019); Pen + Brush, New York (2019); Ayyam Gallery, Al Quoz, Dubai (2019, 2018, 2015); Arizona Biennale, Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, USA (2018); American University Museum, Washington (2018, 2017); Beirut Spring Festival, Beirut, Lebanon (2018); Palazzo Granafei- Nervegna, Brindisi (2017); Tuscon Museum of Art, Arizona (2017); Johnson Museum of Art, New York (2017); Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College, New York (2017); Marta Herford Museum, Herford (2017); Museum De Wieger, Deurne (2017); Brentwood Arts Exchange, Maryland (2017); Honolulu Biennial, Honolulu (2017, 2014); Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Arizona (2016); Desai Matta Gallery - the California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco (2016); FotoFest, Houston (2016, 2014); Pirineos Sur Festival, Lanuza (2015); Palais De La Culture, Constantine (2015); Ayyam Gallery, London (2015); Arab American National Museum, Dearborn (2015); the Maldives Pavilion of the Venice Biennale (2013); University of Southampton, Southampton (2013); Edge of Arabia, London (2012); HilgerBROTKunsthalle, Vienna (2012); Institut Du Monde Arabe, Paris (2012); Maraya Art Centre, Sharjah (2012); and Museum of Modern Art, New York (2012).
Alshaibi’s works are housed in public and private collections, including the Nadour Collection; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas; Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah; Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Tunis; Light Work Collection, Syracuse; University of Illinois, Chicago; University of Colorado Art Museum, Boulder; The Photo Archive of the Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles; and the C.N. Gorman Museum at the University of California, Davis.
In 2015, Aperture Foundation published Alshaibi’s first monograph, Sand Rushes In.
DIFC | BOOTH B22
Ayyam Gallery at Art Dubai 2021
29 March | 3 April 2021
Ayyam Gallery is pleased to present the most recent works by Safwan Dahoul at the 2021 DIFC edition of Art Dubai. In this body of work, Dahoul surrenders. Make sure to visit us at booth B22 March 29th through April 3rd 2021.
Since the late 1980s, Dahoul’s Dream series has explored the physical and psychological effects of alienation, solitude, and longing that punctuate the human experience at various stages in life. Partly autobiographical, this seminal body of work uses the formal properties of painting to recreate the subconscious sense of enclosure that surfaces during times of crisis, whether in the event of mourning, estrangement, or political conflict.
Moving away from the romanticism of dreams and its shelter, Safwan and his alter ego have awoken after placing his voice in what seems to be a more lifelike environment metaphorically. Reality and its inconsistency are mirrored in the canvas through sharper lines and, most importantly, folds and ripples, illustrating life’s obstacles.
The artist is posing questions through disfiguration and distortion, stressing hardship and troubles while leaving some space for hope and answers. As the artist explains it, his paintings are his life’s chronicles. The artist’s loss of stability inspired this previous series. Explicitly, and unintentionally the artist found himself tackling displacement through crumbled images; with his ripples, the artist explores uncertainty through the imperfect reflection of contemporary humanity.
In his latest work, Safwan has reached a point of surrender. Both protagonist and artist have found peace and tranquility. The sharpness and violence that filled Safwan's work have decreased formally and metaphorically. Dahoul's symbolism is enhanced in this new body of work but especially in the diptych. The figure is slowly finding its way out of the chaos, progressively letting go of the knife into the abyss, the unknown. Decades into his career, Safwan is no longer dreaming, on the contrary, he has found a sense of calm in the face of reality.
About the artist
With a career spanning over three decades, Safwan Dahoul is now a household name both regionally and internationally. As one of the foremost painters in the Arab world, the artist has repeatedly demonstrated how contemporary modes of figuration can describe the psychic terrain of a region that is in constant flux. Throughout his career, Dahoul has managed to include varying artistic styles while still keeping to his core identity and style.
Dahoul is mostly known for his beautiful melancholic and monochromatic works that present influences from the Cubist style of Picasso ranging to Assyrian and Pharaonic art. Since the late 1980s, the artist began an ongoing body of work investigating the dream state. Simply entitled the Dream series, these works have explored the physical and psychological effects of alienation, solitude, and longing that punctuate the human experience at various stages in life.
Partly autobiographical, this seminal body of work uses the formal properties of painting to recreate the subconscious sense of enclosure that surfaces during times of crisis, whether in the event of mourning, estrangement, or political conflict. The artist’s recurring female protagonist facilitates this visceral experience through her contorted body, often-vacant eyes, and minimised yet monumental physicality. Depicted in the confinement of ambiguous settings, her presence is defined by the placement of various objects that seem to deepen the state of her disaffection, as even the familiar becomes a trigger of distress.
Born in 1961 in Hama, Syria, Dahoul was initially trained by leading modernists at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Damascus before travelling to Belgium, where he earned a doctorate from the Higher Institute of Plastic Arts in Mons. Upon returning to Syria, he began teaching at the Faculty of Fine Arts and was a prominent member of the Damascus art scene. In the span of a decade, Dahoul nurtured a new generation of artists as an active mentor whose evolving aesthetic often ignited new directions in painting. Given the trajectory and status of his painting style, Dahoul’s career is regarded as a crucial link between modern and contemporary Arab art.
Dahoul’s paintings are held in numerous private and public collections, including the Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris; Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah; National Museum, Damascus; The Samawi Collection, Dubai; The Farjam Collection, Dubai; the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, Kuwait. Recently, he has participated in solo and group exhibitions at Ayyam Gallery DIFC and 11 Alserkal Avenue, Dubai (2018, 2017, 2016); Samsung Blue Square and Busan Museum of Art, South Korea (2014); Ayyam Gallery DIFC, Dubai (2014, 2011); Ayyam Gallery Beirut (2014); Ayyam Gallery London (2013); Edge of Arabia, London (2013); and Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris (2012).
Since the late 1980s, Dahoul’s Dream series has explored the physical and psychological effects of alienation, solitude, and longing that punctuate the human experience at various stages in life. Partly autobiographical, this seminal body of work uses the formal properties of painting to recreate the subconscious sense of enclosure that surfaces during times of crisis, whether in the event of mourning, estrangement, or political conflict.
Moving away from the romanticism of dreams and its shelter, Safwan and his alter ego have awoken after placing his voice in what seems to be a more lifelike environment metaphorically. Reality and its inconsistency are mirrored in the canvas through sharper lines and, most importantly, folds and ripples, illustrating life’s obstacles.
The artist is posing questions through disfiguration and distortion, stressing hardship and troubles while leaving some space for hope and answers. As the artist explains it, his paintings are his life’s chronicles. The artist’s loss of stability inspired this previous series. Explicitly, and unintentionally the artist found himself tackling displacement through crumbled images; with his ripples, the artist explores uncertainty through the imperfect reflection of contemporary humanity.
In his latest work, Safwan has reached a point of surrender. Both protagonist and artist have found peace and tranquility. The sharpness and violence that filled Safwan's work have decreased formally and metaphorically. Dahoul's symbolism is enhanced in this new body of work but especially in the diptych. The figure is slowly finding its way out of the chaos, progressively letting go of the knife into the abyss, the unknown. Decades into his career, Safwan is no longer dreaming, on the contrary, he has found a sense of calm in the face of reality.
About the artist
With a career spanning over three decades, Safwan Dahoul is now a household name both regionally and internationally. As one of the foremost painters in the Arab world, the artist has repeatedly demonstrated how contemporary modes of figuration can describe the psychic terrain of a region that is in constant flux. Throughout his career, Dahoul has managed to include varying artistic styles while still keeping to his core identity and style.
Dahoul is mostly known for his beautiful melancholic and monochromatic works that present influences from the Cubist style of Picasso ranging to Assyrian and Pharaonic art. Since the late 1980s, the artist began an ongoing body of work investigating the dream state. Simply entitled the Dream series, these works have explored the physical and psychological effects of alienation, solitude, and longing that punctuate the human experience at various stages in life.
Partly autobiographical, this seminal body of work uses the formal properties of painting to recreate the subconscious sense of enclosure that surfaces during times of crisis, whether in the event of mourning, estrangement, or political conflict. The artist’s recurring female protagonist facilitates this visceral experience through her contorted body, often-vacant eyes, and minimised yet monumental physicality. Depicted in the confinement of ambiguous settings, her presence is defined by the placement of various objects that seem to deepen the state of her disaffection, as even the familiar becomes a trigger of distress.
Born in 1961 in Hama, Syria, Dahoul was initially trained by leading modernists at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Damascus before travelling to Belgium, where he earned a doctorate from the Higher Institute of Plastic Arts in Mons. Upon returning to Syria, he began teaching at the Faculty of Fine Arts and was a prominent member of the Damascus art scene. In the span of a decade, Dahoul nurtured a new generation of artists as an active mentor whose evolving aesthetic often ignited new directions in painting. Given the trajectory and status of his painting style, Dahoul’s career is regarded as a crucial link between modern and contemporary Arab art.
Dahoul’s paintings are held in numerous private and public collections, including the Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris; Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah; National Museum, Damascus; The Samawi Collection, Dubai; The Farjam Collection, Dubai; the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, Kuwait. Recently, he has participated in solo and group exhibitions at Ayyam Gallery DIFC and 11 Alserkal Avenue, Dubai (2018, 2017, 2016); Samsung Blue Square and Busan Museum of Art, South Korea (2014); Ayyam Gallery DIFC, Dubai (2014, 2011); Ayyam Gallery Beirut (2014); Ayyam Gallery London (2013); Edge of Arabia, London (2013); and Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris (2012).
UAE
Athier
LIFEWTR’s Art Beyond Borders series
Athier was chosen for LIFEWTR’s Art Beyond Borders series which showcases artists whose work is influenced not only by their own, but also by other cultures.
All of the artists in this LIFEWTR series share an ability to transcend borders through their work and in their lives. When an artist works between and across cultures, they bring something of themselves and their experience, and they absorb some of the new – they embrace the intersections.
Each of these LIFEWTR artists is engaged in a dialogue beyond borders.
All of the artists in this LIFEWTR series share an ability to transcend borders through their work and in their lives. When an artist works between and across cultures, they bring something of themselves and their experience, and they absorb some of the new – they embrace the intersections.
Each of these LIFEWTR artists is engaged in a dialogue beyond borders.
QATAR
Rula Halawani
2021 Sheikh Saoud Al Thani Project Award
24 March | 30 May 2021
Rula Halawani was chosen as recipient of the 2021 Sheikh Saoud Al Thani Project Award, in partnership with the Qatar Foundation, as part of the Tasweer Photo Festival Qatar.
As part of the festival, a selection of Rula’s ‘For My Father’ series is featured in an exhibition celebrating the 2021 Sheikh Saoud Al Thani Project Award winners is on show at Multaqa Art Gallery, Education City, 24 March - 30 May, 2021.
The Sheikh Saoud Al Thani Project Award is an annual grant award that supports photographers’ proposals for the development or completion of a photographic project. The award’s 2021 jury consisted of Charlotte Cotton, Khalifa Ahmad Al-Obaidly, Kristine Khouri, Maryam Hassan Al-Thani, Sheikha Sara Al-Thani, Sheikha Shaikha Al-Thani, and Sueraya Shaheen.
“Rula Halawani is an exceptional artist who has continually navigated and examined the consequences of occupation upon the cultural narratives and contested land of her native Palestine.” - Charlotte Cotton
As part of the festival, a selection of Rula’s ‘For My Father’ series is featured in an exhibition celebrating the 2021 Sheikh Saoud Al Thani Project Award winners is on show at Multaqa Art Gallery, Education City, 24 March - 30 May, 2021.
The Sheikh Saoud Al Thani Project Award is an annual grant award that supports photographers’ proposals for the development or completion of a photographic project. The award’s 2021 jury consisted of Charlotte Cotton, Khalifa Ahmad Al-Obaidly, Kristine Khouri, Maryam Hassan Al-Thani, Sheikha Sara Al-Thani, Sheikha Shaikha Al-Thani, and Sueraya Shaheen.
“Rula Halawani is an exceptional artist who has continually navigated and examined the consequences of occupation upon the cultural narratives and contested land of her native Palestine.” - Charlotte Cotton
GUANGDONG MUSEUM OF ART
Rula Halawani
The Guangzhou Image Triennial 2021 - Guangdong Museum of Art
March 2021
We are pleased to announce that a selection of Rula Halawani's 'Gates of Heaven' series is part of The Guangzhou Image Triennial 2021 exhibition.
"Only in recent times we have been able to see the global landscape: images of the planet Earth and of the cosmos taken from the space. Today we perceive the globalscape not only from the distance through these images, but from the proximity that the globalization of the use of photography and video, together with the expansion of electronic communications, have made possible. This proximity has allowed us to view landscapes from all over the world by just a click on a screen. If we are now in the Era of the Image, this last is also the Era of Globalscape, which is the general subject of my proposal.
Starting from scientific and other space images, the exhibition will display a diversity of uses of landscape representation by contemporary photographers and video artists from different latitudes, through various techniques and methodologies. The show will not aim to offer a survey of contemporary landscaping, but to choreograph a visual and conceptual dialog between images coming from all over the world within the Museum’s space: a globalscape.
The exhibition will discuss new paths of contemporary landscape. It will not address landscape in photography and video as an artistic genre but as a means for creating images that configure and communicate very diverse meanings. This approach follows a tendency in contemporary art to use landscape instead of representing it. Landscape is increasingly operated by artists not as an end but as a gaze and as an instrument. In other words, in the works proposed for the Triennial the representation of natural and urban environments does not constitute an aim in itself: it is a channel for constructing a message, for triggering an experience, or for inquiring about the world in which we live and its recent tragedies."
- Gerardo Mosquera, Curator
"Only in recent times we have been able to see the global landscape: images of the planet Earth and of the cosmos taken from the space. Today we perceive the globalscape not only from the distance through these images, but from the proximity that the globalization of the use of photography and video, together with the expansion of electronic communications, have made possible. This proximity has allowed us to view landscapes from all over the world by just a click on a screen. If we are now in the Era of the Image, this last is also the Era of Globalscape, which is the general subject of my proposal.
Starting from scientific and other space images, the exhibition will display a diversity of uses of landscape representation by contemporary photographers and video artists from different latitudes, through various techniques and methodologies. The show will not aim to offer a survey of contemporary landscaping, but to choreograph a visual and conceptual dialog between images coming from all over the world within the Museum’s space: a globalscape.
The exhibition will discuss new paths of contemporary landscape. It will not address landscape in photography and video as an artistic genre but as a means for creating images that configure and communicate very diverse meanings. This approach follows a tendency in contemporary art to use landscape instead of representing it. Landscape is increasingly operated by artists not as an end but as a gaze and as an instrument. In other words, in the works proposed for the Triennial the representation of natural and urban environments does not constitute an aim in itself: it is a channel for constructing a message, for triggering an experience, or for inquiring about the world in which we live and its recent tragedies."
- Gerardo Mosquera, Curator
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
Sadik Kwaish Alfarji
Stedelijk Museum
January 2021
We are proud to announce that Sadik Kwaish Alfraji's work "Sing Like the Southerners Do", 2019 is now part of Stedelijk Museum's permanent collection.
ROGER DUBUIS, DUBAI
Art meets Hyper Horology
In a world where exuberance rules and creativity reigns supreme, Serial Innovator, Roger Dubuis, known for pushing the boundaries of watchmaking, has extended the boldness of its flagship boutique in The Dubai Mall with a contemporary art exhibition by Sharjah based artist, Mouteea Murad.
The result of a collaboration with leading international arts organization, Ayyam Gallery, the works of art by Murad draw inspiration from geometric forms that perfectly reflect elements of the luxury watchmaker’s avant-garde spirit, disruptive attitude and Expressive Singularity.
From the simply inventive to the incredible
Inviting clients on a spectacular journey through its 200m² interior, the boutique includes a fractal wall with a jagged depth and gravity window showcasing a watch that appears to be floating on air. Matching Roger Dubuis’ savoir-faire, all areas within the store – including the private lounge and experiential gallery showcasing the artworks - are characterised by the duality and disruptive nature that is an integral part of the brand’s bold DNA. Visitors who dare are invited to see and feel exactly why Roger Dubuis is unquestionably the most exciting way to experience hyper horology in all its extravagance.
Art works will be on display at the Roger Dubuis boutique, located on the ground floor of The Dubai Mall, a short walk from the Grand Atrium.
About Roger Dubuis
The rush of adrenalin, a pounding heart, the sure and certain knowledge that something is about to happen: ENTER THE FUTURE OF HYPER HOROLOGY. Impertinent, excessive, incisive, uncompromising, and slightly mad, this is Roger Dubuis. The brainchild of two daringly disruptive visionaries, Roger Dubuis has been all about mindset since 1995. Solidly sustained by an integrated Manufacture, an innovative spirit, a flagrant disregard for convention and irrepressible daring are the cornerstones of its bold attitude. The lifeblood of its non-conformist and unmistakably contemporary timepieces, headlined by the iconic Excalibur collection. That’s what Roger Dubuis is all about! Laugh, scream, roar, and above all, create… for an exclusive tribe that believes in the value of living larger than life at every turn. No rules, our game. Inspired by other cutting-edge industries and out-of-the-box designs, boundary-pushing technical sophistication combines with an inbred love of extravagance to prove, time and time again, that Roger Dubuis is unquestionably the most exciting way to experience Hyper Horology. Make every second of your life epic.
The result of a collaboration with leading international arts organization, Ayyam Gallery, the works of art by Murad draw inspiration from geometric forms that perfectly reflect elements of the luxury watchmaker’s avant-garde spirit, disruptive attitude and Expressive Singularity.
From the simply inventive to the incredible
Inviting clients on a spectacular journey through its 200m² interior, the boutique includes a fractal wall with a jagged depth and gravity window showcasing a watch that appears to be floating on air. Matching Roger Dubuis’ savoir-faire, all areas within the store – including the private lounge and experiential gallery showcasing the artworks - are characterised by the duality and disruptive nature that is an integral part of the brand’s bold DNA. Visitors who dare are invited to see and feel exactly why Roger Dubuis is unquestionably the most exciting way to experience hyper horology in all its extravagance.
Art works will be on display at the Roger Dubuis boutique, located on the ground floor of The Dubai Mall, a short walk from the Grand Atrium.
About Roger Dubuis
The rush of adrenalin, a pounding heart, the sure and certain knowledge that something is about to happen: ENTER THE FUTURE OF HYPER HOROLOGY. Impertinent, excessive, incisive, uncompromising, and slightly mad, this is Roger Dubuis. The brainchild of two daringly disruptive visionaries, Roger Dubuis has been all about mindset since 1995. Solidly sustained by an integrated Manufacture, an innovative spirit, a flagrant disregard for convention and irrepressible daring are the cornerstones of its bold attitude. The lifeblood of its non-conformist and unmistakably contemporary timepieces, headlined by the iconic Excalibur collection. That’s what Roger Dubuis is all about! Laugh, scream, roar, and above all, create… for an exclusive tribe that believes in the value of living larger than life at every turn. No rules, our game. Inspired by other cutting-edge industries and out-of-the-box designs, boundary-pushing technical sophistication combines with an inbred love of extravagance to prove, time and time again, that Roger Dubuis is unquestionably the most exciting way to experience Hyper Horology. Make every second of your life epic.
RABAT, MOROCCO
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji
City
11 November 2020 | 10 January 2021
Following his 2018 residency at L'appartement 22, we are pleased to share Sadik's latest solo exhibition 'City' curated by Dr. Abdellah Karroum. The exhibition is on view until 10 January 2021, make sure to schedule an appointment to visit in the link below.
ABU DHABI, UAE
Abu Dhabi Art Fair 2020
Collective Representation - The Trajectory
19 - 26 November 2020
Ayyam Gallery is pleased to announce its participating in Abu Dhabi Art’s virtual 2020 edition. The Trajectory, is a collective representation featuring works by Rula Halawani, Sadik Kwaish Alfraji, Safwan Dahoul, and Sama Alshaibi.
The works chosen for this edition of Abu Dhabi Art express identity’s continuity through strong ties with the past. Sama and Rula integrate old photographs and photographic techniques in their new projects, which hone on identity, and displacement.
In ‘For You Mother’, Rula uses archival photographs of Palestinian families and collages them on landscape photographs she’s taken; meanwhile, in ‘Carry Over’, Sama critiques the way orientalist photographers depicted the Middle Eastern woman by mimicking their patterns and techniques.
Safwan and Sadik, on the other hand, have worked through identity’s longevity their whole careers through their own narrative and protagonists.
The works chosen for this edition of Abu Dhabi Art express identity’s continuity through strong ties with the past. Sama and Rula integrate old photographs and photographic techniques in their new projects, which hone on identity, and displacement.
In ‘For You Mother’, Rula uses archival photographs of Palestinian families and collages them on landscape photographs she’s taken; meanwhile, in ‘Carry Over’, Sama critiques the way orientalist photographers depicted the Middle Eastern woman by mimicking their patterns and techniques.
Safwan and Sadik, on the other hand, have worked through identity’s longevity their whole careers through their own narrative and protagonists.
SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO
Sama Alshaibi
2019 Review Santa Fe Photo Festival
17 October - 20 October 2019
Sama Alshaibi was a featured speaker at the 2019 Review Santa Fe Photo Festival, where she spoke about her newest project that was selected for the Center's Project Development Grant earlier this year.
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji
Stedelijk Museum
5 September 2020 | 31 January 2021
We are pleased to announce that a selection of Sadik Kwaish Alfraji's works are part of the Stedelijk Museum's 'In the Presence of Absence' exhibition. The exhibition is on view from 5 September 2020 till 31 January 2021.
Learn more about the exhibition in the link below.
Learn more about the exhibition in the link below.
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK
Tammam Azzam
The Armory show 2020
5 March - 8 March 2020
Tammam Azzam's works were exhibited at Haines Gallery's booth at The Armory Show 2020 in New York.
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji
Stedelijk Museum
27 June
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji's work was among the 23 chosen projects for the 'Proposal For Municipal Art Acquisitions' exhibition. This year 'Acquisitions' received a record of over 1400 entries.
This edition of the biannual exhibition goes on view on 27 June and presents works that challenge collective knowledge and public awareness.
During the exhibition, the Stedelijk Museum will acquire a selection of artworks and design projects for the collection.
This edition of the biannual exhibition goes on view on 27 June and presents works that challenge collective knowledge and public awareness.
During the exhibition, the Stedelijk Museum will acquire a selection of artworks and design projects for the collection.
SāO PAULO, BRAZIL
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji
21st Contemporary Art Biennial Sesc_Videobrasil
9 October 2019 - 2 February 2020
Sadik Kwasih Alfraji will be participating in the 21st Contemporary Art Biennial Sesc_Videobrasil, Imagined Communities, curated by Solange Farkas, taking place from 9 October 2019 to 2 February 2020, at Sesc 24 de Maio and Galpão VB (São Paulo, Brazil).
MEYERHOFF GALLERY, BALTIMORE, MD
Sama Alshaibi
Migrations and Meaning (s) in Art
30 January | 15 March 2020
Sama Alshaibi's photogravure 'Eternal Love Song' was selected to be displayed at the 'Migrations and Meaning (s) in Art', a collective exhibition curated by scholar and artist, Deborah Willis.
Featuring a diverse range of local, national and international visual artists, the exhibition explores debates on the topic of migration from historical references such as slavery and emancipation, the Great Migration, virtual communities from the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, the Americas, and Asia.
