On September 22, 2022, Art Jameel will inaugurate a significant brand-new group exhibition called “An Ocean in Every Drop” at Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai’s centre for contemporary art (running through April 2, 2023). Its name is taken from a Rumi poem from the 13th century, “You Are Not A Drop In The Ocean. The exhibition, “You are an Ocean in Every Drop,” which includes 15 regional and international artists from 14 countries throughout history, from First Nations and indigenous communities to Ancient Persia to the UAE, addresses the central role that water plays in forming our world and the intricate web of relationships created by thinking with water.
An Ocean in Every Drop seeks to re-enchant our relationship with water throughout history, from the 10th century to the present, by combining preexisting works and new commissions that range from large-scale installations and audiovisual works to manuscripts and works on paper. It does this by examining the vast and ancient ways in which water shapes human development, produces history, culture, language, and social relations.
The book “An Ocean in Every Drop” challenges us to think about water as it has flowed throughout history to inform our present. It does this by drawing on a variety of themes, including environmentalism, mythology, spirituality, folklore, and lived experiences.
The exhibition, which approaches water as a life force, aims to comprehend water’s contribution to the creation of myth and its anchoring of spiritual beliefs, connecting to a variety of world views. It represents a shift in how we view the climate emergency by centering our place in and relationship to the problem today by referring to bodies of water as living creatures.
“The exhibition is part of a broad endeavour at Art Jameel to address the climate emergency, and the role of arts and culture in forming our knowledge of it,” said Nora Razian, Head of Exhibitions at Art Jameel. We seek to provide a platform for voices that shed light on the historical causes of climate change while giving a vision of a more just, egalitarian, and sustainable future by bringing together works from around the world that focus on a variety of worldviews.
A “weather station” at the Jameel Arts Center serves as part of Art Jameel’s participation in the World Weather Network, which is concurrent with “An Ocean In Every Drop.” The World Weather Network, a global “weather reporting” project that runs through June 2023, includes Art Jameel as one of 28 arts organisations from around the world. Through this project, artists and writers will share “weather reports” in the form of observations, tales, images, and fantasies about their local weather and our shared climate, building an archipelago of voices and perspectives on a new global platform.
The Jameel Arts Centre’s physical weather stations, which are situated in the gardens and lobby where atmospheric water generators produce drinking water from the air, as well as online at the Art Jameel and Jameel Arts Centre websites, will host the podcasts at regular intervals throughout the project.