Abu Dhabi Art is an initiative under the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, that provides an avenue for regional artists to explore and expand their artistic horizons. Abu Dhabi Art is a year-long programme that places emphasis on workshops, art installations, and talks and events, among others. This year’s fair will include 9 galleries from the sustainability sector.
The culmination of this year-long programme is the Abu Dhabi Art Fair in November, which provides an important sales platform for participating galleries whilst also offering an opportunity to showcase ambitious installations and site-specific works by their artists to a wide audience. This edition is a landmark edition for Abu Dhabi Art as it is celebrating its 15th year and will be hosting 92 galleries from around the globe. The galleries are sectored into Sustainability, Latin America, Arab Women Artists, and Hong Kong.
The Sustainability sector is certainly one that stands out in this special edition of the fair, with a nature & flowers theme, highlighting the importance of sustainable practice, with COP28 being around the corner. This sector is led by Riccarda Mandrini, a journalist with a solid art background, who has managed art galleries and talk programmes, and is currently a master’s Art Management professor.
The sector comprises of artists from diverse backgrounds, such as Italy, the UK, Tunisia, South Africa, Germany, Egypt, and Nigeria who share their passion for sustainable art through various artworks, such as painting, sculpture, photography, poetry, etc.
Sustainability Focus Galleries
- Addis Fine Art (United Kingdom)
- ADN Galeria (Spain)
- AGorgi Gallery (Tunisia)
- Anna Laudel (Germany)
- Kó (Nigeria)
- LIA RUMMA (Italy)
- Mashrabia Gallery of Contemporary Art (Egypt)
- Mazzoleni (Italy)
- THK Gallery (South Africa)
About Riccarda Mandrini
Visiting professor both at Cattolica University (Milano) and Pavia University, dealing with Art Management Masters. She has contributed to many essays and to the publication of the new edition of “Enciclopedia Treccani d’Arte Contemporanea”. She is also a frequent contributor of the art magazine “Art e Dossier”.
Community Project
This year, Abu Dhabi Art will play a pivotal role in transforming the exhibition space for community partners into a meeting ground for collaboration. Rather than inviting individual proposals from our Community Partners, as we have in the past, for 2023 we have invited Nadine Maalouf, co-founder of 81 Designs, to produce a single collaborative installation for the Community Projects section of the Fair.
Under her guidance, Community Partners will be invited to work together toward a single installation concept, weaving together the different initiatives helmed by key partners into a powerful single narrative. Through an ambitious collaborative installation, the Community Projects sector will amplify the voices of community partners and invite further engagement from audiences in the diverse projects on view.
Community organisations participating this year will work closely with Nadine to create a collaborative experience under the theme of sustainability. Post fair, this collaborative installation will also be on display for an extended period of time.
About Nadine Maalouf
Born in Beirut, Nadine lived in Riyadh, Florida, Montreal and New York before settling in the UAE. She graduated from Pratt Institute in New York City with a degree in Art Direction and a Minor in Art History. She is the cofounder of 81 Designs, a social enterprise that brings both art and humanity together by showcasing the talents of the refugee women artisans. She is also the founder of Sawtouna and serves as a board member of the Arab Woman Awards in partnership with UN Women, co-chair of Friends of Abu Dhabi Art and is an advisory circle member of NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery and co-chair of the Abu Dhabi Dream Ball, member of the patrons circle at Louvre Abu Dhabi. Nadine is married with two children and resides in Abu Dhabi.