Willis selected artwork that considers “how identities are realized, rejected, performed and desired,” as well as the urgency of our present moment.
Featuring a diverse range of local, national and international visual artists, the exhibition explores debates on the topic of migration from historical references such as slavery and emancipation, the Great Migration, virtual communities from the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, the Americas, and Asia.
Willis selected artwork that considers “how identities are realized, rejected, performed and desired,” as well as the urgency of our present moment.
GREY ART GALLERY, NYU, NEW YORK CITY
Samia Halaby
Taking Shape: Abstraction from the Arab World, 1950s - 1980s
14 January | 4 April 2020
Samia Halaby's works are featured and on display in 'Taking Shape: Abstraction from the Arab World, 1950s -1980s' a collective exhibition that explores mid-20th-century abstract art from North Africa, West Asia, and the Arab diaspora.
The exhibition is drawn from the collection of the Barjeel Art Foundation, organized by Grey Art Gallery, NYU, and curated by Suheyla Takesh and Lynn Gumpert.
Exhibition on view from 14 January till 4 April 2020 at Grey Art Gallery, NYU, New York City.
Read more about this exhibition in the link below.
The exhibition is drawn from the collection of the Barjeel Art Foundation, organized by Grey Art Gallery, NYU, and curated by Suheyla Takesh and Lynn Gumpert.
Exhibition on view from 14 January till 4 April 2020 at Grey Art Gallery, NYU, New York City.
Read more about this exhibition in the link below.
RUDOLF STOLZ MUSEUM
Tammam Azzam
Dämmerung und Morgenlicht
5 January | 4 April 2020
We are pleased to announce that Tammam Azzam's work will be exhibited at the Rudolf Stolz Museum in collaboration with Kornfeld Galerie.
"Tammam Azzam | Dämmerung und Morgenlicht" will be on view 5 January - 4 April 2020.
Please join the opening reception on Saturday, 4 January 2020, 4 – 6 pm at Rudolf Stolz Museum, Dolomitenstraße 16, 39030 Sexten
"Tammam Azzam | Dämmerung und Morgenlicht" will be on view 5 January - 4 April 2020.
Please join the opening reception on Saturday, 4 January 2020, 4 – 6 pm at Rudolf Stolz Museum, Dolomitenstraße 16, 39030 Sexten
BIRZEIT, PALESTINE
Rula Halawani and Samia Halaby
Intimate Terrains: Representations of a Disappearing Landscape
2 April - 31 December 2019
Rula Halawani and Samia Halaby are participating in the exhibition ‘Intimate Terrains: Representations of a Disappearing Landscape’ at the Palestinian Museum from 2 April - 31 December, 2019.
CAP KUWAIT, KUWAIT
Athier
Fade and Float
9 December 2019 | 10 January 2020
We are pleased to announce that Athier's work will be exhibited at CAP Kuwait.
"Fading away and floating through time and space. The title uses both of these verbs which describe the ethereal transition from solid matter into the undefined. In these works, colour and light are treated as much as a subject as they are aesthetic devices. The bleaching, or softening of the palette within these works is a movement towards light and is in essence part of a process of letting go: letting go of mass and letting go of form. The compositions are a combination of architectural forms, organic stone sculptures, squiggly lines, shards of glass, pieces of marble and foam, colour palettes and fragments of memories. There is no hierarchy in the mass of these objects as there is no gravity to anchor to. All of these are balanced between chaos and stillness, as if everything has been jumbled together and thrown into the air and captured in a frame. There is an uncertainty to the direction of movement - to what can be defined as falling, and what is being projected - which is an intentional tool conveying the beauty of those moments in between peace and chaos. After the explosion and before the rubble has landed there is a calm. A moment where nothing is definable. Where everything is floating, and everything is fading into light. The three dimensional space in which I have placed these works refer to early 80’s crude graphics when a digital image of the world was being constructed, using a naïve and as yet unevolved technology."
- Athier
"Fading away and floating through time and space. The title uses both of these verbs which describe the ethereal transition from solid matter into the undefined. In these works, colour and light are treated as much as a subject as they are aesthetic devices. The bleaching, or softening of the palette within these works is a movement towards light and is in essence part of a process of letting go: letting go of mass and letting go of form. The compositions are a combination of architectural forms, organic stone sculptures, squiggly lines, shards of glass, pieces of marble and foam, colour palettes and fragments of memories. There is no hierarchy in the mass of these objects as there is no gravity to anchor to. All of these are balanced between chaos and stillness, as if everything has been jumbled together and thrown into the air and captured in a frame. There is an uncertainty to the direction of movement - to what can be defined as falling, and what is being projected - which is an intentional tool conveying the beauty of those moments in between peace and chaos. After the explosion and before the rubble has landed there is a calm. A moment where nothing is definable. Where everything is floating, and everything is fading into light. The three dimensional space in which I have placed these works refer to early 80’s crude graphics when a digital image of the world was being constructed, using a naïve and as yet unevolved technology."
- Athier
VENICE, ITALY
Rula Halawani
58th Venice Biennale 2019
11 May - 24 November 2019
Rula Halawani will be part of the 58th International Art Exhibition - La Biennale di Venezia, May You Live In Interesting Times, curated by Ralph Runoff. The exhibition will be open to the public from 11 May to 24 November, 2019 and chaired by Paolo Baratta.
ABU DHABI, UAE
Abu Dhabi Art 2019
Booth S02, Manarat Al Saadiyat Island
21 November - 23 November 2019
Ayyam Gallery is pleased to announce its participation in the 2019 edition of Abu Dhabi Art with a solo representation of eL Seed.
About the artist
eL Seed is a French-Tunisian artist who specializes in calligraffiti. Typically, Arabic calligraphy is associated with Islamic Art and Qu’ranic texts; nonetheless, the artist tries to break this tie. He fuses the beauty of Arabic calligraphy with the roughness of graffiti. Keeping away from traditional Arabic calligraphy rules, the artist created his own style to spread universal messages throughout the world. eL Seed’s style embodies open-mindedness and freedom in opposition to restraints in art and specifically Arabic calligraphy. The artist’s vibrant work evokes the marriage between the traditional and the modern.
About the artist
eL Seed is a French-Tunisian artist who specializes in calligraffiti. Typically, Arabic calligraphy is associated with Islamic Art and Qu’ranic texts; nonetheless, the artist tries to break this tie. He fuses the beauty of Arabic calligraphy with the roughness of graffiti. Keeping away from traditional Arabic calligraphy rules, the artist created his own style to spread universal messages throughout the world. eL Seed’s style embodies open-mindedness and freedom in opposition to restraints in art and specifically Arabic calligraphy. The artist’s vibrant work evokes the marriage between the traditional and the modern.
DUBAI (AL QUOZ)
eL Seed
Ayyam Gallery is proud to announce the addition of eL Seed to our roster of artists.
eL Seed is a French, Tunisian multimedia artist who uses Arabic lettering in a modern and contemporary way. Keeping away from traditional Arabic calligraphy rules, the artist has created his own style to spread universal messages throughout the world. The artist builds bridges between the East and the West while staying true to his personal values.
eL Seed is a French, Tunisian multimedia artist who uses Arabic lettering in a modern and contemporary way. Keeping away from traditional Arabic calligraphy rules, the artist has created his own style to spread universal messages throughout the world. The artist builds bridges between the East and the West while staying true to his personal values.
BENTONVILLE, ARKANSAS, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Sama Alshaibi
Momentary and Crystal Bridges Museum, State of the Art 2020
22 February - 24 May 2020
Sama Alshaibi is one of the sixty featured artists in the upcoming State of the Art 2020 exhibition at both the Momentary and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.
Sama's 'The Cessation' installation will be exhibited at the Momentary and Crystal Bridges from 22 February through 24 May 2020.
Sama's 'The Cessation' installation will be exhibited at the Momentary and Crystal Bridges from 22 February through 24 May 2020.
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji
MoMa, Theater of Operations, The Gulf War 1991-2011
3 November 2019 - 1 March 2020
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji's The Concrete Walls of Baghdad, 2007, Ink on concertinaed paper, 25 x 552 cm (25 x 34.5 folded) will be on display at the MoMa's Theatre of Operations, The Gulf War 1991 - 2011 exhibition.
MoMA PS1 presents a large-scale group exhibition examining the legacies of American-led military engagement in Iraq beginning with the Gulf War in 1991. Through more than 250 works, Theater of Operations: The Gulf Wars 1991-2011 explores the effects of these wars on artists based in Iraq and its diasporas, as well as those responding to the war from the West. Featuring the work of over 80 artists and collectives, Theater of Operations will be on view across the entire MoMA PS1 building from November 3, 2019, through March 1, 2020.
MoMA PS1 presents a large-scale group exhibition examining the legacies of American-led military engagement in Iraq beginning with the Gulf War in 1991. Through more than 250 works, Theater of Operations: The Gulf Wars 1991-2011 explores the effects of these wars on artists based in Iraq and its diasporas, as well as those responding to the war from the West. Featuring the work of over 80 artists and collectives, Theater of Operations will be on view across the entire MoMA PS1 building from November 3, 2019, through March 1, 2020.
PARIS
Rula Halawani
Centre Pompidou acquisition
Ayyam Gallery is proud to announce that the Centre Pompidou acquired works from Rula Halawani's Intimacy series.
"This body of work examines the experience of the Qalandia checkpoint, which has come to symbolize the ramifications of the current Israeli occupation. There are very few faces among the collection of images; rather “Intimacy I” captures intimate encounters between Palestinians seeking to cross the border and the Israeli soldiers preventing them from doing so, through close-up detail."
-Rula Halawani
"This body of work examines the experience of the Qalandia checkpoint, which has come to symbolize the ramifications of the current Israeli occupation. There are very few faces among the collection of images; rather “Intimacy I” captures intimate encounters between Palestinians seeking to cross the border and the Israeli soldiers preventing them from doing so, through close-up detail."
-Rula Halawani
VELENCIA
Rula Halawani
Institut Valencia d'Art Modern acquisition
Ayyam Gallery is proud to announce that the Institut Valencia d'Art Modern acquired works from Rula Halawani's Gates of Heaven series.
"Eight main gates surround the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City. For 2000 years those ancient walls beckoned visitors from all over the world, and home to Palestinians. A familiar and beloved site—the old city walls were a visual symbol of home, to walk upon, around, and inside."
- Rula Halawani
"Eight main gates surround the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City. For 2000 years those ancient walls beckoned visitors from all over the world, and home to Palestinians. A familiar and beloved site—the old city walls were a visual symbol of home, to walk upon, around, and inside."
- Rula Halawani
OTHER
Tammam Azzam
Forgotten Cities at Haines Gallery, San Francisco
5 September -2 November 2019 | San Francisco, CA
Tammam Azzam's first solo exhibition in the United States at Haines Gallery in San Francisco from 5 September till 2 November 2019.
OTHER
Asaad Arabi at Galerie Roy Sfeir
13-22 June 2019 | Paris, France
Asaad Arabi's solo exhibition opens at Galerie Roy Sfeir in Paris, France from 13 June to 22 June.
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OTHER
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji and Sama Alshaibi
Cairo International Biennale
10 June - 10 August 2019 | Cairo, Egypt
Sama Alshaibi and Sadik Kwaish Alfraji will be participating at the 13th edition of the Cairo International Biennale opening from June 10.
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
Sama Alshaibi
Until Total Liberation
21 March - 12 May 2019
Sama Alshaibi’s solo exhibition ‘Until Total Liberation’ is on view at Artpace San Antonio, USA till 12 May, 2019. The body of work exhibited in this show was developed during her two month Artist-in-Residence program with Artpace.
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA
Sadik Alfraji
9th Asia Pacific Triennial Of Contemporary Art
24 November 2018 - 28 April 2019
Sadik Alfraji is participating in the 9th Asia Pacific Triennial Of Contemporary Art (APT9) held at the Queensland Art Gallery, Gallery of Modern Art in South Brisbane, Australia, on view until 28 April 2019.
KOCHI, INDIA
Rula Halawani
Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2018
12 December 2018 - 29 March 2019
Rula Halawani will be participating with a large body of works from six different series in the fourth edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2018, India from 12 December to 29 March, 2019.
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
Sama Alshaibia
Artist-in-Residence by Artpace
23 January - 25 March 2019
Sama Alshaibi was chosen as the recipient of the Spring 2019 International Artist-in-Residence program by Artpace San Antonio, Texas.
SHARJAH, UAE
Rula Halawani
Sharjah Art Foundation acquisition
Rula Halawani's works from The Bride is Beautiful, But She is Married to Another Man series was recently acquired by Sharjah Art Foundation. The series was exhibited at Sharjah Art Foundation, UAE for its annual Production Programme in 2018.
WASHINGTON D.C., USA
Sadik Alfraji, Sama Alshaibi, Tammam Azzam and Rula Halawani
Tribe: Contemporary Photography from the Arab World
10 November - 16 December 2018
Sadik Alfraji, Sama Alshaibi, Tammam Azzam and Rula Halawani will be participating in the exhibition Tribe: Contemporary Photography from the Arab World at the Katzen Arts Center in the American University Museum in Washington, D.C., USA from 10 November to 16 December, 2018
ABU DHABI, UAE
Abu Dhabi Art 2018
13 - 17 November 2018 | Booth M11, Manarat Al Saadiyat Island
Ayyam Gallery is pleased to announce its participation in the 2018 edition of Abu Dhabi Art, one of the leading art fairs in the Middle East. With a diverse selection of some of the region’s foremost names, Ayyam Gallery offers a look at a range of works by Sadik Alfraji, Sama Alshaibi, Safwan Dahoul, Samia Halaby, Athier Mousawi, and Faisal Samra.
BREDA, NETHERLANDS
Sama Alshaibi at Breda Photo Festival
5 September - 21 October 2018 | Breda, The Netherlands
Sama Alshaibi is participating in the 8th edition of the Breda Photo festival ‘To Infinity and Beyond’; it’s theme circulating around the impact of science and technology on humans and society.
NEW YORK, USA
Samia Halaby speaking at Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
23 October 2018
Samia Halaby will be speaking at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum on 23 October, 2018 at 6:30 pm. As part of The Elaine Terner Cooper Education Fund Conversations with Contemporary Artists series, Halaby will be discussing her work and how new approaches to painting can contribute to technological and social advancement.
OTHER
Tammam Azzam at Galerie Kornfeld
14 September - 20 October | Berlin, Germany
Tammam Azzam's collage paintings, an extension from his recent Paper series, are currently being exhibited as a solo-presentation at Galerie Kornfeld in Berlin, Germany, the artist’s city of residency. This marks the first time the Syrian artist's work is displayed at the gallery. The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue featuring essays by art critic Ralf Hanselle and curator Heinz Stahlhut.
OTHER
Rula Halawani at Internazionale Festival
5 - 7 October 2018 | Ferrara, Italy
Rula Halawani will be participating as a speaker in the 2018 edition of ‘Internazionale Festival’, from 5 - 7 October in Ferrara, Italy.
OTHER
Samia Halaby at University of Bern
27 - 28 September 2018 | Bern, Switzerland
Samia Halaby will be giving the keynote speech entitled 'The Political Basis of Abstractio'n in the 20th Century, at a Symposium in honor of artist Etel Adnan at the University of Bern in Switzerland. The event will be taking place from 27-28 September in collaboration with the Zentrum Paul Kleen.
OTHER
Mohannad Orabi at Wadi Finan Art Gallery
8 - 27 September, 2018 | Amman, Jordan
Mohannad Orabi is presenting his new body of work ‘Moments’ under the patronage of H.R.H Princess Wijdan Al Hashemi in a solo exhibitin at Wadi Finan Art Gallery in Amman, Jordan from 8 – 27 September, 2018. It is the artist’s first time exhibiting his paintings in Jordan.
OTHER
Sama Alshaibi at Arizona Biennial 2018
5 July - 16 September 2018
Sama Alshaibi will be part of the Arizona Biennial 2018, contributing two of her photographs titled Obverse Discursive, 2016 and Arabic and Cuneiform: To Read and Write, 2016 that highlight her ongoing research of conflict and the power struggles that arise in the aftermath of war and exile. This years Arizona Biennial spans from July 5 to September 16, 2018 and is hosted at the Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block, curated by guest juror Rebecca R. Hart from the Denver Art Museum.
OTHER
Artist Talk: Sama Alshaibi at Columbia University School of the Arts
28 September 2018 | New York City, USA
Sama Alshaibi will be participating in the round table discussion at Lenfest Center, Columbia University School of the Arts, New York City, on 28 September 2018, from 3 – 4:30 pm.
OTHER
Rula Halawani
Light in Wartime
7 June - 18 July 2018 | New York, USA
Rula Halwani is participating in the exhibition 'Light in Wartime', organized by Rola Khayyat at Apexart, a non-profit arts organization in New York, USA from 7 June – 28 July 2018. The exhibition brings together photographers whose works shed new light on war, both forensically and symbolically. The presented images intend to challenge the conventions and limitations of traditional reportage, underlining the tensions between art, fiction, and photojournalism.
OTHER
Holiday Announcement
15-17 June 2018 | Dubai and Beirut
Eid Mubarak from Ayyam Gallery! We would like to announce that our galleries in Dubai and Beirut will be closed from Friday till Sunday, 15-17 June 2018 and will resume regular working hours on Monday, 18 June 2018.
OTHER
Nadim Karam
Art & Jewelry
19 March – 2 June 2018 | Custot Gallery, Dubai
Nadim Karam will be participating in the upcoming group show titled Art & Jewelry at Custot Gallery, Dubai. With the participation of his own jewelry design, Golden Elephant (2014) Karam proves that art can successfully cross over to jewelry design.
BEIRUT
Rula Halawani and Sama Alshaibi at Beirut Spring Festival
15 May – 7 June 2018 | Beirut, Lebanon
Sama Alshaibi and Rula Halawani are participating in the Beirut Spring Festival in Lebanon. Organized annually by the Samir Kassir Foundation, created in tribute to the journalist assassinated in 2005 for his writing in favour of independence, civil action, and freedom. The programme will feature international and multidisciplinary shows, across multiple venues, and free of charge.
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Samia Halaby at the Palestine Museum USA
22 April 2018 | Woodbridge, Connecticut, USA
Samia Halaby will be presenting the keynote address at the grand opening of the Palestine Museum USA, on April 22 in Woodbridge Connecticut. Followed by Halaby's speech the ceremony will feature literary readings, video screenings, a dedication of the museums lobby mural to Rachel Corrie, as well as a concert by renowned Palestinian musicians.
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Sama Alshaibi Video Screening
Together Apart
6 April at 7pm, Milwaukee USA
Sama Alshaibi will be participating with her video-still 'Together Apart' in the aCinema production 'An Answer Without A Question', screening 6 April 2018. The viewing begins at 7.00 pm at the Woodland Pattern Book Center, Milwaukee USA and will approximately run for 60 minutes. Alshaibi’s contributing film will feature a singular body alternating between receiving and removing garlands of flowers from her shoulders. Garlands are also known as tokens of love and blessings to either welcome or bid farewell. Together Apart is a personal reflection of the artist’s own history as a refugee.
Sama Alshaibi is presented alongside other artists such as Kandis Friesen, Akosua Adoma Owusu, Ananda Serné and Aliénor Vallet. aCinema is a non-profit organization dedicated to the monthly exhibition of works by moving image artists from around the globe, creating a platform for artists of all career statuses to share a common exhibition space.
Sama Alshaibi is presented alongside other artists such as Kandis Friesen, Akosua Adoma Owusu, Ananda Serné and Aliénor Vallet. aCinema is a non-profit organization dedicated to the monthly exhibition of works by moving image artists from around the globe, creating a platform for artists of all career statuses to share a common exhibition space.
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Ayyam Gallery at Art Dubai 2018
20 - 24 March 2018 | Booth D10, Madinat Jumeriah
Ayyam Gallery is pleased to present works by Tammam Azzam from his Paper series at the 2018 edition of Art Dubai. In this body of work, Azzam introduces the use of paper collage - a method new to his practice.
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Art Talk | Jean Boghossian
Jean Boghossian - Artist and Alchemist
Wednesday, 21 March at 4.30 pm | Dubai (The Yard, Alserkal Avenue)
Jean Boghossian will be giving an artist talk part of Majlis Talks at Alserkal Avenue. The talk will discuss the artist’s first solo exhibition with Ayyam Gallery and explore his practice and multimedia painting from his Unpredictable Horizons exhibition. Boghossian will shed light on his unusual technical processes to create his works, in which he applies fire and smoke to his canvases, using a wide array of brushes and torches as his tools.
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Tammam Azzam at Gangwon International Biennale
The Dictionary of Evil
3 February – 18 March 2018 | Chuncheon, South Korea
Tammam Azzam is participating in Gangwon International Biennale 2018, previously PyeongChang Biennale, in Chuncheon, South Korea. The Biennale, entitled 'The Dictionary of Evil' focuses on historical, political, and social issues that have taken place in the past 100 years.
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Tammam Azzam, Mohammed Bozorgi, and Thaier Helal part of FOR-SITE Foundation exhibition
Sanctuary
7 October 2017 - 11 March 2018 | San Francisco, USA
Tammam Azzam, Mohammed Bozorgi, and Thaier Helal are represented in 'Sanctuary', an international exhibition at San Francisco’s Fort Mason Chapel that opens on 7 October. Organised by the FOR-SITE Foundation, 'Sanctuary' invites artists to create images that reflect on the basic human need of safety and shelter. These images are then made into hand-woven prayer rugs, which emphasise the dual nature of this concept: that a sanctuary also serves as a place of contemplation.
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Rula Halawani at the Canadian War Museum
She Who Tells a Story: Women Photographers from Iran and the Arab World
6 December 2017 – 4 March 2018 | Ottawa, Canada
Rula Halawani’s works from her Negative Incursion series will travel to the Canadian War Museum as part of the exhibition originally opened at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 'She Who Tells a Story: Women Photographers from Iran and the Arab World'.
'She Who Tells' a Story brings together over 75 photographs taken by women photographers from Iran and the Arab world. Together, these evocative images, ranging from fine art to photojournalism, challenge Western conceptions and provide insight into the contemporary social and political landscape of the Middle East.
'She Who Tells' a Story brings together over 75 photographs taken by women photographers from Iran and the Arab world. Together, these evocative images, ranging from fine art to photojournalism, challenge Western conceptions and provide insight into the contemporary social and political landscape of the Middle East.
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Artist Talk | Sama Alshaibi
55th Society for Photographic Education Conference
1 - 3 March 2018 | Philadelphia, USA
Sama Alshaibi is speaking at the Society for Photographic Education (SPE) 55th Annual Conference, 'Uncertain Times: Borders, Refuge, Community, Nationhood', which addresses questions of globalization, migration, territory, refuge, community, identity, nationalism, and internationalism.
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Sama Alshaibi at the Tucson Museum of Art
Dress Matters: Clothing as Metaphor
21 October 2017 - 18 February 2018 | Arizona, USA
Sama Alshaibi is part of Tucson Museum of Art’s exhibition 'Dress Matters: Clothing as Metaphor' from 21 October 2017 - 18 February 2018.
'Dress Matters: Clothing as Metaphor' is a group exhibition that examines clothing in art as symbols of power and identity. At once functional and aesthetic, garments are worn to protect the body from the elements, enhance the beauty of the wearer, establish rank in society, and signal to others our differences or similarities. Garments also point to interpersonal issues and conditions as well as larger societal and cultural concerns. Works in this exhibition reveal how artists use concepts and images of clothing to relay compelling messages about gender, age, ethnicity, history, profession and the world around us in general.
'Dress Matters: Clothing as Metaphor' is a group exhibition that examines clothing in art as symbols of power and identity. At once functional and aesthetic, garments are worn to protect the body from the elements, enhance the beauty of the wearer, establish rank in society, and signal to others our differences or similarities. Garments also point to interpersonal issues and conditions as well as larger societal and cultural concerns. Works in this exhibition reveal how artists use concepts and images of clothing to relay compelling messages about gender, age, ethnicity, history, profession and the world around us in general.
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Sama Alshaibi, Tammam Azzam, Rula Halawani
Zeytinbur International Photography Festival (ZFotoFest)
19 January – 11 February 2018 | Istanbul, Turkey
Sama Alshaibi, Tammam Azzam, and Rula Halawani are participating in Zeytinburnu International Photography Festival (ZFotoFest) in Istanbul Turkey. Organised by Zeytinburnu municipality, ZFotoFest is a nonprofit organisation that attemps to inspire and bring together photographers from different fields and to expand the limits of photographic narration. Through this edition’s theme, ‘Oxygen’, the festival aims to strengthen already existing public awareness on environmental issues through photography and film – exploring concepts of ecological collapse, perishing nature, industrial waste, human helplessness at facing wars, and destruction caused by immigration and urbanisation.
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The passing of Fathallah Zamroud (1968 - 2018)
3 February 2018
It is with great sadness that we announce that our friend and artist, Fathallah Zamroud has passed away at the age of 49 after bravely fighting cancer for the last couple of years.
He passed away peacefully in his beloved city of Beirut, and our thoughts are with his family and friends. Zamroud was recognised for his expressive brushwork and dynamic use of colour. His talent and kindness will be truly missed.
He passed away peacefully in his beloved city of Beirut, and our thoughts are with his family and friends. Zamroud was recognised for his expressive brushwork and dynamic use of colour. His talent and kindness will be truly missed.
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Khaled Jarrar
Nous Sommes Foot [We Are Football]
11 October 2017 – 4 February 2018 | MuCEM, Marseille, France
Khaled Jarrar’s 'Football Shoes' (2013) are part of 'Nous Sommes Foot' [We Are Football] opening on 11 October at The Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilisations (MuCEM) in Marseille, France. The exhibition takes the sport of football – prominent in both the elite neighbourhoods of some the of largest cities and the underprivileged housing estates of others, from Paris, to Marseille, to Istanbul and Athens – along with the sport venues and the economic side of the sport as a focal point. Nous Sommes Foot explores football as a magnifying mirror of the moral values and political ideologies of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
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Faisal Samra
An Ode to Life
14 December 2017 - 31 January 2018 | Bahrain
Faisal Samra will unveil a new public installation part of ‘An Ode to Life’, an inaugural exhibition by THE BOX, a Bahrain-based independent collective of creatives, opening on 14 December at 4pm, at the Bahrain Fort Site Museum.
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Samia Halaby, Rula Halawani, Khaled Jarrar at the Palestinian Museum
Jerusalem Lives (Tahya Al Quds)
27 August 2017 - 31 January 2018 | Birzeit, Palestine
Samia Halaby, Rula Halawani and Khaled Jarrar are part of 'Jerusalem Lives (Tahya Al Quds)' a collective exhibition at the Palestinian Museum that opens on 27 August. Curated by Reem Fadda, Fawz Kabra, and Yara Abbas, Jerusalem Lives (Tahya Al Quds) explores the contested city as a 'microcosm of globalisation,' focusing on the urgent political issues that affect its residents. Through the works of its included artists, the exhibition identifies these issues as part of a larger, global context.
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Rula Halawani at Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno
Being Rebellious: Women’s Narratives in the Arab World
14 September 2017 – 28 January 2018 | Valencia, Spain
Rula Halawani is represented in 'Being Rebellious: Women’s Narratives in the Arab World' an exhibition at Instituto Valenciano de Art Moderno (IVAM) exploring the realities of the Arab world since the nineties, as shown through different perspectives of female artists from the region. Through the works presented, the constructs of femininity formed by men are reflected on, while also shedding light on the political capacity for transformation of women as social agents.
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Artist Talk: Athier in conversation with Anna Seaman
Saturday, 27 January at 3.00 pm | A4 Screening Room, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai
Join the discussion between painter Athier and arts journalist Anna Seaman as they delve into the inspiration behind Athier’s practice and his latest exhibition, All Things Come Apart at Ayyam Gallery DIFC.
The talk will take place during Quoz Arts Fest (26 - 27 January), an annual celebration of art and culture in Alserkal Avenue, Dubai.
The talk will take place during Quoz Arts Fest (26 - 27 January), an annual celebration of art and culture in Alserkal Avenue, Dubai.
DUBAI (ALSERKAL AVENUE)
Extended Weekend Hours for Quoz Arts Fest
26 & 27 January 2018 | Dubai (Alserkal Avenue)
Our galleries in Alserkal Avenue will have extended weekend hours during Quoz Arts Fest.
Both spaces will be open on Friday, 26 January and Saturday, 27 January from 10 am - 10 pm.
Both spaces will be open on Friday, 26 January and Saturday, 27 January from 10 am - 10 pm.
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Farzad Kohan at Coagula Curatorial
The Abstract Power Show
4 – 14 January 2018 | Los Angeles, California
Farzad Kohan in presented in 'The Abstract Power' Show at Coagula Curatorial in Los Angeles. The exhibition is the first of the gallery’s 'New Curator Series' taking place throughout the winter and spring of 2018.
The show brings together six Los Angeles artists who each delve and divulge into various operational modes of abstraction.
The show brings together six Los Angeles artists who each delve and divulge into various operational modes of abstraction.
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Sama Alshaibi receives two artist grants for forthcoming project 'Carry Over'
January 2018
Sama Alshaibi has been awarded two production grants, Visual Arts AFAC Grant - Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (2017) and Artist Research and Development Grant - Arizona Commission on the Arts (2018) for her forthcoming project 'Carry Over', a multimedia series that, according to the artist, “recalls, decodes, and subverts familiar images while questioning their ability to inform nuanced understanding of complex identities.”
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Sama Alshaibi at Palazzo Granafei-Nervegna
Timeless Fragments
9 December 2017 – 7 January 2018 | Brindisi, Italy
Sama Alshaibi will be participating with video works from her Silsila series in Timeless Fragments: chromatic vibration between water and earth, an exhibition in the Palazzo Granafei-Nervegna, under the patronage of the Brindisi Municipality.
The exhibition unfolds in a logical-critical and psycho-geographical pathway that recalls the places of universal synergies between earth and water, the relationship between ancient and contemporary, between archeology and contemporary art. The lines of thought between sign and symbol, the enigma between fragment and uniqueness, the personal mapping between space perception and surrounding space, between micro and macro, archetype and individual story are explored.
The exhibition unfolds in a logical-critical and psycho-geographical pathway that recalls the places of universal synergies between earth and water, the relationship between ancient and contemporary, between archeology and contemporary art. The lines of thought between sign and symbol, the enigma between fragment and uniqueness, the personal mapping between space perception and surrounding space, between micro and macro, archetype and individual story are explored.
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Holiday Announcement
25 December & 30 December - 1 January | Beirut & Dubai
Ayyam Gallery wishes you a happy holidays and a properous New Year 2018. Our Beirut space is closed on 25 December. Normal hours resume on 26 December. Our Dubai and Beirut galleries will be closed from 30 December - 1 January. Normal working hours resume on 2 January.
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Sama Alshaibi
Sama Alshaibi: Silsila
9 September - 24 December 2017
Sama Alshaibi presents works from her Silsila series at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art in a solo exhibition running until 24 December 2017, consisting of a series of photographs and video works.
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Samia Halaby, Sadik Kwaish Alfraji, Sama Alshaibi
Between two rounds of fire, the exile of the sea
5 September – 17 December 2017 | Washington, USA
Samia Halaby, Sadik Kwaish Alfraji and Sama Alshaibi and are represented in 'Between two rounds of fire, the exile of the sea', an exhibition at Katzen Art Center, American University Museum, showcasing a diverse selection of Arab modern and contemporary works from the Barjeel Art Foundation. The selected works for the exhibition shed light on a range of technologies of conflict, where conflict is defined in the wider sense of the word. Through these works, the exhibition explores mechanisms of power and the role artists play in recognising these mechanisms and employ them in their work.
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Tammam Azzam at Untitled, Miami Beach
6-10 December 2017 | Miami, Florida, USA
Tammam Azzam is participating in the 2017 Untitled, Miami Beach with a selection of works from his recent Paper series—paper collages that depict cities and landscapes. Azzam is highlighted by Haines Gallery, San Francisco, one of the Bay Area’s leading art spaces.
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Khaled Jarrar Receives AFAC Grant
December 2017
Khaled Jarrar has been awarded a grant by the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC) for his film 'Displaced in Heaven', a documentary that follows an exiled Palestinian family fleeing Syria.
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Holiday Announcement
30 November - 3 December 2017 | Dubai (Alserkal Avenue and DIFC)
Ayyam Gallery Dubai (11, 12 Alserkal Avenue and DIFC) will be closed from 30 November to 3 December to mark the Birthday of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), Commemoration Day and UAE National Day. Normal working hours resume Monday, 4 December 2017.
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Samia Halaby wins Palestine Book Award
November 2017 | London
Samia Halaby has won the Creative Prize for her publication ‘Drawing the Kafr Qasem Massacre’ at the recent Palestine Book Awards in London.
Halaby’s ‘Drawing the Kafr Qasem Massacre’ (Amsterdam: Schilt Publishing, 2017) illustrates the massacre of Kafr Qasem villagers in 1956 by Israeli forces. Palestine Book Awards is an annual event that recognises English language publications on the subject of Palestine.
Halaby’s ‘Drawing the Kafr Qasem Massacre’ (Amsterdam: Schilt Publishing, 2017) illustrates the massacre of Kafr Qasem villagers in 1956 by Israeli forces. Palestine Book Awards is an annual event that recognises English language publications on the subject of Palestine.
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Sadik Kwaish Alfraji at 57th Venice Biennale
I am The Hunter/I am The Prey
13 May - 26 November 2017 | Venice, Italy
The Ruya Foundation, the commissioning organisation of the Iraq Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, has recently announced the featured artists for its 2017 exhibition. Sadik Kwaish Alfraji is represented in the multigenerational show with a new commissioned series. 'I am The Hunter/I am The Prey' explores the dual nature of experiences such as love, which Alfraji views as a form of hunting. Using references that span the history of civilisation and include everything from language to ancient warfare, Alfraji details this aspect of the human condition in drawings, a video animation, and ready-made objects.
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Samia Halaby's 'Drawing the Kafr Qasem Massacre' Shortlisted for Literary Prize
July 2017
Samia Halaby’s recently released book, 'Drawing the Kafr Qasem Massacre' (Schilt Publishing, 2017) has been shortlisted for the prestigious Palestine Book Awards, an annual event that recognises English language publications on the subject of Palestine. Halaby’s book was selected from more than forty entries, and is listed among other books by renowned writers and scholars such as Ilan Pappe and Ella Shohat.
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Tammam Azzam at KIBLIX Festival 2017
Shelters of Babylon
9 - 16 November 2017 | Maribor, Slovenia
Tammam Azzam will be participating in this year's KIBLIX festival's art exhibition 'Shelters of Babylon' taking place in Maribor, Slovenia. The festival will be host to symposiums, exhibition, performances, workshops, and artistic interventions.
Azzam will be presenting a variety of works, including prints such as Conscript (2012) and Goya’s the 3rd of May 1808 (2013) from his Syrian Museum series, as well as paper collage works on canvas from his Paper series. Azzam’s print works are informed by his interest in the interventionist potential of digital photography and street art as powerful and direct forms of protest that are difficult to suppress.
Azzam will be presenting a variety of works, including prints such as Conscript (2012) and Goya’s the 3rd of May 1808 (2013) from his Syrian Museum series, as well as paper collage works on canvas from his Paper series. Azzam’s print works are informed by his interest in the interventionist potential of digital photography and street art as powerful and direct forms of protest that are difficult to suppress.
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Abu Dhabi Art 2017
8-11 November 2017 | Booth X3-12, Manarat Al Saadiyat Island
Ayyam Gallery is pleased to announce its participation in the 2017 edition of Abu Dhabi Art, one of the leading art fairs in the Middle East. With a diverse selection of some of the region’s foremost names, Ayyam Gallery offers a look at a range of works by Jean Boghossian, Safwan Dahoul, Samia Halaby, Thaier Helal, and Nadim Karam.
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Khaled Jarrar at Whitechapel Gallery
Palestine Now: Documents of a Disappearance 1917-2017
4 November 2017 | Whitechapel Gallery, London
Khaled Jarrar’s film 'Infiltrators' (2012) will be screened at Whitechapel Gallery as part of 'Palestine Now: Documents of a Disappearance 1917-2017', a day-long event tracing the legacy of colonialism through films, readings, and special guest presentations. The day aims to give a perspective on anticolonial resistance past and present, culminating in a discussion of questions of responsibility and the role of the imagination in creating a shared future.
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Khaled Jarrar at 57th Venice Biennale
The Absence of Paths: A Dinner that Never Came
13 May - 30 October 2017 | Venice, Italy
The Tunisian pavilion of the Venice Biennale has commissioned Khaled Jarrar to contribute to its online multimedia platform. As part of the exhibition, 'The Absence of Paths', artists from around the world have been invited to contribute texts and images to a digital repository that reflects on migration.
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Artist Talk: Sama Alshaibi
Unchain my Feet
10 October 2017 | CSGS, New York University, New York
Sama Alshaibi is part of the 'Decolonizing Vision Speaker Series' at the CSGS, New York University, giving an artist talk on 10 October at 6-8 pm (EDT). The talk explores the intersections of contemporary migration crises through a selection of Alshaibi’s work. The lecture is informed by Alshaibi’s own biography and considers the impact of socio-political conditions on individuals under threat of the state or statelessness. These forces are contextualised when resources and land, mobility, political agency, and self-affirmation are compromised.
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Tammam Azzam at European Capital of Culture-Pafos 2017
9 July - 30 September 2017 | Pafos, Cyprus
This summer Tammam Azzam is participating in 'On Target', a collective exhibition organised as part of the European Capital of Culture-Pafos 2017. Held at the Pafos Municipal Gallery in Cyprus from 9 July until 30 September, the exhibition brings together diverse international artists who explore recent outbreaks of violence in their works.
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Farzad Kohan's award winning public mural
Humanity
September 2017 | Los Angeles, California, USA
Farzad Kohan presents his mural 'Humanity' in Los Angeles as the first winning design installation of the Iranian Mural Design Competition by Farhang Foundation in collaboration with Beautify Earth.
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Sama Alshaibi at Marta Herford Museum for Art, Architecture, and Design
24 June - 24 September 2017 | Herford, Germany
This summer Sama Alshaibi is included in Suspended Territories: Artists from the Middle East and North Africa at Marta Herford Museum for Art, Architecture, and Design in Germany. The exhibition highlights artists from the MENA region who mostly work in the United States or Europe. Connecting their diverse works are explorations of identity and questions of belonging.
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Holiday Announcement
21 September 2017 | Dubai (Alserkal Avenue & DIFC)
Our galeries in Dubai (Alserkal Avenue & DIFC) are closed on Thursday, 21 September. Regular hours resume on Saturday, 23 September (Alserkal Avenue) and Sunday, 24 September (DIFC).
We wish you a happy Hijri New Year!
We wish you a happy Hijri New Year!
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Khaled Jarrar
Lines Drawn
22 September - 18 November 2017
Khaled Jarrar’s 'Infiltrators' (2012) will be presented in 'Lines Drawn' at DiverseWorks, Houston from 22 September - 18 November 2017. The group exhibition, which features artists such as Mariam Ghani, Pedro Lasch, and Henry G. Sanchez, explores how artists reimagine, disrupt, and question received notions of borders and boundaries.
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Sama Alshaibi at Museum De Wieger
Beautiful Stranger
21 May - 18 September 2017
Sama Alshaibi is featured in an exhibition of works from The Nadour Collection at the Museum De Wieger in the Netherlands.
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Khaled Jarrar and Sama Alshaibi at CCS Bard Exhibition
No to the Invasion: Breakdowns and Side Effects
24 June - 17 September 2017 | New York, USA
Khaled Jarrar and Sama Alshaibi are featured in 'No to the Invasion: Breakdowns and Side Effects', a collective exhibition organised by Fawza Kabra for the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College in New York. The exhibition highlights a selection of works in a range of media that are drawn from the Barjeel Art Foundation. Spanning more than twenty-five years of contemporary art from the Arab world, beginning in 1990, the included works map the recent sociopolitical history of the region, demonstrating the myriad ways that artists have addressed seismic shifts or events like the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.
TALLINN, ESTONIA
Tammam Azzam
European Young Leaders (EYL40)
14 - 16 September 2017
Tammam Azzam has been selected as one of the top 20 Young Leaders representing the Middle East and North Africa as part of Friends of Europe’s European Young Leaders’ (EYL40) Class of 2017.
Friends of Europe is a leading international think tank with a long-standing reputation for promoting inclusive, high-level discourse on Europe and its relationship to the rest of the world. The EYL40 programme brings together talented, established young leaders under the age of 40, who have made a mark in a range of fields from politics, to science, to art.
Friends of Europe is a leading international think tank with a long-standing reputation for promoting inclusive, high-level discourse on Europe and its relationship to the rest of the world. The EYL40 programme brings together talented, established young leaders under the age of 40, who have made a mark in a range of fields from politics, to science, to art.
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Ammar al-Beik at the EYE Film Museum
Syrian New Waves
8-10 September 2017 | Amsterdam, Netherlands
Ammar al-Beik will join Avo Kaprealian and Sara Fattahi in a programme focused on post-uprising films from Syria that is organised by the EYE Film Museum in Amsterdam from 8-10 September 2017. The highlighted films were selected based on their contemplative views of the Syrian crisis and their engagement with the history of cinema as a means of subverting dominant narratives.
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Shurooq Amin appointed as Regional Coordinator for The Feminist Art Project (TFAP)
September 2017
Shurooq Amin has been appointed as a regional coordinator for Rutgers University’s The Feminist Art Project (TFAP) for the Middle East. TFAP is an international collaborative initiative celebrating the Feminist Art Movement and the aesthetic, intellectual, and political impact of women on the visual arts, art history, and art practice.
DUBAI & BEIRUT
Holiday Announcement
Ayyam Gallery Dubai (Al Quoz & DIFC) will remain closed from 31 August - 2 September. Normal working hours resume from 3 September.
Beirut will be closed from 1-3 September. Normal hours resume from 4 September.
Ayyam Gallery wishes you Eid Mubarak!
Beirut will be closed from 1-3 September. Normal hours resume from 4 September.
Ayyam Gallery wishes you Eid Mubarak!
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Khaled Jarrar at La Triennale di Milano
28 April - 20 August 2017 | Milan, Italy
Khaled Jarrar’s critically acclaimed film Infiltrators (2012) is included in 'La Terra Inquieta / The Restless Earth', a collective exhibition co-organised by the Fondazione Nicola Trussardi and Fondazione La Triennale di Milano. The exhibition will be on view at La Triennale di Milano.
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Ammar al-Beik and Tammam Azzam at Künstlerforum Bonn
Away from Home
27 August 2017 - 17 September 2017 | Bonn, Germany
Ammar al-Beik and Tammam Azzam are featured in 'Away from Home', which opens at the Kunstlerforum Bonn on 27 August. This travelling exhibition originated at the Kunstverein Grafschaft Bentheim last year, and highlights displaced Syrian artists who recently immigrated to Germany.
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Sama Alshaibi Receives AFAC Grant
August 2017
Sama Alshaibi has been awarded an Arab Fund for Arts and Culture grant for her forthcoming project Carry Over, a multimedia series that, according to the artist, ‘ recalls, decodes, and subverts familiar images while questioning their ability to inform nuanced understanding of complex identities.’
OTHER
Khaled Jarrar Nominated for German Film Prize
July 2017
Khaled Jarrar has been nominated for the 2018 Film Prize of the Robert Bosch Stifung for International Cooperation, a 60,000 Euro award given to emerging Arab filmmakers working in Germany. Issued to German-Arab production teams, this prize aims to support young talent, offering yearlong training in addition to exposure through various outlets in the film industry.
BEIRUT
Khaled Jarrar at Kunstraum Niederösterreich
Performing the Border
2 June - 22 July 2017 | Vienna, Austria
Khaled Jarrar is featured among a roster of international artists this summer in Performing the Border, a multimedia exhibition that explores the physical and psychic spaces of borderlands. Curated by Christiane Krejs for the Kunstraum Niederösterreich in Vienna, Austria, the exhibition highlights works that disrupt the precarious nature of borders or contested territories, and includes Mona Al Qadiri, Tiffany Chung, and Francis Alÿs, among others.
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Nadim Karam Unveils New Sculpture at Nissan Headquarters
The Wheels of Innovation
June 2017 | Yokohama, Japan
Nadim Karam unveiled a new sculpture at the Nissan Headquarters in Yokohama, Japan. ‘The Wheels of Innovation’ was commissioned in honour of the corporation’s Chairman, Carlos Ghosn. According to Karam’s Studio Hapsitus, the towering work represents ‘an efficient system based on diversity’ in addition to ‘the values and prosperity’ that have defined Ghosn’s leadership.
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Shurooq Amin at Art Omi International Artists Residency
15 June - 11 July 2017 | New York, USA | New York, USA
Shurooq Amin has been selected to participate in the Art Omi International Artist Residency from 15 June until 11 July. Located in upstate New York in a village two hours north of Manhattan, the residency is open to artists working in a variety of media.
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Khaled Jarrar at 2017 Palestine Expo
8-9 July 2017 | Westminster, London
Khaled Jarrar is one of several artists included in the 2017 Palestine Expo, a programme held in London that aims to educate the public on the current state of Palestinian affairs not only in politics but also its cultural trends and social development. Spearheaded by the not-for-profit UK organisation Friends of Al-Aqsa, the Expo includes live entertainment, academic workshops, pop up exhibitions, and lectures.
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Khaled Jarrar in Survival of the Artist symposium
2 July 2017 from 11.00 am-12.45 pm | British Museum
Khaled Jarrar is participating in Survival of the Artist, a one-day symposium that explores artists working under siege and in times of conflict or repression. Organised by the Mosaic Rooms in association with the Shubbak Festival 2017, the symposium will include presentations, panel discussions, and performances.
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Khaled Jarrar at Institut du Monde Arabe
100 Masterpieces of Modern and Contemporary Arab Art
28 February - 2 July 2017 | Paris, France
Khaled Jarrar’s 'Buddy Bear' (2013) is part of '100 Masterpieces of Modern and Contemporary Arab Art' at the Institut du Monde Arabe, an exhibition highlighting the Barjeel Collection. 100 Masterpieces features a selection of works from the Sharjah-based art foundation in a variety of media, spanning several decades of art production in the Arab world, and includes seminal artists like Marwan Kassab Bachi, Hassan Sharif, Etel Adnan, and Shakir Hassan.
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Samia Halaby at Galerie Tanit
Künstlerinnen aus der Morgenland
17 May - 30 June 2017 | Munich, Germany
Samia Halaby is featured alongside Etel Adnan, Mona Hatoum, and Huguette Caland, among others, in Künstlerinnen aus der Morgenland at Galerie Tanit, an exhibition that gathers a multi-generational group of women artists from the Arab world and Iran.
DUBAI (AL QUOZ)
Ramadan Programming: A Series of Workshops with Award Winning Painter Mohannad Orabi
31 May - 21 June 2017, 9-11 PM | Dubai (11 Alserkal Avenue)
In observance of the Holy Month of Ramadan, Ayyam Gallery will host a series of workshops led by Dubai-based Syrian artist Mohannad Orabi. This month-long series coincides with Alserkal Avenue’s after Iftar programming every Wednesday.
Each workshop will focus on a different aspect of painting, from preparatory exercises such as sketching and drawing to creating still life compositions. Orabi, a seasoned artist and instructor, will guide participants through the formalism of the medium, emphasising the many ways that experimentation and intuition have contributed to his artistic practice.
These exploratory art sessions will be held Wednesdays from 9-11 pm at Ayyam Gallery Dubai (11 Alserkal Avenue): 31 May; 7 June; 14 June; and 21 June.
Materials will be provided by Ayyam Gallery.
No prerequisites are required.
Open to participants who are 18 years old and above.
Those interested in attending can register through events@ayyamgallery.com.
Each workshop will focus on a different aspect of painting, from preparatory exercises such as sketching and drawing to creating still life compositions. Orabi, a seasoned artist and instructor, will guide participants through the formalism of the medium, emphasising the many ways that experimentation and intuition have contributed to his artistic practice.
These exploratory art sessions will be held Wednesdays from 9-11 pm at Ayyam Gallery Dubai (11 Alserkal Avenue): 31 May; 7 June; 14 June; and 21 June.
Materials will be provided by Ayyam Gallery.
No prerequisites are required.
Open to participants who are 18 years old and above.
Those interested in attending can register through events@ayyamgallery.com.
OTHER
Samia Halaby at Birzeit University Museum
Samia Halaby: Documentary Drawings of the Kafr Qasem Massacre/Illuminated Space
22 February - 30 May 2017 | Ramallah. Palestine
Samia Halaby opens her first solo exhibition at Birzeit University Museum on 22 February. Halaby has participated in collective exhibitions at the university in the past, and led workshops for students there in the 1990s.
OTHER
Rula Halawani in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain
Mediterráneas
15 - 27 May 2017
Rula Halawani has been invited to contribute to a public exhibition that will be installed along Calle Larga (Long Street) in Jerez del la Frontera, Spain. Coinciding with the Mediterranean Women Forum, a meeting of scholars, dignitaries, and researchers that explore everything from culture to public policy in relation to the lives of women in the region, Mediterráneas features female artists from North Africa, West Asia, and Southern Europe, and seeks to reclaim public space with powerful imagery that demands equality for women. Each artist is represented with a work that is printed on a large banner and hung along the main thoroughfare.
OTHER
Samia Halaby
Enfolding and Unfolding: Geometric Abstraction in Motion
21 April - 14 May 2017 | School of Visual Arts, New York
Samia Halaby's rarely seen kinetic paintings are highlighted in 'Enfolding and Unfolding: Geometric Abstraction in Motion', an exhibition of electronic art that includes computer-based works. Halaby is represented with paintings that she programmed on the Amiga and PC between 1985 and 1995. Curated by Sanaa Almajedi at the School of Visual Arts New York City, the exhibition explores the influence of geometric abstraction in Islamic art, particularly how it developed in North Africa and West Asia, on experimental artists from the Arab world. Featured alongside Halaby are Ghassan Ghaib and Himat Mohammed Ali.
OTHER
Asaad Arabi at Galerie Frederic Moisan
L’habitat et l’habite
13 April - 13 May 2017 | Paris, France
Asaad Arabi opens 'L’habitat et l’habite', a solo exhibition at Galerie Frederic Moisan in Paris from 13 April - 13 May 2017. Arabi will present a selection of figurative works spanning his fifty-year career.
OTHER
Sama Alshaibi in the 2017 Honolulu Biennial
Middle of Now | Here
8 March - 8 May 2017 | Honolulu, Hawaii
Sama Alshaibi is included in the 2017 Honolulu Biennial, which opens on 8 March with a lineup of artists working in a variety of media from North America, the Pacific Islands, Australia, and New Zealand. Curated by Mori Art Museum’s Fumio Nanjo and Ngahiraka Mason, former Curator of Indigenous Art at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, this Pacific-oriented event will highlight established and emerging artists at venues throughout the Hawaiian capital until 8 May.
OTHER
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji at Lemvig Museum
TIME, SITE & LORE
11 April - 6 May 2017 & 1 - 10 September 2017 | Lemvig, Denmark
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji has been invited to participate in 'Meetings', a video and performance project that will be on view at institutions throughout rural Denmark. The project is organised by ET4U, an artist run association in Western Jutland, the large peninsula that contains the mainland of the country.
OTHER
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji at Maraya Art Centre in Sharjah
Once Upon A Time: Hadiqat Al Umma
4 March - 6 May 2017 | Sharjah, UAE
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji will debut a new multimedia art installation at Maraya Art Centre on 4 March. Curated by Laura Metzler and Dr. Alexandra MacGlip, 'Once Upon A Time: Hadiqat Al Umma' includes a series of video animations that are projected onto nine screens, creating an immersive environment in which the viewer is transported to Baghdad’s Hadiqat Al Umma, a popular park that is a central fixture in the artist’s memories of his homeland. Alfraji’s video works show him as a young boy surrounded by its monuments and other images from the park. A mixture of nostalgia and bittersweet sorrow permeate the gallery space as the videos are paired with the melancholic rhythms of classical Arabic music.
OTHER
Nadim Karam at The Fine Art Society
Urban Stories
24 April - 19 May 2017 | London, UK
Urban Stories, Nadim Karam’s upcoming exhibition at The Fine Art Society in London will debut 'Trou de Mémoire', a sculpture installation consisting of two figures, 'Memory' and 'Void'.
LONDON
Workshop by Sadik Kwaish Alfraji at the British Museum
Saturday, 22 April from 11am - 4pm | British Museum, London
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji will lead an art workshop at the British Museum on Saturday, 22 April from 11 to 4 pm.
BEIRUT
Rula Halawani at the Lebanese American University
A Photographic Journey into Palestine
22 April at 4pm | LAU Campus, Byblos, Lebanon
Rula Halawani has been invited to speak at the Lebanese American University in Byblos on 22 April. Halawani’s talk, ‘A Photographic Journey into Palestine,’ is part of a larger programme addressing the role of women artists in the Middle East, including their invaluable contributions to the art world and the obstacles they encounter.
OTHER
Farzad Kohan
Art Beyond Conflict
3 March - 22 April 2017 | Sculpture Northwest, Washington, USA
Farzad Kohan is part of 'Art Beyond Conflict', a collective exhibition of sculpture by artists from the MENA region that opens on 3 March at Sculpture Northwest, a non-profit art space that servers communities in Seattle, Washington, USA, and Vancouver, Canada. Kohan is represented with two sculptures.
DAMASCUS
Ammar al-Beik at the Museum Neukölln
Lost Images Berlin / Damaskus
14 January - 16 April 2017 | Berlin, Germany
Ammar al-Beik’s latest body of work is highlighted at the Museum Neukölln in Berlin, Germany in a solo exhibition that opens on 14 January. As a continuation of his Lost Images series, this new collection of photographs connects the experiences of German Jews during World War II and refugees currently displaced by the conflict in Syria. Drawing from the museum’s historical photography collection, al-Beik contrasts his images with those of former Berlin residents, as he emphasises the fragility of life and the uncertain futures that often await vulnerable communities.
OTHER
Mohannad Orabi at the CultureSummit 2017
9-13 April 2017 | Abu Dhabi, UAE
Mohannad Orabi is an invited participant of the CultureSummit 2017, a gathering of public policy leaders, scholars, artists, cultural workers, administrators, and executives from around the world. Orabi is a featured speaker of the summit, which will take place 9 – 13 April on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi.
The summit’s programming is co-organised by Foreign Policy magazine, which recognised Orabi alongside Ayyam Gallery artistic director Maymanah Farhat for their work on representing the human side of the Syrian conflict.
The summit’s programming is co-organised by Foreign Policy magazine, which recognised Orabi alongside Ayyam Gallery artistic director Maymanah Farhat for their work on representing the human side of the Syrian conflict.
OTHER
Ammar al-Beik at FILMFEST DRESDEN
The Sun’s Incubator
4-9 April 2017
Ammar al-Beik will screen his 2011 short film 'The Sun’s Incubator' at FILMFEST DRESDEN, a leading international platform for short films that runs 4 – 9 April. The German film festival receives up to 200,000 visitors every year.
OTHER
Rula Halawani at Metropolitan State University, Denver
Presence: Reflections on the Middle East
3 February - 8 April | Denver, USA
Rula Halawani is featured alongside a diverse group of Arab and Iranian artists whose photo-based works address migration and displacement, particularly by identifying traces of the past.
OTHER
Ammar al Beik at the University of Bergamo
Exile Today
7 April 2017 | Bergamo, Italy
Ammar al Beik is invited to speak at the University of Bergamo on 7 April in a seminar titled 'Exile Today', which will include a screening of his 2014 film 'La Dolce Siria'.
OTHER
Artist Talk: Athier in Conversation with Curator Bahaa Abudaya
6 April 2017 at 7.30 pm | Ayyam Gallery Beirut
On 6 April at 7:30 pm, Athier will be in conversation with Dr. Bahaa Abudaya, the curator of his latest solo exhibition at Ayyam Gallery Beirut. After Denudation opens earlier that evening with new paintings and drawings by the artist. In his latest works, Athier examines the effects of urban development on the desert terrains that lie beneath and around the expanding cities of the Gulf while also emphasising how these natural environments have inbuilt structure and design and systems of regeneration. Athier and Abudaya will discuss the concepts and formalism of the series, including how abstraction can shed light on such complex phenomena.
OTHER
Sama Alshaibi at Spelman College
The Length of the Neck
5 April at 6.00 pm
Sama Alshaibi will present a Visiting Artist's talk in the Department of Art and Art History at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. The liberal arts college is a leading institution in the United States, and ranked number one among historically black colleges.
OTHER
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji at the British Museum
30 March - 30 April 2017
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji is part of 'Moving Stories: Three Journeys', a new multimedia exhibition at the British Museum. A selection of drawings from Alfraji’s Ali’s Boat series is featured alongside a projected animation of million-year-old footprints discovered in 2013 and a short film by the late poet and philosopher Édouard Glissant. Before travelling to the British Museum, Alfraji’s series was highlighted in solo exhibitions in the Middle East and Europe between 2014 and 2016, including at the Red Star Line Museum in Belgium.
OTHER
Extended Weekend Hours
17-18 March 2017
Our galleries in Dubai (DIFC and Alserkal Avenue) will be open this weekend during Art Week. DIFC gallery is open Friday (10am - 10pm) and Saturday (12 - 10pm). Our spaces in Alserkal Avenue are open Friday and Saturday (10am - 7pm).
OTHER
Khaled Jarrar and Sama Alshaibi at Brentwood Arts Exchange
Boundaries
18 March 2017 | Maryland, USA
Khaled Jarrar and Sama Alshaibi are featured in a special pop-up exhibition of video and installation art at Brentwood Arts Exchange in Maryland. The American non-profit art space has organised 'Boundaries' in order to investigate ‘identities and conditions that emerge as a result of fluid spaces that are geographic, political, and even metaphysical.’ Curated by Erin Devine and Phil Davis, this collective exhibition includes a diverse range of U.S. based artists, many whom are immigrants.
OTHER
Fully Booked Art Book Fair
13-18 Mach 2017 | Alserkal Avenue
Ayyam Gallery will participate in the Fully Booked Art Book Fair at Alserkal Avenue 13- 18 March with a selection of recently published titles. Two new publications by Samia Halaby, Drawing the Kafr Qasem Massacre (Amsterdam: Schilt Publishing, 2017) and Growing Shapes (New York: Palestine Books, 2017) will be available for purchase in addition to her Five Decades of Painting and Innovation (London: Booth Clibborn Editions, 2014).
OTHER
Art Dubai 2017
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji: Seasons of Lost Baghdad
15 - 18 March 2017 | Booth D9, Madinat Jumeriah
Ayyam Gallery is pleased to present Sadik Kwaish Alfraji’s 'Seasons of Lost Baghdad' at the 2017 edition of Art Dubai. This new, multimedia project was commissioned for Ayyam Gallery’s booth as a two-part installation that will be shown for the first time.
OTHER
Rashed Al Shashai
Phantom Punch: Contemporary Art from Saudi Arabia
28 October 2016 - 18 March 2017 | The Bates College Museum of Art, USA
Rashed Al Shashai will take part in 'Phantom Punch: Contemporary Art from Saudi Arabia', a group show running from 28 October 2016 to 18 March 2017 at The Bates College Museum of Art in Maine, USA.
OTHER
Samia Halaby: Artist-led Tour
16 March 2017 at 12.00 pm | Ayyam Gallery Dubai (11, 12 Alserkal Avenue)
Join artist Samia Halaby as she discusses her practice and her concurrent exhibitions Illuminated Space and Documentary Drawings of the Kafr Qasem Massacre at Ayyam Gallery.
OTHER
Samia Halaby: Talk at Art Dubai 2017
Documenting a Massacre
17 March 2017 at 8.30pm | Art Dubai Modern Lounge
Artist and scholar Samia Halaby will describe the research she did for her Kafr Qasem Massacre series, a special project that includes documentary drawings. Halaby will discuss how its aesthetic process and challenges differ from her approach to abstraction. The series is a unique project in her artistic oeuvre as a painter, and was done as a response to the attempted mass-media erasure of Palestinian culture and history.
BEIRUT
Faisal Samra
15/15
15 December 2016 - 15 March 2017 | Bahrain
Faisal Samra is featured in 15/15, an exhibition marking the fifteenth anniversary of the Shaikh Ebrahim bin Mohamed Al Khalifa Center for Culture and Research. The center is one of Bahrain’s leading organisations and has restored twenty historical homes to date, transforming each into an important venue for art and culture. In honor of this ongoing project, curator Melissa Enders has brought together Bahrain’s leading artists in an exhibition that highlights the nation’s cultural and architectural heritage while examining local traditions through contemporary art. A point of departure for the artists and curator are some of the old homes that the Shaikh Ebrahim bin Mohamed Al Khalifa Center has renovated in Manama and Muharraq.
OTHER
Fathallah Zamroud Joins Ayyam Gallery
March 2017
Ayyam Gallery is pleased to announce the addition of Fathallah Zamroud to its roster of artists. Zamroud is a seasoned painter who has built an impressive portfolio in recent years, steadily gaining recognition in his native Lebanon. The Syrian-Lebanese artist was featured in 'Material Remains', a two-person show with sculptor and painter Ginane Makki Bacho at Ayyam Gallery Beirut in 2014. His work is currently featured in the 13th edition of the Sharjah Biennial.
OTHER
Tammam Azzam at the 2017 Armory Show
2-5 March 2017 | New York, USA
Tammam Azzam is participating in the 2017 Armory Show in New York with a selection of works from his recent Paper series—paper collages that depict devastated cities in Syria. Azzam is highlighted by Haines Gallery, San Francisco, one of the Bay Area’s leading art spaces.
OTHER
Tammam Azzam
Syria: A Living History
15 October 2016 - 26 February 2017 | Aga Khan Museum, Toronto
Tammam Azzam is featured in the expansive exhibition 'Syria: A Living History', an historical survey co-curated by art historians Filiz Çakır Phillip and Nasser Rabat for the Aga Khan Museum of Islamic art in Toronto, Canada.
Azzam is part of a handful of contemporary artists that are included in the exhibition, which covers centuries of art and visual culture dating back to ancient times. 'Syria: A Living History' seeks to educate viewers through artworks and artifacts that testify to the country’s enduring historical and cultural legacies.
Azzam is part of a handful of contemporary artists that are included in the exhibition, which covers centuries of art and visual culture dating back to ancient times. 'Syria: A Living History' seeks to educate viewers through artworks and artifacts that testify to the country’s enduring historical and cultural legacies.
OTHER
Farzad Kohan at Art Brief III
The (Un) Draped Woman
9-18 February 2017 | Arena 1 Gallery, Santa Monica, USA
Farzad Kohan is included in the third installment of Advocartsy’s 'Art Brief III: The (Un) Draped Woman', a multimedia exhibition exploring the cultural and historical constructs of women and the female form as represented within Iranian contemporary art.
OTHER
Tammam Azzam
Paper
13 January - 12 February 2017 | City Museum of Oldenburg, Germany
Tammam Azzam opens a solo exhibition at the City Museum of Oldenburg (Stadtmuseum Oldenburg) on 13 January. Azzam is exhibiting new works in the municipal museum, which focuses on the historical development of the German city.
OTHER
Ammar Abd Rabbo at Au Frac Provence-Alpes Côte d’Azur
d’une mediterranee, l’autre
26 November 2016 - 12 February 2017
Ammar Abd Rabbo is included alongside an international roster of artists in a multi-venue exhibition that is part of 'The Sea is my Land—Artists from the Mediterranean', an ongoing programme in Italy and France.
OTHER
Sama Alshaibi on Dont-Smile
January 2017
Throughout January 2017, Sama Alshaibi is featured in the online exhibition 'Subversion'. Appearing on www.dont-smile.com, this month-long, collective exhibition highlights self-portraits by female photographers. Alshaibi is represented with a selection of works from her Silsila project, a multimedia body of work that debuted at the Venice Biennale in 2013, and has since toured internationally, most recently at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art in Arizona.
Subversion launches 1 January as part of Don’t Smile’s ongoing efforts to provide a platform for established and emerging women artists from diverse backgrounds.
Subversion launches 1 January as part of Don’t Smile’s ongoing efforts to provide a platform for established and emerging women artists from diverse backgrounds.
OTHER
Artist Workshop | Thaier Helal: The Art of Upcycling
Saturday, 28 January at 1.00 pm | Dubai (Alserkal Avenue)
Sharjah-based abstract painter Thaier Helal will conduct a workshop for adults and teens that explores the use of alternative media in art, specifically recycled materials such as plastic, paper, and sand, which can be broken down, mixed, or repurposed. Helal will emphasise how different combinations can add texture, depth, volume, or dimension to a work of art, structuring the surface of a painting or sculpture.
DUBAI (11, 12 ALSERKAL AVENUE)
Extended Weekend Hours for Quoz Arts Fest
27 & 28 January 2017
Our gallery in Alserkal Avenue will have extended weekend hours during Quoz Arts Fest.
Both spaces will be open on Friday, 27 January and Saturday, 28 January from 10 am - 6 pm.
Both spaces will be open on Friday, 27 January and Saturday, 28 January from 10 am - 6 pm.
OTHER
Rashed Al Shashai at the Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival
14 December 2016 - 24 January 2017 | Sharjah, UAE
Rashed Al Shashai is contributing to the 19th edition of the Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival with a newly commissioned installation titled 'Reversed Symmetry'. The festival is organised around the subject of architecture, and seeks to emphasise ‘the scientific features of Islamic architecture of different functions and forms, through a series of questions relating to aesthetics, to claim a visual discourse that is both innovative and contemporary.’
OTHER
Ammar al-Beik at Reel Palestine Film Screening
Samia
23 January at 7.30 pm | Dubai (A4 Space, Alserkal Avenue)
Berlin-based artist and filmmaker Ammar al-Beik is contributing to the 2017 Reel Palestine Film Festival, which takes place 20 – 28 January. The festival is held at Alserkal Avenue’s A4 Space and The Yard in addition to the Sharjah Art Foundation’s Mirage City Cinema in Sharjah.
Al-Beik’s 'Samia' (2009) will be shown on 23 January at 7:30 pm at A4 Space in Alserkal Avenue, Dubai. The 40-minute film connects the disparate stories of three protagonists, including leading painter Samia Halaby, whose video footage of the West Bank and paintings anchor al-Beik’s cinematic exploration of the modern Palestinian experience. The film was made shortly after the death of celebrated poet Mahmoud Darwish, and references his role in Jean-Luc Godard’s 2004 film on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Notre Musique.
Al-Beik’s 'Samia' (2009) will be shown on 23 January at 7:30 pm at A4 Space in Alserkal Avenue, Dubai. The 40-minute film connects the disparate stories of three protagonists, including leading painter Samia Halaby, whose video footage of the West Bank and paintings anchor al-Beik’s cinematic exploration of the modern Palestinian experience. The film was made shortly after the death of celebrated poet Mahmoud Darwish, and references his role in Jean-Luc Godard’s 2004 film on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Notre Musique.
OTHER
Rula Halawani Sharjah Art Foundation Residency
25 November 2016 - 1 January 2017
Following a residency at the Camargo Foundation in southern France, Rula Halawani will be a visiting artist at the Sharjah Art Foundation, which recently awarded her a grant towards a new multimedia project. Halawani will be finalizing her latest body of work while in residence from 25 November until 1 January 2017. This multimedia series includes recent experimental photographs and archival images that together tell the story of Palestinians as they have faced over a century of occupation.
OTHER
Sama Alshaibi on Ibraaz Channel
December 2016
Sama Alshaibi’s 'Baraka', 'Dhikr', 'Muraqaba', and 'Tariqah' are currently highlighted on Ibraaz, the premier online platform for contemporary art from the Middle East and North Africa. Streaming on Ibraaz’s digital channel, these experimental video works are part of Alshaibi’s Silsila series (2009-2016), a multidisciplinary project that traces the historical route of fourteenth-century Moroccan explorer Ibn Battuta, who traveled across North Africa and West Asia to the Maldives in search of Islamic cultural continuity.
Last year, Aperture (New York) published Sand Rushes In, a monograph on Alshaibi’s work that comprises most of the Silsila project. The series was also prominently featured in Collapse, the artist’s large-scale solo exhibition at Ayyam Gallery Dubai (11, Alserkal Avenue) in November 2015. More recently, Silsila is the subject of a travelling exhibition curated by Claire C. Carter of the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, where it was shown in June, and will open at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University in 2017.
Last year, Aperture (New York) published Sand Rushes In, a monograph on Alshaibi’s work that comprises most of the Silsila project. The series was also prominently featured in Collapse, the artist’s large-scale solo exhibition at Ayyam Gallery Dubai (11, Alserkal Avenue) in November 2015. More recently, Silsila is the subject of a travelling exhibition curated by Claire C. Carter of the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, where it was shown in June, and will open at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University in 2017.
OTHER
Tammam Azzam at the For-Site Foundation
Home Land Security
10 September - 18 December | San Francisco
From 10 September through 18 December, Tammam Azzam will be featured in the collective show 'Home Land Security' in San Francisco. Curated by Cheryl Haines, the executive director of the For-Site Foundation—an arts organisation that supports innovative pop-up shows and site-specific works—the exhibition highlights the human cost of war and political conflict through the works of internationally renowned artists.
OTHER
Samia Halaby
1970s: Women and Abstraction
16 November - 22 December 2016 | Zürcher Gallery New York
Samia Halaby is included in '1970s: Women and Abstraction', a collective exhibition that highlights pioneering abstract painters. Featuring a diverse roster of international artists, the exhibition is curated by art historian Barbara Stehle, PhD for Zürcher Gallery New York.
OTHER
Artist Talk: Rula Halawani at Sharjah Art Foundation
10 December at 6.00 pm | Courtyard GH, SAF Art Spaces
Rula Halawani will be discussing her work and the development of her career in occupied Palestine on 10 December at the Sharjah Art Foundation.
OTHER
Rula Halawani at New York University's Kevorkian Center
9 December 2016 | The Hagop Kevorkian Center, New York, USA
Rula Halawani is participating in MEMORY METAMORPHOSIS, a collective exhibition at New York University’s Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies. Opening on 9 December at 5 pm, MEMORY METAMORPHOSIS explores the concept of diasporic memory through various art forms (e.g. painting, photography, performance).
MIGRATION STORIES
Exhibition tour with Farzad Kohan
23 November at 6.00 pm | Dubai (DIFC)
As a per of DIFC Art Nights, join us for an artist-led tour of 'Migration Stories', on Wednesday, 23 November at 6.00 pm.
OTHER
Farzad Kohan's 'Love, Lover, Repeat' (2015) acquired by Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
November 2016 | Los Angeles, USA
Farzad Kohan’s 'Love, Lover, Repeat' (2015) was recently acquired by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in the United States.
OTHER
Extended Weekend Hours
18-19 November 2016
Our galleries in Dubai (DIFC and Alserkal Avenue) will have extended weekend hours during Abu Dhabi Art Week.
Alserkal Avenue galleries are open on Friday, 18 November and Saturday, 19 November from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm. DIFC gallery is open from 9.30am to 8.30pm from 15 to 19 November, including Friday and Saturday.
Alserkal Avenue galleries are open on Friday, 18 November and Saturday, 19 November from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm. DIFC gallery is open from 9.30am to 8.30pm from 15 to 19 November, including Friday and Saturday.
OTHER
Abu Dhabi Art 2016
16-19 November 2016 | Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi
Ayyam Gallery is pleased to announce its participation in the 2016 edition of Abu Dhabi Art, one of the premier annual art events in Asia. With a diverse selection of recent works by some of the Middle East’s foremost names in painting, sculpture, and installation, Ayyam Gallery offers a look at some of the latest trends in MENA art. Featured in this year’s lineup are painter Safwan Dahoul, multidisciplinary artist Maysaloun Faraj, calligrapher Mohammad Bozorgi, and conceptualist Rashed Al Shashai.
OTHER
Khaled Jarrar’s Infiltrators (2012) during Art Week at Alserkal Avenue
14 November 2016 at 7.30 PM | The Yard, Alserkal Avenue
Khaled Jarrar’s 2012 documentary 'Infiltrators' will be screened on 14 November at 7:30 pm in The Yard, the outdoor venue of Alserkal Avenue. The screening will take place during Art Week (13-19 November), coinciding with Abu Dhabi Art.
OTHER
Ammar al-Beik’s Syria Trilogy at Cinema Lumière, Bologna, Italy
12 November 2016 | Cinema Lumière, Bologna
Following several recent screenings in Germany, Ammar al-Beik’s Syria Trilogy will be shown at Cinema Lumière on 12 November at 8 pm. Focusing on cinema from the Arab world after 2011, the event is co-organised by Cineteca di Bologna and Comune di Bologna.
BEIRUT
Ammar Abd Rabbo's book launch
Alep, A Elles Eux Paix
December 2016
Ayyam Gallery Beirut is pleased to announce the launch of 'Alep, A Elles Eux Paix', a new artist book by Paris-based Syrian artist and photojournalist Ammar Abd Rabbo.
OTHER
Rula Halawani at the Camargo Foundation
13 September - 8 November 2016 | France
Rula Halawani has been selected to participate in the Fall 2016 Camargo Foundation Residential Fellowship, which is open to artists, scholars, and thinkers.
OTHER
Samia Halaby, Sama Alshaibi, Khaled Jarrar in the Qalandiya International Biennial
5-31 October 2016 | Palestine
Samia Halaby, Sama Alshaibi, and Khaled Jarrar are included in the 3rd edition of the Qalandiya International Biennial, a month long program for contemporary art that will take place 5 – 31 October 2016 at various sites in Palestine. The 2016 biennial is titled 'This Sea is Mine' and features the works of internationally renowned artists who explore the theme of return.
OTHER
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji at ET4U’s symposium
24 - 30 October 2016 | Denmark
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji was invited to participate at ET4U’s symposium in Denmark alongside 12 other artists. Held from 24 to 30 October, the video and performance project takes place across 7 municipalities and aims at creating networks between Danish and international artists.
OTHER
Sama Alshaibi
Krisis
28 October - 9 December 2016 | Bonington Gallery, Nottingham
Sama Alshaibi will participate in 'Krisis', a group exhibition to be held at the Bonington Gallery, Nottingham from 28 October to 9 December 2016.
OTHER
World Sight Day exhibition by Moorfields Eye Hospital
Sense of Sight
27 - 29 October 2016 | Ayyam Gallery, 11 Alserkal Avenue
In honour of World Sight Day, Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai and Moorfields Eye Center Abu Dhabi are pleased to present Sense of Sight, a tactile art exhibition featuring photographs and paintings that have been transformed into 3D artworks for the blind.
OTHER
Sama Alshaibi, Ammar Abd Rabbo and Athier Mousawi shortlisted for 2016 Sovereign MENA Art Prize
19 October 2016
Sama Alshaibi, Ammar Abd Rabbo, and Athier Mousawi have been shortlisted for the 2016 Sovereign MENA Art Prize, organised by the Sovereign Art Foundation in association with START.
OTHER
Ammar al-Beik at Gallery Crone
9 September - 15 October 2016 | Vienna
Ammar al-Beik is featured in the collective exhibition 'Jugendzimmer (Teen Bedroom)', which is on view from 9 September until 15 October at the Vienna outpost of Gallery Crone.
OTHER
Shurooq Amin in the GCC Women Leaders Listing | 18th Global Women in Leadership (WIL) Economic Forum
5-6 October 2016 | 25-26 October 2016
Shurooq Amin was included in this year’s GCC Women Leaders Listing by World Brand Congress, who will be holding their GCC edition in Dubai from 5-6 October 2016.
OTHER
Ammar al-Beik at Schloss Roskow, Germany
10 July - 18 September 2016
Ammar al-Beik is featured in the collective exhibition 'Zwischen den Welten' – 'Between the Worlds' at Schloss Roskow, Germany. Organised by Berlin-based art historian and curator Mark Gisbourne, 'Between the Worlds' explores the lives of children whose childhood and transition into young adulthood occur amid the instability of war and political conflict. Al-Beik’s short film 'La Dolce Siria' (2014) is among a range of works by artists from Syria, Cuba, Nigeria, France, Germany, Austria, and Spain. The exhibition is on view from 10 July until 18 September.
OTHER
Sama Alshaibi: Silsila at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art
4 June – 18 September 2016
Sama Alshaibi’s critically acclaimed multimedia project Silsila (2009-2016) will be shown in its entirety for the first time at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA) in Arizona this summer.
OTHER
Rashed Al Shashai in the United States
Aspen, 30 June - 1 Sept | San Francisco, 4 August - 8 Sept 2016
As part of a touring programme produced by Edge of Arabia’s CULTURUNNERS, Rashed Al Shashai is featured in Gonzo Arabia, a multimedia show highlighting established and emerging artists from Saudi Arabia.
OTHER
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji at Red Star Line Museum
27 April - 28 August 2016
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji’s internationally renowned show, 'Ali’s Boat', is on view at the Red Star Line Museum in Antwerp, Belgium until 28 August. Inspired by a letter he received from his young nephew in Baghdad, Alfraji invokes a symbolic ‘boat’ to explore a universal image that allows him to escape reality through memory and imagination.
OTHER
Rashed Al Shashai at The Station Museum of Contemporary Art
Kingdom: Contemporary Art from Saudi Arabia
18 June | Houston, Texas
Rashed Al Shashai is featured in The Station Museum of Contemporary Art’s 'Parallel Kingdom: Contemporary Art from Saudi Arabia'. Located in Houston, Texas, the museum is known for highlighting cutting-edge work while serving as a platform for underrepresented artists.
OTHER
Sama Alshaibi at New York Light Festival
4 August
Sama Alshaibi will participate in the 2016 edition of the New York Light Festival, a curated series of screenings and light projections that is organised annually in the city’s DUMBO district. Since 2014, international artists have been invited to format their works for a public showing after dark that takes place at the Manhattan Bridge.
OTHER
Ammar al-Beik
Islamic Art Now, Part 2: Contemporary Art of the Middle East
26 January - ongoing | LACMA, US
Ammar al-Beik’s photographs are featured in the recently opened exhibition, 'Islamic Art Now, Part 2: Contemporary Art of the Middle East', which highlights the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s permanent collection of contemporary art from North Africa and West Asia.
OTHER
Rula Halawani's Colloquium and Exhibition
4 April / 8 April - 31 July | New York / Washington DC
Rula Halawani will participate in 'She Who Tells a Story: Contemporary Photography from Iran & the Arab World' at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington DC; and a day-long colloquium on Photography and Human Rights at New York University.
OTHER
Shurooq Amin at Villa Lena Foundation Residency / Juror for the Visual Art Category at the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture
June 2016 / 11 - 20 July 2016
Shurooq Amin will participate in the Villa Lena Foundation Residency program in Tuscany, Italy during the month of June. The foundation is a non-profit organisation, dedicated to fostering multi-disciplinary dialogue between international contemporary artists.
DUBAI (ALSERKAL AVENUE)
Alserkal Lates
Wednesdays during Ramadan
We are part of Alserkal Lates, a guided galleries tour programme every Wednesdays from 8pm to 11pm. Meet a member of the Alserkal team at warehouse 90, tours start at 8.30pm. For more information, please call +97143236242
OTHER
Tammam Azzam at Künstlerverein Walkmühle, Germany
13 May - 26 June 2016
Tammam Azzam will be exhibiting three artworks from his Bon Voyage series in the collective show 'Heimat – Identifikation Im Wandel' (Homeland – Identity in Transition) at the Künstlerverein Walkmühle in Wiesbaden, Germany. Curated by Christiane Erdmann and Stefanie Blumenbecker, the exhibition will take place from 13 May to 26 June, and addresses the notion of ‘home’ and how displacement is reflected through art.
OTHER
Nadim Karam's sculptures at UWC Atlantic College
June 2016 | Wales
Two large-scale works from Nadim Karam’s Stretching Thoughts series were recently installed on the grounds of the UWC Atlantic College in south Wales.
OTHER
Gallery hours during Ramadan
During The Holy Month of Ramadan, Ayyam Gallery Beirut will be open to the public from 12pm to 6pm (Monday - Friday), closed on Saturday and Sunday.
Dubai (Alserkal Avenue & DIFC) will be open from 11am - 4pm (Sunday - Thursday), closed Friday and Saturday.
Ayyam Gallery wishes you Ramadan Kareem!
Dubai (Alserkal Avenue & DIFC) will be open from 11am - 4pm (Sunday - Thursday), closed Friday and Saturday.
Ayyam Gallery wishes you Ramadan Kareem!
OTHER
Tammam Azzam, Abdul Karim Majdal Al-Beik, and Ammar al-Beik
3-6 June 2016
Tammam Azzam’s Syrian Museum 'Freedom Graffiti' (2013) and Abdul Karim Majdal Al-Beik’s 'Martyr' (2012) will be featured in a collective exhibition of Syrian artists in Athens, Greece on 3 June. The show is a part of a festival called In the heart of the heart of another country, a collaborative project organized by AIN, Mansion, and TwixtLab.
DUBAI (AL QUOZ)
Tammam Azzam at Columbia University Exhibition
Contemporary Ruins: Resistance to the Spectacular Image
20 April - 4 June 2016
Three digital media works from Tammam Azzam’s Syrian Museum series will be included in Contemporary Ruins: Resistance to the Spectacular Image; a group show curated by Leah Hartman.
OTHER
Khaled Samawi Receives Honorary Doctorate
May 2016
Franklin University Switzerland, an American liberal arts college, recently recognised Ayyam Gallery founder Khaled Samawi for his contributions to international art as a cultural entrepreneur and philanthropist, particularly in the area of contemporary Syrian art.
BEIRUT
Farzad Kohan's US exhibitions this summer
June - July 2016
During the summer, Farzad Kohan will participate in two exhibitions in the United States.
Advocartsy’s Art Brief II: Iranian Contemporary North America is the second installment of a group show at Arena 1 Gallery in Santa Monica, California.
Advocartsy’s Art Brief II: Iranian Contemporary North America is the second installment of a group show at Arena 1 Gallery in Santa Monica, California.
OTHER
Khaled Jarrar at Athens Biennale 2015-2017
25 - 31 May 2016
Khaled Jarrar’s film, 'Infiltrators' (2012), which portrays the struggle of Palestinians in the face of Israeli checkpoints, will be shown at the Athens Biennale 2015-2017 “OMONIA” final opening of Synapse 2.
OTHER
Sama Alshaibi at California Institute of Integral Studies
April Showers
9 April - 31 May 2016 | San Francisco
Sama Alshaibi will be participating in 'April Showers', the fourth exhibition in the Cumulus series at Desai Matta Gallery at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco.
OTHER
Shurooq Amin Lecture Tour in Italy
24 & 25 May 2016
Shurooq Amin will be lecturing at the University of Trento and the University of Brera in Italy this month.
OTHER
Photo London 2016
19-22 May 2016
Ayyam Gallery is pleased to announce its participation in the 2016 edition of Photo London. Returning to the fair with a selection of photographs from Faisal Samra’s Distorted Reality series (2005-2011), the gallery’s contribution highlights how photography is becoming increasingly multidisciplinary as its forms are challenged by the advent of technology.
OTHER
Tammam Azzam and Athier at Next Generation London, Unicef Auction
18 & 19 May 2016
Tammam Azzam will participate in a panel discussion at Next Generation London. The event is in correlation with a week-long exhibition titled Beyond Borders in aid of Unicef’s Children of Syria Emergency Appeal, and is hosted by BlainSouthern, a contemporary art gallery. The panel discussion will take place on 18 May at 6:30pm.
OTHER
Noor Bahjat at Galerie Stephanie, Manila
28 April - 15 May 2016
To mark the end of her residency at Galerie Stephanie in Manila, the Philippines, former Ayyam Gallery resident artist Noor Bahjat has prepared the solo exhibition 'Which One is Your Thread?'
OTHER
Shurooq Amin
It’s a Mad World
9 April - 14 May 2016 | CAP, Kuwait
Shurooq Amin’s exhibition 'It’s a Mad World' will be held at Contemporary Art Platform, one of Kuwait’s leading art spaces from 9 April to 14 May 2016. Curated by Martina Corgnati, it includes eighteen paintings and an installation.
OTHER
Holiday Announcement
5 May 2016
Ayyam Gallery Dubai (11, 12 Alserkal Avenue & DIFC) will be closed on 5 May 2016 to mark Isra'a Wal Mi’raj. Alserkal Avenue galleries will reopen with reduced hours on Saturday, 7 May from 12-3pm. Alserkal Avenue and DIFC galleries will resume normal hours on Sunday, 8 May.
OTHER
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji at Galerie Tanit Munich
20 May - 18 June 2016
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji’s solo exhibition, 'A Dream Within a Dream', will take place at Galerie Tanit in Munich from 20 May until 18 June.
NEUENHAUS, GERMANY
Tammam Azzam & Ammar al-Beik
Away From Home
21 February - 30 April 2016
Tammam Azzam and Ammar al-Beik are included in the collective exhibition 'Away From Home' at Kunstverein Grafschaft Bentheim in Neuenhaus, Germany, on display from 21 February until 30 April 2016. The focus of the exhibition is the ongoing conflict in Syria and the effect it has on those experiencing forced migration.
OTHER
FotoFest 2016 Biennial International Fine Print Auction
21 March 2016
FotoFest will present its 16th International Biennial of Photography and Mixed Media Arts from March 12 – April 24, 2016 in Houston, Texas. The work 34 leading international artists will comprise the central exhibitions of the 2016 Biennial, exploring the Biennial theme, 'CHANGING CIRCUMSTANCES: Looking at the Future of the Planet'.
The Biennial programmes address the impact that creative action can have on climate change policies and activism, as reflected through the work of artists, scholars, and environmental thinkers.
A Fine Print Auction in conjunction with the Biennial on 21 March will feature two prints from Sadik Kwaish Alfraji’s Ali’s Boat Notebook 3, and a print of Sama Alshaibi’s Fatnis al-Jazirah (Fantasy Island) from her Silsila series.
The Biennial programmes address the impact that creative action can have on climate change policies and activism, as reflected through the work of artists, scholars, and environmental thinkers.
A Fine Print Auction in conjunction with the Biennial on 21 March will feature two prints from Sadik Kwaish Alfraji’s Ali’s Boat Notebook 3, and a print of Sama Alshaibi’s Fatnis al-Jazirah (Fantasy Island) from her Silsila series.
DEN GALLERY, KUWAIT
Mohannad Orabi
16 Faces
23 March - 14 April 2016
Mohannad Orabi is featured in '16 Faces', an exhibition at Den Gallery in Kuwait.
OTHER
Khaled Jarrar at Hinterland Galerie
2 March - 2 April 2016
Khaled Jarrar will participate in 'Grenz Erfahrung (Borderline Experiences)', a group show at Hinterland Galerie, Vienna, Austria from From 2 March until 2 April.
OTHER
Khaled Jarrar residency at Institute of Artivism Hannah Arendt (INSTAR)
April 2016 | Cuba
Khaled Jarrar has been invited to attend a forthcoming art residency at the Institute of Artivism Hannah Arendt (INSTAR), an organisation and online platform based in Cuba that fosters civic literacy and policy change.
OTHER
Ammar Abd Rabbo at Katara Cultural Village
15-30 March 2016
In association with the French Embassy, Ammar Abd Rabbo will be featured in a solo exhibition at Katara Cultural Village in Qatar.
OTHER
Mohammad Bozorgi
Sharjah Calligraphy Biennial
6 April - 16 June 2016
Mohammad Bozorgi’s 'The Maker' (2014), 'Soul Mate' (2014), and 'Karma' (2014) will be featured in the Sharjah Calligraphy Biennial.
OTHER
Khaled Jarrar
La Palestine à l’IMA
17 February - 20 March | Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris
Khaled Jarrar is part in the group show 'La Palestine à l’IMA' at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris from 17 February to 20 March.
OTHER
Extended Weekend Hours
18-19 March 2016 | DIFC and Alserkal Avenue
Our galleries in DIFC and Alserkal Avenue will have extended weekend hours during Dubai Art Week.
Both locations will be open on Friday, 18 March and Saturday, 19 March from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm.
Both locations will be open on Friday, 18 March and Saturday, 19 March from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm.
OTHER
Athier in conversation with Harper’s Bazaar Art editor-in-chief Rebecca Anne Proctor
Wednesday, 16 March at 12pm
Athier will be in conversation with Harper’s Bazaar Art editor-in-chief Rebecca Anne Proctor on Wednesday, 16 March at 12pm in Ayyam Gallery's newest space, 12 Alserkal Avenue, to discuss his most recent exhibition, 'Machine Hearts'.
OTHER
Christie's Upcoming Auctions
Modern & Contemporary Art | Ten
16 March 2016
Christie’s Dubai will hold two sales featuring works by twentieth and twenty-first century Middle Eastern artists this March.
Celebrating the tenth anniversary of Christie’s Dubai, 'Ten' will take place on 16 March, and features Safwan Dahoul’s 'Untitled' (Woman Standing in the Rain) (2003).
'Modern & Contemporary Art' will take place later that evening. Among the sale’s highlights are two rare, early works by Samia Halaby that date back to the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Celebrating the tenth anniversary of Christie’s Dubai, 'Ten' will take place on 16 March, and features Safwan Dahoul’s 'Untitled' (Woman Standing in the Rain) (2003).
'Modern & Contemporary Art' will take place later that evening. Among the sale’s highlights are two rare, early works by Samia Halaby that date back to the late 1960s and early 1970s.
MADINAT JUMEIRAH
Ayyam Gallery at Art Dubai 2016
16-19 March 2016
Ayyam Gallery is pleased to announce its participation in the 2016 edition of Art Dubai. In addition to returning to the fair’s contemporary section, Ayyam Gallery presents a curated exhibition in the selected focus on seminal twentieth-century art, Art Dubai Modern.
OTHER
Farzad Kohan at MIM Gallery
Is It in the Middle?
20 February - 12 March 2016
Farzad Kohan is participating in the exhibition 'Is It in the Middle?', which delves into conceptions of corporeality.
On view until 12 March at MIM Gallery in Los Angeles, the exhibition highlights works by seven Southern California-based artists, and encompasses drawings, photographs, sculptures, as well as video and performance pieces. Kohan is represented with six ink-on-paper drawings.
On view until 12 March at MIM Gallery in Los Angeles, the exhibition highlights works by seven Southern California-based artists, and encompasses drawings, photographs, sculptures, as well as video and performance pieces. Kohan is represented with six ink-on-paper drawings.
OTHER
Tamman Azzam at Alwan for the Arts Annual Auction
21 March 2016 | Leila Heller Gallery, New York
Tammam Azzam’s work, 'Ceasefire' (2012), will be featured in Alwan for the Arts’s annual auction at Leila Heller Gallery in New York.
OTHER
Sama Alshaibi Lecture Tours
16, 17, 23 February 2016
Sama Alshaibi will conduct a brief US lecture tour this month. The lectures will cover the central themes of Alshaibi’s work, which include the causation and aftermath of war and exile. The artist will also address various uses of photography, video, and installation when positioning the body as a vehicle for representation of geopolitical and environmental issues.
OTHER
Khaled Jarrar
Culturunners 2016
February 2016
Khaled Jarrar will participate in Culturunners 2016: Artistic Expedition and ‘Campaign Trail,’ an international initiative founded by London-based arts organisation Edge of Arabia. Focused on the US presidential election, it will feature a series of pop-up events along the US/Mexico border. Along with Ayyam Gallery artists Rashed Al Shashai and Faisal Samra, Jarrar’s work will be shown in 'Borderland', an exhibition at San Diego’s Low Gallery, until 10 February.
OTHER
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji
27 January - 7 February 2016
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji’s animated video work, 'Ali’s Boat' (2015), will be shown at the 45th edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR). One of the largest audience and industry-driven festivals in the world, the festival will take place from 27 January to 7 February 2016.
OTHER
Tammam Azzam Artist Residency at HWK
January 2016 | Delmonhost, Germany
Tammam Azzam has been awarded a fellowship placement at the prestigious Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg Institute for Advanced Study in Delmonhost, Germany.
OTHER
Sama Alshaibi, Khaled Hafez, Khaled Jarrar
Arab Territories
7 November - 15 January 2016 | Constantine, Algeria
Sama Alshaibi, Khaled Hafez and Khaled Jarrar will be taking part in 'Arab Territories', a residency and exhibition organised on the occasion of the city of Constantine, Algeria being named as the 'Capital of Arab Culture 2015' by ALECSO, the Arab League’s Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation. The residency will take place from 23 October until 7 November, with the exhibition opening at the Palais de la Culture on 7 November and running until 15 January 2016.
OTHER
Khaled Hafez
Mdina Cathedral Contemporary Art Biennale, Malta | Biennial of the South in Caracas, Venezuela.
1 November - 28 February | 13 November – 7 January
In December, Khaled Hafez will participate in both the Mdina Cathedral Contemporary Art Biennale in Malta and the first Biennial of the South in Caracas, Venezuela.
OTHER
Faisal Samra
Something Else, OFF Biennale Cairo (OBC)
28 November – 27 December 2015
Faisal Samra is currently participating in 'Something Else, OFF Biennale Cairo' (OBC) with his video art documentary 'Ya Hussain'.
OTHER
Ammar Al Beik's film at Dubai International Film Festival 2015
9 – 16 December 2015
Ammar Al Beik’s latest fictional short film, 'Kaleidoscope' (2015), has been shortlisted for the 'Muhr' competition, a prestigious open call that supports and rewards Arab filmmakers as part of the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF). Now in its twelfth year, the 2015 DIFF will be held 9 – 16 December at Madinat Jumeirah.
OTHER
Farzad Kohan
ADVOCARTSY
10 – 13 December 2015 | Arena 1, Los Angeles
Farzad Kohan will participate in Art Brief: Iranian Contemporary Los Angeles, the first public initiative of 'ADVOCARTSY' - a collaborative visual arts platform celebrating the interconnectedness of an artistic community with the aims of generating interest in Middle Eastern artists who are typically under-represented.
OTHER
Shurooq Amin
Kuwait Women Cultural and Social Society & Loyac’s Peace of Art
December 2015
This month, Shurooq Amin has been invited as a Guest Speaker to the Kuwait Women Cultural and Social Society, one of the oldest women’s rights organizations in the country, and will also participate in Loyac’s Peace of Art campaign.
OTHER
Holiday Announcement
1-4 December 2015
Ayyam Gallery Dubai (11, 12 Alserkal Avenue & DIFC) will be closed from 2-4 December 2015 to mark Martyrs' Day and UAE National Day. Normal working hours resume Saturday, 5 December (Alserkal Avenue) and Sunday, 6 December (DIFC).
OTHER
Abu Dhabi Art 2015
18-21 November 2015 | Booth B16, Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi
Ayyam Gallery is pleased to announce its participation in the seventh edition of Abu Dhabi Art, one of the Middle East’s premier art events. The gallery’s curated selection examines the notion of mankind’s relationship to nature through a variety of aesthetic approaches and a broad range of media.
OTHER
Khaled Hafez and Sadik Kwaish Alfraji at Rio Bienniale
TRIO
5 September - 2 November 2015 | Rio de Janeiro
Khaled Hafez and Sadik Kwaish Alfraji are participating in TRIO—the first iteration of the Rio Bienniale held from 5 September to 2 November 2015. With the overarching theme being 'Who said tomorrow doesn’t exist?', the event showcases contemporary art around the three-dimensional in its classic terms (such as sculptures and installations), as well as in its expanded fields (such as painting, drawing and photography).
OTHER
Samia Halaby Lecture Tour in Palestine
Renowned artist and scholar Samia Halaby is currently in Palestine, where she is conducting further research on contemporary Palestinian art while also giving a series of lectures and presentations in the West Bank. Organized under the patronage of Birzeit University, Halaby’s tour began on 28 October at Najah University’s School of Art in Nablus, where she was greeted with a standing room only audience.
OTHER
Athier at Beirut Art Residency
14 September - 1 November 2015 | Beirut
Athier will be part of the inaugural, six-week long program at the Beirut Art Residency, an artist-run interdisciplinary space to open in September 2015.
Aiming to promote cross-cultural exchange between the participants and the local art scene, Beirut Art Residency will also welcome Syrian artist Sara Naim during its initial program.
Aiming to promote cross-cultural exchange between the participants and the local art scene, Beirut Art Residency will also welcome Syrian artist Sara Naim during its initial program.
OTHER
Rula Halawani
Moscow International Photo Awards
November 2015
Rula Halawani received an honourable mention at this year’s Moscow International Photo Awards for two of her photographic projects.
VENICE, ITALY
Syria Off Frame
31 August - 1 November 2015
Artworks by Tammam Azzam, Nihad Al Turk, Nairy Shaninian, Mohannad Orabi, Ammar Al Beik, Ammar Abd Raboo, Abdul Karim Majdal Al Beik and Oussama Diab will be included in Imago Mundi’s exhibition 'Syria Off Frame' from 31 August to 1 November 2015, as part of a peripheral at the Venice Biennale.
LONDON
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji
Autonomy of Self: Rejecting violence with the lens in former Ottoman territories
11 September - 31 October 2015
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji will be part of 'Autonomy of Self: Rejecting violence with the lens in former Ottoman territories' at P21 Gallery in London from 11 September - 31 October 2015.
Curated by Joy Stacey, the exhibition also features Moufida Fedhila, Joana Hadjiithomas & Khalil Joreige, Sejla Kameric, Armenoui Kasparian Saraidari, Nadia Mounier and Joy Stacey.
Curated by Joy Stacey, the exhibition also features Moufida Fedhila, Joana Hadjiithomas & Khalil Joreige, Sejla Kameric, Armenoui Kasparian Saraidari, Nadia Mounier and Joy Stacey.
DUBAI (ALSERKAL AVENUE & DIFC)
Holiday Announcement
Thursday, 15 October 2015
Ayyam Gallery Dubai (Alserkal Avenue & DIFC) will be closed on Thursday, 15 October 2015 to mark Martyrs' Day and UAE National Day7. Normal working hours resume Saturday, 17 October.
OTHER
Symposium with Sadik Kwaish Alfraji
15 October 2015 | London
In parallel to his participation in 'Autonomy of Self', a group exhibition held at the P21 Gallery, London, Sadik Kwaish Alfraji will take part in a symposium hosted at The Swedenborg Society Hall on Thursday, 15 October 2015 from 1.30 to 5.00 pm.
OTHER
Samia Halaby
Madame Figaro's 20 Most Powerful Women in the Middle East
2 October 2015
Samia Halaby is ranked among Middle East’s twenty most powerful women by French weekly Madame Figaro. Often referred to as the mother of Arab abstract art, Halaby has received numerous accolades for her groundbreaking practice during the past five decades. In the power list, her name is cited along those of Sheikha Mayassa Bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Shirin Neshat, and Amina Al-Rustamani.
OTHER
Tammam Azzam at Sarajevo Street Art Festival
Sarajevo, Bosnia
Tammam Azzam was recently part of FUU 2015, the first Sarajevo Street Art Festival held on 25 to 27 September in twenty different locations throughout the Bosnian capital. The festival’s zero edition gathered both established as well as new artists under the theme 'Unknown Transformation - Looking at Sarajevo from Another Perspective', with the aim to bring the city’s art community to the forefront. Showcasing various facets of visual arts—from graffiti to murals, FUU brought the facades of the city’s buildings to life.
OTHER
Rula Halawani at Carnegie Museum of Art
She Who Tells A Story
20 May - 27 September 2015 | Pittsburgh, USA
Rula Halawani is part of 'She Who Tells A Story', a group exhibition that brings together the engaged works of 12 female artists at the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh.
DUBAI AND BEIRUT
Holiday Announcement
Ayyam Gallery Dubai (Al Quoz & DIFC) will remain closed from 23-26 September. Normal working hours resume from 27 September.
Beirut will be closed from 24-27 September. Normal hours resume from 28 September.
Ayyam Gallery wishes you Eid Mubarak!
Beirut will be closed from 24-27 September. Normal hours resume from 28 September.
Ayyam Gallery wishes you Eid Mubarak!
OTHER
Tammam Azzam, Ammar Abd Rabbo and Huda Beydoun at Banksy’s 'Dismaland'
Tammam Azzam, Ammar Abd Rabbo and Huda Beydoun will be part of Banksy’s latest pop-up festival 'Dismaland', to open on 21 August in Weston-super-Mare, United Kingdom.
OTHER
Tammam Azzam
Peace from the street up!
4-20 September 2015 | London
Three works from Tammam Azzam’s Bon Voyage and Syrian Museum series’ will be exhibited at <i>Peace from the street up!</i>, an exhibition under the #ART4PEACE programme, taking place at the Talking Peace Festival in London from 4 September – 20 September 2015.
OTHER
Sama Alshaibi and Khaled Jarrar
VIVA Festival, Malta
31 August 2015 (Malta)
Two video works by Sama Alshaibi and Khaled Jarrar will be presented at the Viva Festival in Malta on 31 August 2015.
Alshaibi’s ‘Sweep’ records the artist’s unsuccessful attempts to sweep away the desert area surrounding her. Whilst commenting on the futility of reiteration in modern day conflicts, Alshaibi reenforces the necessity of keeping an open mind in the face of the relentlessly difficult Palestinian situation.
Along a similar theme, Jarrar’s ’Sea Level’ focuses on the artist as he strolls through Israel in a deep-sea diver’s suit signifying his inability to breathe the air of his own country.
Alshaibi’s ‘Sweep’ records the artist’s unsuccessful attempts to sweep away the desert area surrounding her. Whilst commenting on the futility of reiteration in modern day conflicts, Alshaibi reenforces the necessity of keeping an open mind in the face of the relentlessly difficult Palestinian situation.
Along a similar theme, Jarrar’s ’Sea Level’ focuses on the artist as he strolls through Israel in a deep-sea diver’s suit signifying his inability to breathe the air of his own country.
OTHER
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji's ‘Ali’s Boat Diary 1’ acquired by the British Museum
July 2015
Ayyam Gallery is proud to announce the recent acquisition of Sadik Kwaish Alfraji’s ‘Ali’s Boat Diary 1’ by the British Museum. The work is currently on display alongside other works on paper by acclaimed artists Nabil Nahas, Shafiq Abboud, and Marwan.
OTHER
Tammam Azzam
Artist in Residence at Vancouver Biennale 2015
Tammam Azzam, currently participating in the Artist in Residence program at the Vancouver Biennale, unveiled his multimedia installation on 4 July 2015 in Squamish, along with the works of his three fellow residents—Kristin McIver, Rathin Barman, and Jonathan Luckhurst.
OTHER
Khaled Jarrar at the Aga Khan Museum
Home Ground: Contemporary Art from the Barjeel Art Foundation
25 July 2015 - 3 January 2016
Khaled Jarrar’s 'Volleyball', a sculpture made of reconstituted concrete from the Apartheid Wall, will be showcased at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, Canada from 25 July 2015 as part of a group exhibition, 'Home Ground: Contemporary Art from the Barjeel Art Foundation'. Bringing together a number of acclaimed artists from the MENA region such as Manal al-Dowayan and Adel Abidin, whose works are housed in Sharjah-based Barjeel Foundation, the exhibition concerns itself with the impacts of geopolitical struggles on individual situations and artistic practices.
LONDON
Venetia Porter in conversation with Sadik Kwaish Alfraji
Thursday, 23 July at 6.00 pm | Ayyam Gallery London
On Thursday 23 July at 6.00 pm, in conjunction with the 2015 Shubbak Festival for Arab culture, Ayyam Gallery London will host a conversation between renowned art historian and British Museum curator Venetia Porter and leading Iraqi artist Sadik Alfraji. Exploring the development of Alfraji’s artistic practice over several decades, the talk will detail the works that inform the video animation and drawings of 'Driven by Storms (Ali’s Boat)', the artist’s latest multimedia solo exhibition, which opens at Ayyam Gallery London on Tuesday, 21 July. The evening will also include the European launch of Alfraji’s new monograph. Released by Schilt Publishing, Amsterdam, the eponymous book is edited by Dutch curator and writer Nat Muller.
OTHER
Holiday Announcement
17-20 July 2015 | Beirut & Dubai
Ayyam Gallery wishes you Eid Mubarak! Our galleries in Dubai (Al Quoz & DIFC) and Beirut will remain closed from 17-20 July. Normal working hours resume Tuesday, 21 July.
OTHER
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji 'Ali's Boat' screening at the British Museum
12 July 2015
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji’s large scale stop motion video animation 'Ali’s Boat' will be shown at the British Museum on 12 July 2015 as part of the Shubbak Festival 2015.
The projection of Alfraji’s work, which materialises the artist’s memories of a Bagdad that no longer exists, ties in with the festival’s program of talks exploring the architectural alterations, heritage transmissions, and consumerist impacts on contemporary Arab cities. Under the title 'Disappearing Cities' of the Arab World, the program brings together a variety of artists and art professionals, including Ali Cherri, Mohamed Elshashed, and Jananne Al-Ani.
The projection of Alfraji’s work, which materialises the artist’s memories of a Bagdad that no longer exists, ties in with the festival’s program of talks exploring the architectural alterations, heritage transmissions, and consumerist impacts on contemporary Arab cities. Under the title 'Disappearing Cities' of the Arab World, the program brings together a variety of artists and art professionals, including Ali Cherri, Mohamed Elshashed, and Jananne Al-Ani.
OTHER
Khaled Jarrar
That Thou Canst Not Stir a Flower Without Troubling of a Star
28 May - 11 July 2015 | Art Bärtschi & Cie
Khaled Jarrar’s exhibition 'That Thou Canst Not Stir a Flower Without Troubling of a Star', opened at Art Bärtschi & Cie in Geneva on 28 May and will be running through 11 July.
Borrowing its title from the verses of Francis Thompson’s poem 'The Mistress of Vision', the exhibition concerns itself with the interconnections extant in the natural world and by extension, the causality of human actions.
One of the exhibition's highlights—the Ice Helmet, presents an ice sculpture of a military headgear placed inside a wall-integrated refrigerator and stands as a proof of Jarrar’s constantly innovative practice.
Through a strong symbolic of war and a declination of media, from sculpture to installation to performative interventions, Jarrar creates a visual narrative of the conflictual situation ceaselessly unraveling in his native Palestine, and its impacts on everyday life.
Borrowing its title from the verses of Francis Thompson’s poem 'The Mistress of Vision', the exhibition concerns itself with the interconnections extant in the natural world and by extension, the causality of human actions.
One of the exhibition's highlights—the Ice Helmet, presents an ice sculpture of a military headgear placed inside a wall-integrated refrigerator and stands as a proof of Jarrar’s constantly innovative practice.
Through a strong symbolic of war and a declination of media, from sculpture to installation to performative interventions, Jarrar creates a visual narrative of the conflictual situation ceaselessly unraveling in his native Palestine, and its impacts on everyday life.
OTHER
Ammar Al Beik's 'Dolce Siria' at 51st Pesaro International Film Festival & Berlinale Forum Expanded_MMCA
10 June - 5 July 2015 (Seoul, Korea) | 20-27 June 2015 (Pesaro, Italy)
Following the screening at the 65th Berlin Film Festival in February 2015, Ammar Al Beik’s 'Dolce Siria' has been selected for the forthcoming 51st Pesaro International Film Festival, to be held from 20 to 27 June 2015 in Italy. The video will also be presented this summer in Seoul’s Berlinale Forum Expanded_MMCA (10 June - 5 July 2015), a collaborative program between the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA), Korea and the Arsenal Institute for Film and Video Art.
A satirical response to Federico Fellini’s 1960 comedy-drama La Dolce Vita. Al Beik’s movie unfolds as a poignant narrative of the dramatic events affecting his homeland and leading to the extinction of love and happiness, which Fellini’s protagonist Marcello Rubini was unsuccessfully looking for decades ago. Cloaking Syria behind the metaphorical veil of circus, Al Beik tells the despair of his fellow citizens, living a life that is anything but “dolce”.
A satirical response to Federico Fellini’s 1960 comedy-drama La Dolce Vita. Al Beik’s movie unfolds as a poignant narrative of the dramatic events affecting his homeland and leading to the extinction of love and happiness, which Fellini’s protagonist Marcello Rubini was unsuccessfully looking for decades ago. Cloaking Syria behind the metaphorical veil of circus, Al Beik tells the despair of his fellow citizens, living a life that is anything but “dolce”.
BEIRUT | DUBAI
Gallery hours during Ramadan
During The Holy Month of Ramadan, Ayyam Gallery Beirut will be open to the public from 10am to 6pm (Monday - Friday), closed on Saturday and Sunday.
Dubai (Alserkal Avenue & DIFC) will be open from 11am - 4pm (Sunday - Thursday), closed Friday and Saturday.
Ayyam Gallery wishes you Ramadan Kareem!
Dubai (Alserkal Avenue & DIFC) will be open from 11am - 4pm (Sunday - Thursday), closed Friday and Saturday.
Ayyam Gallery wishes you Ramadan Kareem!
OTHER
Rashed Al Shashai
All The World's a Mosque
28 May - 15 June 2015 | Carthage, Tunisia
Rashed Al Shashai’s LED work 'Shortcut' is featured in 'All The World's a Mosque', a unique, container-based, mobile art exhibition, exploring the interplay between sacred space, religious ritual, cultural convention and everyday life. Hosted by the Kamel Lazaar Foundation, the exhibition is curated by Lina Lazaar and will be on view until 15 June 2015.
'All The World's a Mosque' is part of the 3rd edition of JOAU Tunis, a conference which aims to promote the arts and culture of North Africa and the Middle East.
'All The World's a Mosque' is part of the 3rd edition of JOAU Tunis, a conference which aims to promote the arts and culture of North Africa and the Middle East.
AYYAM PROJECTS, BEIRUT
Nairy Shahinian: Ecstatic Moments at Ayyam Projects, Beirut
4 June - 12 July 2015
Opening reception: Thursday, 4 June from 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Ayyam Projects is pleased to announce 'Ecstatic Moments', the forthcoming solo exhibition of Dubai-based photographer Nairy Shahinian. Featuring an ongoing body of work begun in 2010, the exhibition will introduce Lebanese viewers to Shahinian’s experimental practice, which approaches photography as both an immersive medium and an evolving site of investigation. The conceptual premise of the series—from which the exhibition takes its title—is the experience of attending live concerts and the heightened yet fleeting connections that occur between a musician or band and their audience.
Ayyam Projects is pleased to announce 'Ecstatic Moments', the forthcoming solo exhibition of Dubai-based photographer Nairy Shahinian. Featuring an ongoing body of work begun in 2010, the exhibition will introduce Lebanese viewers to Shahinian’s experimental practice, which approaches photography as both an immersive medium and an evolving site of investigation. The conceptual premise of the series—from which the exhibition takes its title—is the experience of attending live concerts and the heightened yet fleeting connections that occur between a musician or band and their audience.
OTHER
Ayyam Gallery at Art 15 and Photo London
20-24 May 2015
Ayyam Gallery is pleased to announce its participation in the 2015 editions of Art 15 and Photo London from 20 May until 24. Joining more than 150 galleries at Art 15 and over 70 art spaces and organisations at Photo London, Ayyam Gallery will spotlight artists who are widely recognised in the Middle East and North Africa as innovators in contemporary painting, photography, and conceptual art. During London’s forthcoming art week, Ayyam Gallery will exhibit alongside art spaces, institutions, and imprints such as Whitechapel Gallery, Maraya Art Centre, the Royal College of Art, and Phaidon publishing as part of a broader international effort to bring diverse artistic practices to UK audiences.
LONDON
Artist Talk: Samia Halaby in Conversation with Maymanah Farhat
Paintings from the Sixties and Seventies
Tuesday, 19 May at 1:00 pm | Ayyam Gallery London
Following the opening of Samia Halaby: Paintings from the Sixties and Seventies on 18 May, Ayyam Gallery London will host a discussion with the renowned artist on Tuesday 19 May at 1:00 pm. The public talk will explore Halaby’s initial development as a painter, beginning with her career as a young academic at American universities where she implemented a groundbreaking undergraduate art program before becoming the first female associate professor at the Yale School of Art in the 1970s.
OTHER
Shurooq Amin, Sadik Kwaish Alfraji, and Khaled Hafez at 56th Venice Biennale
Eye of the Thunderstorm: Effervescent Practices from the Arab World
9 May - 22 November 2015
Shurooq Amin, Sadik Alfraji, and Khaled Hafez will be part of 'In the Eye of the Thunderstorm: Effervescent Practices from the Arab World', a collateral project at the 56th Venice Biennale gathering a pan-Arab line-up of artists under one pavilion. Commissioned by Contemporary Practices’ Omar Donia and curated by Martina Corgnati, the group show aims at highlighting the diversity of practices in Middle Eastern contemporary art.
OTHER
Sama Alshaibi
Ten: The Exhibition
8 May - 4 October 2015 | Arab American National Museum, Michigan
From 8 May until 4 October, Sama Alshaibi will be featured in 'Ten: The Exhibition', a group exhibition at the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.
Curated by Ayyam Gallery artistic director Maymanah Farhat to celebrate the Museum’s tenth anniversary, the works of ten artists of the Arab diaspora are brought together in order to consider the ways in which contemporary art can serve a variety of functions, particularly at a time when culture must reckon with urgent social and political issues.
Curated by Ayyam Gallery artistic director Maymanah Farhat to celebrate the Museum’s tenth anniversary, the works of ten artists of the Arab diaspora are brought together in order to consider the ways in which contemporary art can serve a variety of functions, particularly at a time when culture must reckon with urgent social and political issues.
NEW YORK
Samia Halaby
'Self: Portraits of Artists in their Absence' at the National Academy of Arts, New York City
29 January - 3 May 2015
Palestinian artist Samia Halaby will be exhibiting in 'Self: Portraits of Artists in their Absence' at the National Academy of Arts, New York City. Running from 29 January 2015 till 3 May 2015, the exhibition will gather a large collection of portraits, exploring the evolution of self representation over the past 200 years. Recognised as pioneer of Arab abstract painting, Halaby will be showing her portrait alongside artists such as Marcel Duchamp, Ai Weiwei and Shirin Neshat.
OTHER
Sadik Alfraji
Islamic Art Now: Contemporary Art from the Middle East
1 February 2015–ongoing | LACMA, Los Angeles
Iraqi artist Sadik Alfraji, renowned for his large-scale interdisciplinary works, will participate in LACMA’s exhibition Islamic Art Now : Contemporary Art from the Middle East, opening on 1 February 2015. This first major showcase of LACMA’s Middle Eastern collection will present twenty artists from the Arab world and their multimedia works, exploring the relationship between past and present. Alfraji will be featured with his installation 'The House That My Father Built (Once Upon A Time)', consisting of a painting, photographs, and an animation film projected onto a nine-meter wide surface. Evidently blending into the show’s retrospective process of interlinking temporalities, Alfraji will appear alongside other acclaimed artists such as Wafaa Bilal, Hassan Hajjaj, and Mona Hatoum.
A4 SPACE, ALSERKAL AVENUE
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji in Conversation with Wael Hattar
28 April at 7pm | A4 Space (Alserkal Avenue), Dubai
Please join Sadik Kwaish Alfraji in conversation with Wael Hattar on Tuesday, 28 April at 7pm, at A4 Space in Alserkal Avenue.
The first public talk for the Alserkal Avenue's Safina Radio Project, the talk takes Alfraji's current exhibition 'Driven by Storms (Ali's Boat)', as a starting point to discuss concerns of diaspora and displacement.
The first public talk for the Alserkal Avenue's Safina Radio Project, the talk takes Alfraji's current exhibition 'Driven by Storms (Ali's Boat)', as a starting point to discuss concerns of diaspora and displacement.
VITERBO, ITALY
BADminton by Khaled Jarrar
Screening at 'Deconstructing Reality'
Khaled Jarrar’s 'BADminton' video will be featured in 'Deconstructing Reality', a group exhibition curated by Marco Trulli and presented in Viterbo, Italy from 23-26 April 2015.
BIN MATAR HOUSE, BAHRAIN
Faisal Samra
Global Warming
8 March - 26 April 2015
Following his first suggestive retrospective at Ayyam Gallery Al Quoz, Dubai (2014), Saudi artist Faisal Samra will present his recent works in a solo exhibition opening at the Bin Matar House in Bahrain on 8 March 2015. Titled 'Global Warming', the multimedia show gathers three projects (video, painting and installation) that interrogate the likelihood of change when it comes to mankind’s destructive behaviours. While ecological impacts and their questionable reversibility appear as the primary concern throughout Samra’s works, the concept of hostility towards our environment extends to the belligerent actions witnessed across the Middle East.
ABU DHABI FESTIVAL
Khaled Hafez, Sama Alshaibi, Sadik Kwaish Alfraji, Faisal Samra, Tammam Azzam and Ammar Al Beik
View From Inside, Contemporary Arab Photography, Video and Mixed Media Art
20 March - 20 April 2015
The mixed media works of Khaled Hafez, Sama Alshaibi, Sadik Kwaish Alfraji, Faisal Samra, Tammam Azzam and Ammar Al Beik will be part of 'View From Inside, Contemporary Arab Photography, Video and Mixed Media Art', opening at the Abu Dhabi Festival on 20 March 2015. Commissioned by the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation, 'View From Inside' constitutes the focal point of this year’s festival and is based on the highly acclaimed eponym show inaugurated during last year’s Houston FotoFest.
ITALY
Khaled Jarrar
'Too Early, Too Late. Middle East and Modernity' at Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna, Italy
22 January - 12 April
Khaled Jarrar will be participating in a group exhibition at the Pinacoteca Nazionale di Bologna in Italy from the 22 January - 12 April 2015. Curated by Marco Scotini, 'Too Early, Too Late. Middle East and Modernity' investigates the relationship between the East and the West. The exhibition explores the concept of Modernity through the contemporary art scene of the Middle East, North Africa, the Caucasus and Central Asia. Showcasing works from 14th-century museum collections, the exhibition will deliver a historical view of the region and its impact on the East today.
OTHER
Safwan Dahoul Dubai Metro Collaboration
Safwan Dahoul’s iconic portraitures of female protagonists covers the surface of a Dubai Metro carriage. As continuation of Dahoul’s monochromatic Dream series, the newly commissioned pieces see the addition of a crumpled effect that adds to an already heightening dramatic composition.
Part of an initiative launched by the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority and the Road & Transportation Authority, the project was inaugurated in simultaneity with Art Dubai, and showcased a photographic work by HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum scaled up to one of the metro carriages. Pursuing celebrations of the Dubai Art Season, the carriage adorned by Dahoul’s Dreams is unveiled in conjunction with two more, presenting commissioned works by Emirati artist Abdul Qader Al Rais and Algerian Rachid Koraichi. Bringing art closer to local audiences, the project also aims at highlighting the multicultural circle of art practitioners living in Dubai.
Part of an initiative launched by the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority and the Road & Transportation Authority, the project was inaugurated in simultaneity with Art Dubai, and showcased a photographic work by HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum scaled up to one of the metro carriages. Pursuing celebrations of the Dubai Art Season, the carriage adorned by Dahoul’s Dreams is unveiled in conjunction with two more, presenting commissioned works by Emirati artist Abdul Qader Al Rais and Algerian Rachid Koraichi. Bringing art closer to local audiences, the project also aims at highlighting the multicultural circle of art practitioners living in Dubai.
HEWAR ART GALLERY, RIYAD
Rashed Al Shashai
Section 11
3-26 March 2015
After a successful show at Hafez Gallery, Jeddah, Rashed Al Shashai’s 'Section 11' will be shown at Hewar Art Gallery, Riyadh in collaboration with Hafez and Ayyam Gallery.
'Section 11' in reference to the class Al Shashai teaches at Al Faisaliah School, the solo exhibition will take a didactic turn by laying out a series of societal issues witnessed by the artist in the Arab world. Translated into a variety of media, religious distortions and contrasts between tradition and modernity will be evoked with a humorous tone that’s common throughout Al Shashai’s work.
'Section 11' in reference to the class Al Shashai teaches at Al Faisaliah School, the solo exhibition will take a didactic turn by laying out a series of societal issues witnessed by the artist in the Arab world. Translated into a variety of media, religious distortions and contrasts between tradition and modernity will be evoked with a humorous tone that’s common throughout Al Shashai’s work.
MANARAT AL SAADIYAT, SAADIYAT CULTURAL DISTRICT, ABU DHABI
Samia Halaby
Seeing through Light: Selections from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Collection
5 November 2014 - 26 March 2015
Samia Halaby’s 'Yellow Spiral' (1970) a seminal work inspired by the artist’s admiration for Arabic architecture and calligraphy will be on display at the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi’s pre-opening exhibition 'Seeing through Light: Selections from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Collection', at Manarat Al Saadiyat. The exhibition will introduce the future museum’s curatorial vision through a theme-based collection presentation.
DUBAI
Extended Weekend Hours for Dubai Art Week
DIFC and Alserkal Avenue
Our galleries in DIFC and Alserkal Avenue will have extended weekend hours Dubai Art Week.
Ayyam Gallery Dubai (DIFC) gallery will be open on Thursday, 19 March, Friday, 20 March, Saturday, 21 March from 10 am - 8 pm.
Ayyam Gallery Dubai (Alserkal Avenue, Al Quoz) gallery will be open on Thursday, 19 March from 9 am - 6 pm, Friday, 20 March from 10 am - 6 pm, Saturday, 21 March from 10 am - 6 pm.
Ayyam Gallery Dubai (DIFC) gallery will be open on Thursday, 19 March, Friday, 20 March, Saturday, 21 March from 10 am - 8 pm.
Ayyam Gallery Dubai (Alserkal Avenue, Al Quoz) gallery will be open on Thursday, 19 March from 9 am - 6 pm, Friday, 20 March from 10 am - 6 pm, Saturday, 21 March from 10 am - 6 pm.
OTHER
Ayyam Gallery at Art Dubai 2015
18-21 March 2015
Ayyam Gallery will participate in this year’s Art Dubai from 18 until 21 March. Representing a wide spectrum of contemporary art, including painting, sculpture, and photography, Ayyam Gallery’s booth will spotlight established and emerging artists Nadim Karam, Safwan Dahoul, Sama Alshaibi, Faisal Samra, Kais Salman, Mouteea Murad, Athier Mousawi and Alireza Fani. Presented with a diverse lineup of artists, fair attendees will have the opportunity to experience some of the exciting aesthetic developments that are currently taking place in regional art.
BEIRUT
Ayyam Projects presents 'Leaving Soon' by Myriam Dalal
29 January - 20 March 2015
Ayyam Projects is pleased to present 'Leaving Soon', the solo show of Lebanese artist Myriam Dalal. Featuring a multimedia installation, the exhibition marks the Lebanon debut of a 2013 project by the artist. For this new adaptation of the work, Dalal transforms the gallery space into a site-specific installation that invites viewers to reconsider the ways in which memory can be triggered by the senses while having an impact on new experiences and shaping perception.
ANKARA, TURKEY
Alireza Fani
Ankara Art Fair
11-15 March 2015
Alireza Fani’s 2010 work 'Witness' from the Remained Objects series will be on display in Igreg Gallery’s booth at the Ankara Art Fair from 11-15 March. The series charts the artist’s symbolic reinterpretation of everyday objects and the ways in which they reflect the human condition.
OTHER
Rashed Al Shashai
The Armory Show 2015
5 - 8 March 2015
Saudi artist and educator Rashed Al Shashai will participate in The Armory Show’s Focus: 'MENAM' section curated by Omar Kholeif this March.
AMSTERDAM
Tammam Azzam
Crisis of History Part 2: Fight History
8 February - 8 March
Acclaimed Syrian artist Tammam Azzam will be featured in Amsterdam’s cultural hub Tolhuistuin as part of a group exhibition titled 'Crisis of History Part 2: Fight History'. Opening on 8 February 2015, the show will highlight artists from the Middle East and beyond in an attempt to decode Western misconceptions of the Arab world. Azzam will participate with his digital works, among which Syrian Museum - a series of European master pieces digitally embedded into images of Syria’s war torn buildings. This body of work gained him worldwide recognition back in 2013 and will be exhibited alongside works by Eric Parnes, Wafaa Bilal, and other artists portraying the political ruptures between East and West.
DUBAI (AL QUOZ)
Artist in Residency | Noor Bahjat
January 2015
Ayyam Gallery is proud to announce that a residency program for young artists will be launched in Dubai with the first position being awarded to 23 year old Noor Bahjat. A recent graduate from the Academy of Fine Arts, Damascus, Noor left at the top of her class. Working from detailed sketches in a painterly, expressionist style and with a primarily figurative subject matter, the artist skilfully transitions between warm and cold palettes, creating deeply atmospheric canvases. The residency will last 6 months with Noor working in a purpose built studio within close proximity to established artists Tammam Azzam and Mohannad Orabi who will be mentoring her over the duration of her stay.
DUBAI
The Elephants Trio at Jumeirah Emirates Towers, Dubai
March 2015
Jumeirah Emirates Towers, in partnership with Ayyam Gallery, has installed Nadim Karam's iconic sculptures, 'The Elephants Trio', outside the main entrance of the hotel tower in Dubai, UAE.
Laser-cut from stainless steel, the sculptures increase in size from 0.70m to 1.5m to 3m - the largest equaling in scale a fully grown elephant. The perforated surfaces are constituted from a rich vocabulary of forms which create a fragmentation of ideas and generate a multiplicity of stories, with over 500 stainless steel tubes joining the two sides of the largest elephant.
Laser-cut from stainless steel, the sculptures increase in size from 0.70m to 1.5m to 3m - the largest equaling in scale a fully grown elephant. The perforated surfaces are constituted from a rich vocabulary of forms which create a fragmentation of ideas and generate a multiplicity of stories, with over 500 stainless steel tubes joining the two sides of the largest elephant.
BARJEEL FOUNDATION, SHARJAH
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji and Khaled Jarrar
aide-mémoire: footnotes
1 March 2015
Khaled Jarrar and Sadik Alfraji will be featured in 'aide-mémoire: footnotes' opening at Sharjah’s Barjeel Foundation on 1 March.
The second instalment of the group exhibition prolongs a prior study of the multiple ways memories are recorded, now incorporating notes taken by the viewers during the first part of the show. Encompassing visions from the past and our interpretations thereof at the present moment, the exhibition also hints at the memories’ evolution in the future.
The second instalment of the group exhibition prolongs a prior study of the multiple ways memories are recorded, now incorporating notes taken by the viewers during the first part of the show. Encompassing visions from the past and our interpretations thereof at the present moment, the exhibition also hints at the memories’ evolution in the future.
OTHER
Khaled Hafez joins Ayyam Gallery
Ayyam Gallery is pleased to announce the recent addition of Khaled Hafez to its roster of artists from across the Middle East.
JEDDAH
Rashed Al Shashai
'Section 11' at Hafez Gallery
28 January - 26 February
Saudi contemporary artist and educator Rashed Al Shashai will be showing his new body of work at Hafez Gallery in Jeddah from 28 January - 26 February 2015, in collaboration with Ayyam Gallery. Titled 'Section 11' in reference to the class Al Shashai teaches at Al Faisaliah School, the solo exhibition will take a didactic turn by laying out a series of societal issues witnessed by the artist in the Arab world. Translated into a variety of media, religious distortions and contrasts between tradition and modernity will be evoked with a humorous tone that’s common throughout Al Shashai’s work.
OTHER
Samia Halaby
'Five Decades of Painting and Innovation' at Beirut Exhibition Center
2-26 February, 2015
Following a major retrospective at Ayyam Gallery Dubai, Al Quoz in 2014, Samia Halaby’s oeuvre will be showcased at the Beirut Exhibition Center from 2-26 February 2015. Halaby’s five decades of visual investigations and ever-changing compositions, from early geometric experiments to today’s explosions of colours, have defined her as pioneer of Arab abstraction. Curated by Maymanah Farhat, the exhibition will illustrate each phase of her prolific career, the fifty artworks presented at the Beirut Exhibition Center will include paintings, drawings, prints, computer-generated kinetic works, and hanging sculptures.
AMSTERDAM
Farzad Kohan
Francis Boeske Projects
11 January - 21 February 2015
Marking Farzad Kohan’s debut in the Netherlands ‘Opening Up, 9 Artists From Iran’ features the work of 9 Iranian artists living in Tehran, London, Paris, New York and Los Angeles. The show will showcase the work of these established artists, placing them within the larger context of the flourishing Iranian art scene. This will be the inaugural exhibition at Francis Boeske Projects.
DUBAI (AL QUOZ)
Extended weekend viewing hours for The Young Collectors Auction
Dubai (Al Quoz)
Extended weekend hours for The Young Collectors Auction viewing at Ayyam Gallery Dubai (Alserkal Avenue, Al Quoz). We're open tomorrow, Friday, 6 February from 2-6pm, and Saturday, 12-6pm. Preview continues until 9 February from (10 am - 6pm). Auction on Tuesday, 10 February at 7pm.
OTHER
Sama Alshaibi awarded the 2014 – 2015 Fulbright Scholar Fellowship
Sama Alshaibi has recently been awarded with the prestigious Fulbright Scholar Fellowship, she will be based at the new Palestine Museum in Ramallah where she will be developing an education program and conducting her own research.
Founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946, the Fulbright Program is one of the most respected awards programs worldwide. Operating in over 150 countries it was established to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries through the exchange of culture, knowledge, and skills. The selection of highly competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange are awarded to students, scholars, teachers, scientists and artists annually.
Founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946, the Fulbright Program is one of the most respected awards programs worldwide. Operating in over 150 countries it was established to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries through the exchange of culture, knowledge, and skills. The selection of highly competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange are awarded to students, scholars, teachers, scientists and artists annually.
OTHER
Ammar Al Beik
65th Berlin Film Festival
5-15 February 2015
Syrian artist and filmmaker Ammar Al Beik will be attending the Forum Expanded program of the 65th Berlin Film Festival in February 2015, with a screening of 'La Dolce Siria' - a satirical response to Federico Fellini’s 1960 comedy-drama 'La Dolce Vita'. Al Beik’s movie unfolds as a poignant narrative of the dramatic events affecting his homeland and leading to the extinction of love and happiness, which Fellini’s protagonist Marcello Rubini was unsuccessfully looking for decades ago. Cloaking Syria behind the metaphorical veil of circus, Al Beik relays the despair of his fellow citizens, living a life that is anything but “dolce”.
DUBAI (AL QUOZ)
Thaier Helal
New publication
In this eponymous monograph on the artist, Thaier Helal, contributors Farouk Yousif, Maymanah Farhat, and Jules McDevitt outline the artist's development while considering the many factors that have contributed to his aesthetic. Complimenting this in- depth analysis is a catalogue of images that includes over one hundred and fifty reproductions spanning nearly twenty years.
LOS ANGELES
LA Art Show 2015
Booth 512/611
15 – 18 January 2015
Ayyam Gallery is pleased to announce its participation in the 2015 edition of the LA Art Show. With a curated selection of contemporary painting and photography from the Arab world and Iran, Ayyam Gallery’s participation will serve as its West Coast debut, offering audiences a rare opportunity to encounter a roster of artists who are not only breaking ground in the Middle East but are also internationally active. Recent works by Samia Halaby, Safwan Dahoul, Thaier Helal, Sadik Alfraji, Farzad Kohan, Afshin Pirhashemi, Athier, and Alireza Fani will be highlighted.
OTHER
Mohannad Orabi and Maymanah Farhat
Leading Global Thinkers 2014
Foreign Policy
Artist Mohannad Orabi and Ayyam Gallery’s Artistic Director Maymanah Farhat were listed among Foreign Policy’s prestigious 100 Leading Global Thinkers in November.
OTHER
Khaled Takreti and Faisal Samra: Insusubordination
Musée de la Palmeraie in Marrakech, Morocco
28 November - 30 December 2014
The work of Khaled Takreti and Faisal Samra is currently on display at Insusubordination, an exhibition marking the second World Human Rights Forum at Musée de la Palmeraie in Marrakech, Morocco. Curated by Mahi Binebine, the show features the work of 26 international artists ranging from painters, photographers, video artists and sculptors all united in a collective effort to garner attention for the global problem of human rights violations. The exhibition runs until 30 December 2014.
OTHER
Ayyam Gallery Launches Ayyam Projects
Ayyam Gallery will be launching Ayyam Projects, a new experimental space in Beirut, at the end of October. Ayyam Projects will serve as a sister space to Ayyam Gallery Beirut and will be located next to the Marina district outpost. Envisaged as a venue for experimental art, Ayyam Projects will highlight artists working in photography, conceptual art, installation, video, and new media.
OTHER
Holiday and Timing Announcement
Dubai and Beirut
Ayyam Gallery Dubai (DIFC) will have reduced working hours from 20-22 December (10am - 8pm). The gallery will be closed from 23-27 December and will reopen on 28 December (10 am - 8pm).
Dubai (Alserkal Avenue, Al Quoz) will be closed 25 December. Normal hours resume 26 December.
Both Dubai galleries will also be closed from 1-3 January.
Beirut will be closed from 25 December - 4 January. Normal hours will resume 5 January.
We wish you happy holidays and a joyful New Year 2015!
Dubai (Alserkal Avenue, Al Quoz) will be closed 25 December. Normal hours resume 26 December.
Both Dubai galleries will also be closed from 1-3 January.
Beirut will be closed from 25 December - 4 January. Normal hours will resume 5 January.
We wish you happy holidays and a joyful New Year 2015!
MADRID
Sama Alshaibi and Khaled Jarrar
MADATAC 06 Film and Digital Arts Festival
13 December 2014
Works by Sama Alshaibi and Khaled Jarrar will be screened at 'Waiting for Good, the Unexplored Territories 06_Palestinia' section, being held as part of the MADATAC 06 Film and Digital Arts Festival in Madrid on Saturday, 13 December from 5- 7pm. 'The Unexplored Territories' section presents audio-visual creations from countries with little-known audiovisual production or from areas with radically different cultural backgrounds. Curated by Iurch Lech and Sam Alshaibi, Waiting for Good will feature a line up of Palestinian artists living within or outside of the Occupied Territories presenting a varied set of moving works that reflect the displacement, dispossession and dispersal of the Palestinian people.
OTHER
Sama Alshaibi: Opposing Gestures
University of Southern Main (USM)
23 September – 10 December 2014
Sama Alshaibi will be participating in a two-person exhibition with Joseph Farbrook exploring the dilemmas of the political, existential and personal presented through the lens of human gesture and motion.
NYU ABU DHABI AND FIND CONFERENCE
Shurooq Amin
Reversible: Narrating Identity from the Inside Out and Outside In
7-9 December 2014
Shurooq Amin is participating in Reversible: 'Narrating Identity from the Inside Out and Outside In', a conference held by NYU Abu Dhabi and FIND, from 7-9 December 2014.
OTHER
Khaled Jarrar 'Hunger Wall'
Tying together dozens of freshly baked circular loaves of bread and attaching them onto a frame positioned at the mouth of a tunnel integrated into the BAANA, a pedestrian passage running through the city Helsinki, Khaled Jarrar’s ‘performative intervention’ represents the fine line between comfort and suffering, prosperity and poverty. Inviting the public to take part in the construction of the 'Hunger Wall', various people give their reactions to the work with one elderly lady recalling a time during the depression when she had to eat bread baked from the flour usually fed to animals. She goes on to observe that young people today have no idea about hardship and just how quickly life can change with unemployment and economic strife.
OTHER
Shurooq Amin
New publication
With contributions by writers Maymanah Farhat and Zarmina Rafi, this monograph explores the intricacies of Amin’s decades-long career through comparative discussions of her works within the broader milieus of international art and literature. Also included is an autobiographical account of the artist’s life, which offers an intimate view of her creative development. Featuring over eighty colour reproductions, ranging from her early experiments with a combined approach to portraiture to her recent cutting-edge compositions, Shurooq Amin traces the evolution of the artist’s celebrated oeuvre.
OTHER
Khaled Ead Samawi Scholarship Foundation
Lara Atallah, the first recipient of the Khaled Ead Samawi Art Scholarship, has recently completed an MFA in Photography from Parsons The New School of Design in New York City. Since moving from Lebanon to the United States to attend the prestigious institution, Atallah has regularly participated in group shows in the greater New York area. While attending Parsons, she has also developed several new projects that continue her interest in historical narratives, particularly the use of photography as a form of archival material in post-war Lebanon. Atallah holds a BFA in Graphic Design from the American University of Beirut, and was a finalist of the Shabab Ayyam Photography Competition in 2011.
PARIS
Ammar Abd Rabbo
Aleppo, A Elles, Eux, Paix! at Europia Gallery in Paris
4-28 November, 2014
A solo exhibition entitled 'Aleppo, A Elles, Eux, Paix!' by Syrian photographer Ammar Abd Rabbo is currently on display at Europia Gallery in Paris and will run until 28 November in conjunction with Paris Photo Month. The show consists of fifteen photographs that document both the extraordinary and mundane aspects of everyday life in the war torn city of Aleppo.
OTHER
Khaled Jarrar takes part in RCD>PLY>RWD>FFWD>STOP>EJ
Kashya Hildebrand, London
14 October – 22 November 2014
Curated by Aya Haidar, 'RCD>PLY>RWD>FFWD>STOP>EJ' is based around the recording of the present as a reference for the future. Looking at the recent and current trends that have swept the Middle East, a combination of ongoing tensions as well as a boom in development have led to an urban landscape that is changing at a rapid pace. In the process, history and local heritage is under threat and identities are in a constant state of flux. As the wider geopolitics are determined from above, another layer of history is being made. The artists from the region seek to reflect the actual realities of those who live and struggle to maintain them. They represent the everyday and question preconceptions and misconceptions of an otherwise preconceived and misunderstood region.
OTHER
Khaled Jarrar 'Dis-/Obey' at the Helsinki Festival 2014
August 2014
Commissioned by Checkpoint Helsinki as part of Helsinki Festival, Khaled Jarrar’s 'Dis-/Obey' saw 50 volunteers participate in a large-scale performative artwork led by the artist. Using his experience as a former bodyguard of President Arafat of the PLO, Jarrar trained the volunteers to march in military formation through the streets of Helsinki. Passing through the central streets and thoroughfares, the march culminated at the focal point of Lasipalatsi Square. Here the artist gave the order for his platoon of volunteers to halt, facing an installation of 50 uniforms that hung in army formation by strings and pink hangers similarly to puppets hanging on a puppeteer’s string. Gradually the group began to leave one by one until only one solider remained, refusing to ‘disobey orders’.
OTHER
Nadim Karam
JISP Biennale 2014, Shanghai
Shanghai
Nadim Karam's 'Stretching Thoughts' sculptures are exhibited at Jing'an Sculpture Park as part of the Shanghai JISP Biennale 2014 from 20 September - 20 November 2014.
BEIRUT
Sama Alshaibi: Chain of Fire
Prologue Exhibition - Honolulu Biennial
30 October - 9 November 2014
Sama Alshaibi has been selected to show her work at the Prologue Exhibition 'Chain of Fire' at the Honolulu Biennial, Co-presented by Hawai'i International Film Festival and Honolulu Biennial Foundation.
DUBAI
Sama Alshaibi participating in the 20th International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA2014)
20 October - 8 November 2014
Sama Alshaibi will be participating in the 20th International Symposium on Electronic Art. Hosted by Zayed University, ISEA is an annual gathering of artists and scientists in the field of electronic and emergent arts that has been held in 4 continents and over 20 cities worldwide, since 1988. An academic conference will take place, accompanied by a variety of art events including exhibitions, concerts, performances, and public events. There will also be programme of workshops and tutorials aimed at establishing the connections between East and West, local culture and modern media arts on offer throughout the duration of the event.
OTHER
Sama Alshaibi's short films at the Intelligence Report
Peacock Visual Arts: Center for Contemporary Art
4 October - 8 November 2014
Sama Alshaibi’s work will be on show in Intelligence Report at Peacock Visual Arts Center for Contemporary Art. Organised by curator Jay Murphy, the exhibition will feature a programme of screenings of six powerful new feature films from the Middle East and North Africa as well as moving image installations and experimental short films including three videos: 'Sweep', 'Chicken' and 'Sissy' from Alshaibi’s 'The Pessimists'.
OTHER
Ayyam Gallery at Abu Dhabi Art 2014
Booth B12 | Manarat Al Saadiyat, Saadiyat Island
5 – 8 November 2014
Ayyam Gallery is pleased to announce its participation in the sixth edition of Abu Dhabi Art, one of the Middle East’s premier art events. Featuring seminal, mid-career, and emerging artists, the gallery’s curated selection of contemporary art will offer a preview of recent developments in painting with a spotlight on the intersections of abstraction and figuration. Through the canvases of six diverse artists, this forthcoming survey will explore the evolving formalism of geometric abstraction, neo-expressionism, and symbolism, which are currently defining regional art.
LONDON
Shurooq Amin in conversation with Khaled Samawi and Anthony Downey
Ayyam Gallery London
Wednesday, 12 November at 7 pm
Ayyam Gallery London presents Shurooq Amin in conversation with Ayyam Gallery founder Khaled Samawi, and Anthony Downey, contemporary art scholar and Editor in Chief of Ibraaz, on Wednesday, 12 November at 7:00 pm.
The talk will be held ahead of the artist's exhibition 'We'll Build This City on Art and Love', opening on Thursday, 13 November.
The talk will be held ahead of the artist's exhibition 'We'll Build This City on Art and Love', opening on Thursday, 13 November.
DUBAI (AL QUOZ)
The Young Collectors Auction Preview Now Open at the Ayyam Gallery Dubai (Al Quoz)
Auction: 30 September | Viewing: 15- 29 September
The Young Collectors Auction preview is now open. Viewing is on until 29 September (10AM-6PM), Saturdays (12-6PM) and Friday, 26 September (2-6PM). The auction takes place Tuesday, 30 September at 7PM.
OTHER
Ayyam Gallery artists at upcoming auctions
We are delighted to announce that several works of our represented artists will be appearing in some of the world’s most prestigious auctions this fall.
OTHER
Takreti
New publication
Ayyam Gallery launches 'Takreti', a bilingual monograph of Khaled Takreti, featuring a survey of the artist’s work from 2002 until 2014. Complementing this comprehensive catalogue are essays by novelist, art critic, and editor Pascal Amel and Ayyam Gallery Artistic Director Maymanah Farhat.
DUBAI (AL QUOZ)
Faisal Samra
Book launch and artist talk with Myrna Ayad
Monday, 20 October from 7.00 - 9.30 pm
Ayyam Gallery Dubai (Al Quoz) presents artist Faisal Samra in conversation with Myrna Ayad, Editor of Canvas Magazine on Monday, 20 October from 7.00, prior to the opening of the exhibition. The event also marks the Dubai launch of a bilingual Skira monograph on the artist that includes texts by Roxana Azimi and Giles de Bure.
LONDON
Athier
Artist led tour and talk with Cedric Bardawil
Wednesday, 22 October form 6.30 - 8.30 pm
Ayyam Gallery London is pleased to invite you to a special gallery evening with a private tour by British-Iraqi artist Athier of the current exhibition 'Improbable Possiblities', followed by a talk with art consultant and curator Cedric Bardawil, on Wednesday, 22 October from 6.30 - 8.30 pm.
OTHER
Shurooq Amin at Intersections of Art and Literature
University of Trento Conference
15-17 October 2014
Sharooq Amin will be participating in Intersections of Art and Literature, a conference to be held at the Department of Humanities of the University of Trento from 15-17 October.
OTHER
Holiday Announcement
Beirut & Dubai
4-6 October 2014
Ayyam Gallery Dubai (Al Quoz & DIFC) and Beirut will remain closed from 4-6 October. Normal working hours resume from 7 October 2014.
Ayyam Gallery wishes you Eid Mubarak!
Ayyam Gallery wishes you Eid Mubarak!
OTHER
Khaled Jarrar at New Museum
16 July - 28 September
Palestinian artist Khaled Jarrar will be exhibiting in 'Here and Elsewhere', a major exhibition organised by New York City's New Museum, featuring contemporary art from and about the Arab world. Jarrar will also be joining the artist talk along with Lamia Joreidge, and Charif Kiwan of Abounaddara with Natalie Bell, on 17 July at 7PM at New Museum Theatre.*
OTHER
Ayyam Gallery at Photo Shanghai
5-7 September
Artists Sama Alshaibi, Ammar Al-Beik and Alireza Fani will be participating in this year’s Photo Shanghai, the first international art fair dedicated to photography in China, taking place 5-7 September.
DUBAI (AL QUOZ)
Faisal Samra
Artist led tour and book signing
Saturday, 8 November from 4-5 pm
A personalised tour of '39', led by the artist Faisal Samra will take place on Saturday, 8 November 2014 during Quoz Arts Festival.
Samra will be walking through his suggestive retrospective, which charts his long career from his early drawings to his most recent installation Arab Spring. The event will be held in conjunction with a book signing of the artist's bilingual Skira monograph written by Roxana Azimi and Giles de Bure.
Samra will be walking through his suggestive retrospective, which charts his long career from his early drawings to his most recent installation Arab Spring. The event will be held in conjunction with a book signing of the artist's bilingual Skira monograph written by Roxana Azimi and Giles de Bure.
HELSINKI
Khaled Jarrar
TO THE SQUARE 2 at Helsinki Festival 2014
22-31 August 2014
As part of Checkpoint Helsinki’s 'TO THE SQUARE 2' project, Palestinian artist Khaled Jarrar has begun work on a large-scale piece involving 50 volunteers engaged in ‘performative action.'
BEIRUT, DUBAI, JEDDAH
Gallery Ramadan Hours
During the holy month of Ramadan, Ayyam Gallery Beirut will be open to the public from 11am to 6pm (Monday - Friday), closed on Saturday and Sunday.
Dubai (Alserkal Avenue & DIFC) will be open from 11am - 4pm (Sunday - Thursday), closed Friday and Saturday.
Jeddah from 12pm to 5pm and 10pm to 2am (Sunday - Thursday), and 10pm to 2 am (Friday-Saturday).
Ayyam Gallery wishes you Ramadan Kareem!
Dubai (Alserkal Avenue & DIFC) will be open from 11am - 4pm (Sunday - Thursday), closed Friday and Saturday.
Jeddah from 12pm to 5pm and 10pm to 2am (Sunday - Thursday), and 10pm to 2 am (Friday-Saturday).
Ayyam Gallery wishes you Ramadan Kareem!
OTHER
Holiday Announcement
Beirut, Dubai, Jeddah
Ayyam Gallery Dubai (Al Quoz & DIFC) and Jeddah will remain closed from 26 July - 2 August. Normal working hours resume from 3 August.
Beirut will be closed from 26 July - 3 August. Normal hours resume from 4 August.
Ayyam Gallery wishes you Eid Mubarak!
Beirut will be closed from 26 July - 3 August. Normal hours resume from 4 August.
Ayyam Gallery wishes you Eid Mubarak!
MILAN
Ammar Abd Rabbo participates in 'The sea is my land – Artists from the Mediterranean'
Triennale di Milano, Italy
17 June to 24 August
Photojournalist Ammar Abd Rabbo has been selected to present his works in this year’s “The sea is my land – Artists from the Mediterranean,” an exhibition organised by BNL BNP Paribas Group taking place at the Triennale di Milano, Milan from 17 June to 24 August. The exhibition is conceived and produced by the Bank, curated by Francesco Bonami and Emanuela Mazzonis. The photography and video art exhibition examines the Mediterranean area, interpreted not only geographically but as a cultural basin that unites different civilizations. Ammar Abd Rabbo has previously participated in “the sea is my land – Artists from the Mediterranean,” Rome in 2013.
OTHER
Sama Alshaibi in The Postcard Project
Fundraiser for Honolulu Biennial 2014
23 June - 23 July
Sama Alshaibi’s work 'Birket Siwa' (2014) from the Silsila series is being featured in a pop-up fundraiser to raise funds for the Honolulu Biennial, Hawaii’s first biennial, set to take place October 2014. The fundraiser called “The Postcard Project” is hosted by FolioCue and also features work by artists Fred Tomaselli, Fred Fleisher and others. The fundraiser runs between now to 23 July.
SOUTH KOREA
Khaled Takreti at Gwangju Museum of Art
May 19 – July 13
Khaled Takreti will be exhibiting in "Songs of Loss and Songs of Love" on view at the Gwangju Museum of Art, South Korea. This exhibition is curated by Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath around the premise of creating alternate history, in particular artists respond to a fictional encounter between legendary singers, Egypt’s Oum Kulthum and South Korea’s Lee-Nan Young in 1967 in Paris. Other participating artists from the region include Ghada Amer, Shirin Neshat, Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige.
OTHER
Tammam Azzam and Kais Salman at the 26th Alexandria Biennale
10 June - 6 July
Tammam Azzam and Kais Salman are participating in the 26th Alexandria Biennale for Mediterranean Countries, on view in Cairo, Egypt from 10 June - 6 July. The theme for this year’s biennale centers on the will and magnitude of “change,” with the objective that “change” may also serve as catalyst and inspiration for the selected artists’ future practice.
SOUTH KOREA
Contemporary Arab Art featured in "Fluid Forms II"
Samsung Blue Square & Busan Museum of Art
Ayyam Gallery is pleased to announce 38 works by 13 of its artists will be featured alongside other prominent Arab artists in "Fluid Forms II", a traveling exhibition focusing on Contemporary Arab Art at Samsung Blue Square in Seoul from 21 May - 31 May, and the Busan Museum of Art in South Korea from 5 June - 4 July.
Directed by internationally-renowned independent curator Yu Yeon Kim, in association with the Korea-Arab Society, "Fluid Forms II" will introduce South Korea to the varied talents, perspectives and diversity of media presently produced throughout the Middle East and the Diaspora.
Directed by internationally-renowned independent curator Yu Yeon Kim, in association with the Korea-Arab Society, "Fluid Forms II" will introduce South Korea to the varied talents, perspectives and diversity of media presently produced throughout the Middle East and the Diaspora.
OTHER
Syria's Apex Generation
New publication
Ayyam Gallery launches the publication, ‘Syria’s Apex Generation’ which coincides with the gallery's June openings of contemporary Syrian painting featuring artists, Abdul Karim Majdal Al-Beik, Nihad Al Turk, Othman Moussa, Mohannad Orabi, and Kais Salman.The book provides an in-depth survey of movements leading up to this new school of painting that continues to thrive despite the disintegration of the Damascus art scene, its original centre. Building on the aesthetic currents set in motion by pioneers in the late 1950s, the included painters navigate the magnitude of the Syrian conflict with allegory, satire, and realism in works that hint at the influence of preceding modern and contemporary artists such as Louay Kayyali, Fateh Moudarres, Moustafa Fathi, Saad Yagan, and Safwan Dahoul. The book contains over 100 colour reproductions which are accompanied by an extensive essay by exhibition curator, Maymanah Farhat.
OTHER
Khaled Jarrar’s installation "Gently I Press the Trigger"
Paris | Ramallah
Palestinian artist Khaled Jarrar’s installation works from "Gently I Press the Trigger" will be shown concurrently in Paris at the School of Fine Art from 23-25 May and Polaris Gallery from 24 May - 21 June, and in Ramallah at Gallery One from 31 May - 30 June. The installation deals with themes of deception and camouflage, often addressing a soldier's point of view.
OTHER
Sama Alshaibi at Alwan for the Arts auction in New York
Artist Sama Alshaibi’s photographic work, 'To Eat Bread' from the monochromatic series, Between the Rivers (2008-2009) will be featured in a benefit auction organised by Alwan for the Arts in New York on 16 June. The auction features work by renowned and emerging Middle Eastern artists, providing an opportunity for established as well as new collectors to acquire works and support the mission of the non-profit, Alwan. An exhibition and reception take place on 26 June from 5-9 pm at Shirin Gallery, New York.
HAGUE
Tammam Azzam participates in UNESCO exhibition
10 May - 15 June 2014
From 10 May - 15 June 2014, Tammam Azzam will be participating in an outdoor group photography exhibition taking place at the Hague, Netherlands, with plans for the exhibition to travel to Belgium and Paris soon after. The month of May marks the 60th anniversary of the UNESCO 1954 Hague Convention for the 'Protection of Cultural Heritage in the Event of an Armed Conflict'. Key themes for the exhibition include identity, heritage, war, nation building, hope and reconstruction. Azzam will present work from his highly acclaimed Syrian Museum series.
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA
Abdulnasser Gharem at TEDx Prince Sultan University
3 May 2014
Abdulnasser Gharem will be presenting a TEDx talk on the theme, “Be inspired...To inspire” on Saturday 3 May at Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The artist will discuss his artistic career as well as his role in facilitating opportunities for emerging artists in the region. TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks covering topics from science to business to global issues in more than 100 languages. Independently run TEDx events help share ideas in communities around the world.
NEW YORK
Samia Halaby in "Ultrapassado - Part I" at Broadway 1602
New York
3 May - 21 June, 2014
Samia Halaby will be participating in the exhibition "Ultrapassado-Part I" at New York City art space Broadway 1602 from 3 May - 21 June, 2014.
PARIS, FRANCE
Walid El Masri participates in "Syria: Cris-Action (Artists in Creation)"
Institut du Monde Arabe
30 April - 22 June, 2014.
Walid El Masri will be participating in a group exhibition alongside award-winning photo-journalist, Ammar Abd Rabbo and others entitled, "Syria: Cris-Action (Artists in Creation)" to be held at the Institut du Monde Arabe from 30 April - 22 June, 2014. El Masri will be exhibiting recent work from the highly considered "Cocoon" series (2014) in which vivacious bursts of colour accompany sombre cocoon forms on canvas.
OTHER
Tammam Azzam's International Exhibitions
From 9 May - 8 June, 2014 artist Tammam Azzam’s works from the "Syrian Spring" and "Freedom Graffiti" series will be showcased at the 11th edition of Dak’Art, the prestigious Biennale of Contemporary African Art to be held in Dakar, Senegal.
HOUSTON, TEXAS
Ayyam Gallery artists at FotoFest Biennial 2014
15 March - 27 April
Ayyam Gallery is pleased to announce its participation at the 2014 FotoFest Biennial to be held March 15 - April 27 in Houston, Texas U.S.A. The focus of the 2014 Biennial, 'View From the Inside' are four newly created exhibitions on Arab Video, Photography, and Mixed Media Art. The exhibitions present a diverse vision of Arab society and politics with works from fifty leading Arab artists of the Middle East and North Africa including acclaimed artists, Faisal Samra, Sadik Alfraji, Abdulnasser Gharem, Sama Alshaibi , Tammam Azzam and Ammar Al Beik .
NEW YORK
Tammam Azzam in 'The Grand Cypher: Hip Hop, Iran & Syria'
Rush Arts Gallery, New York
24 April - 24 May
Tammam Azzam will be participating in "The Grand Cypher: Hip Hop, Iran & Syria", a collective exhibition featuring artists, poets and musicians from Iran and Syria, from 24 April - 24 May at the Rush Arts Gallery, New York. According to curator Julie Ashcraft, art works were chosen for their intensity, magnetic beauty and frank content, all of these characteristics align with the innate spirit of hip-hop. The exhibition is unique in its combined presentation of visual art, poetry and music videos held within a single venue.
THE CENTER FOR CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY, ARIZONA
Sama Alshaibi Talk at The Center for Creative Photography
22 April 2014
Iraqi-Palestinian artist Sama Alshaibi will be discussing the major themes of her work in an artist talk entitled, "Sand rushes in: The Desert, the Border, the Body in the Work of Sama Alshaibi" at The Center for Creative Photography, Arizona on 22 April 2014. The Center for Creative Photography is the largest institution in the world devoted to documenting the history of modern North American photography, holding archives of luminaries such as Ansel Adams, Edward Weston and Harry Callahan.
UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED ARTS, VIENNA
Khaled Jarrar in 'Fragile Hands: a curatorial essay on state subjectivities'
12 March - 11 April
Khaled Jarrar is participating in the exhibition 'Fragile Hands: a curatorial essay on state subjectivities' on view at the University of Applied Arts, Vienna from 12 March - 11 April, 2014. Works in the exhibition reference the film essays of Chris Marker, thematising political and social transformations accompanying imagined and real globalization. Jarrar participates alongside artists from India, Europe and the Middle East to query the hubris of global capitalism which often operates in the guise of democracy.
PARIS
Institut des Cultures d’Islam presents "Despite it all they make art! Syria: faith in art"
10 April - 27 July, 2014
Institut des Cultures d’Islam, Paris hosts "Despite it all they make art! Syria: faith in art", a collective exhibition featuring artworks by contemporary Syrian artists encompassing a range of artistic practices and writing that has been produced since the onset of the Syrian Revolution in 2011. Curated by Delphine Leccas, the premise of the exhibition is to look at the artists’ creative relationship to a site of ongoing violence. Participating artists represented by Ayyam Gallery include Khaled Takreti, Tammam Azzam, Ammar Al Beik, and Abdul Karim Majdal Al Beik. The exhibition runs from 10 April - 27 July, 2014.
DOHA
Nadim Karam Talk in Doha
Mathaf, Arab Museum of Modern Art
10 April 2014
In collaboration with Doha Architecture Forum, Nadim Karam will be discussing his art and architecture at Mathaf, Arab Museum of Modern Art - Education City, this Thursday, 10 April at 6.30pm. The event is open to the public.
OTHER
CNN 'Inside the Middle East'
April 2014
Ayyam Gallery was featured on CNN’s 'Inside the Middle East', in a report on the movement of Syrian art and artists into the safe haven of Dubai.
DUBAI
Ayyam Gallery awarded 'Best Art Space'
Arabian Business Lifestyle Awards
2 April 2014
Ayyam Gallery was awarded 'Best Art Space' at the Arabian Business Lifestyle awards gala held recently at the Montgomerie Golf Club, Dubai. This was the inaugural event for the annual awards ceremony.
OTHER
Sama Alshaibi Panel Discussion
Ayyam Gallery is pleased to announce that artist Sama Alshaibi will be speaking at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (Texas) on Saturday March 29th as part of the FotoFest 2014 Biennial Conference.
PARIS, FRANCE
Walid El Masri at Europia Productions Paris
6-28 March
Walid El Masri will present new artworks at 'Cocoon' his solo exhibition at Europia Productions in Paris from 6-28 March.
DUBAI (ALSERKAL AVENUE & DIFC)
Extended weekend hours for Art Week
21-22 March
Ayyam Gallery Dubai (Alserkal Avenue and DIFC) will be open Friday, 21 March Saturday, 22 March from 10am - 6pm.
DUBAI
Ayyam Gallery at Art Dubai 2014
19-22 March 2014
Ayyam Gallery is pleased to present works by Samia Halaby, Safwan Dahoul, Nadim Karam, Sama Alshaibi and Athier on display at Art Dubai 2014. The carefully selected paintings, sculptures, photo and video works comment on themes highly relevant to Middle Eastern identity discourse and to the Middle East itself. Representing a range of countries from the region, the art works to be featured at the fair will give visitors insight into central debates within the Middle East as well as its diaspora.
OTHER
Samia Halaby amongst "The World’s 100 Most Powerful Arab Women"
ArabianBusiness.com
March 2014
Palestinian abstract expressionist painter Samia Halaby has been named amongst "The World’s 100 Most Powerful Arab Women" by Arabian Business in March 2014. A long serving artist and professor, Halaby was born in Jerusalem in 1936 and is now based in the United States. Listed at #10, Halaby also has the distinction of being the first female art professor at the Yale School of Art in 1972.
OTHER
Sama Alshaibi speaking at CAMCSI - Workshop "On Representation"
University of North Texas
28 February from 2-5 pm
Sama Alshaibi will be speaking about her work at the Contemporary Arab + Muslim Cultural Studies Institute's workshop 'On Representation' taking place 28 February from 2-5 pm at the University of North Texas. The workshop looks at how the Arab World is represented through exhibitions, scholarships and explorations of the self. Other speakers include curators Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath, art historian Sarah Rogers and artist Sueraya Shaheen.
DUBAI (AL QUOZ)
Samia Halaby Talk and Book Signing
19 February at 7pm
Ayyam Gallery Dubai (Al Quoz) is pleased to present an artist talk and book signing by legendary Palestinian painter Samia Halaby on Wednesday, 19 February at 7pm, coinciding with the opening of her first retrospective exhibition titled 'Samia Halaby, Five Decades of Painting and Innovation'.
The monograph titled 'Samia Halaby, Five Decades of Painting and Innovation' is published by Booth-Clibborn Editions, and now available for sale at the gallery in Dubai and London.
The monograph titled 'Samia Halaby, Five Decades of Painting and Innovation' is published by Booth-Clibborn Editions, and now available for sale at the gallery in Dubai and London.
BEIRUT
Biography of a Head by Sadik Alfraji
Beirut Exhibition Center
6 March to 13 April
From 6 March to 13 April, 2014, the Beirut Art Exhibition Centre is pleased to present, 'Biography of a Head', an exhibition of drawings, paintings and videos by renowned Iraqi artist, Sadik Alfraji.
OTHER
Athier
Salma and The Cactus Workshop
On a recent trip to Palestine, Athier conducted 'Salma and The Cactus Workshop', a children's workshop held as part of the Science Days in Palestine Cactus Workshop at Ni'lin, Palestine. Inspired by the Palestinian Museum's inaugural exhibition 'Never Part', the workshop was developed by the artist, who was the museum's visiting artist in November.
OTHER
Hisham Samawi on Dubai Eye (103.8FM) discussing The Young Collectors Auction
20 January 2014
The World show on Dubai Eye (103.8FM) hosted Hisham Samawi, auctioneer of The Young Collectors Auction, who gave insights about the sale taking place tomorrow, Tuesday, 21 January at Ayyam Gallery Dubai (Al Quoz).
DUBAI (AL QUOZ)
Special Weekend Preview Hours
The Young Collectors Auction, Jeddah
Special weekend hours for the Young Collectors Auction preview. Ayyam Gallery Dubai (Al Quoz) will be open Friday, 17 January from 2-6pm and Saturday, 18 January from 10am - 6pm.
NEW JERSEY
Sama Alshaibi's collaborative work at The Middle East Center for the Arts (MECA)'s exhibition 'Architecture of Memory'.
Sama Alshaibi's collaborative work with Dena Al-Adeeb will be part of The Middle East Center for the Arts (MECA)'s exhibition at Mana Contemporary entited 'Architecture of Memory', an exhibition of three distinct projects that utilize video, photography, and performance to address concerns surrounding memory, destruction, and commemoration.