The ‘Metamorphosis’ exhibition by Lebanese artist Simar Halwany, which will run from June 13 to July 8, 2022 at Al Safa Art and Design Library, was opened by Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture). Simar, who is being hosted as part of the ‘Artist in Residence’ programme, will take the audience on a voyage to the depths of the sea through her paintings to investigate the existential link between humans and water as an element during the exhibition.
Dr. Saeed Mubarak bin Kharbash, CEO of Dubai Culture’s Arts and Literature Sector, spoke at the opening ceremony, confirming that the ‘Metamorphosis’ exhibition at Al Safa Art and Design Library is a response to Dubai Culture’s aspirations to enhance creativity, support talents in Dubai, and provide exemplary platforms for the public to communicate with arts and artists from around the world. The exhibition is in accordance with the Authority’s goal of establishing Dubai as a global cultural hub, a creative incubator, and a vibrant talent hub.
Visual art fans are invited to visit the ‘Metamorphosis’ exhibition to see unique paintings and see live painting performances by the artist. The exhibition features 15 Emirati paintings that deal with the human interaction with the sea, with a concentration on fish in Dubai.
“A conflict owing to the duality of trade between the sea and man; as humans regard water and fish as a source of life, expansion, and nutrition as well as a source of conflict, death, ambiguity, and migration,” Halwany says of the paintings on show.
It is the result of the artist Simar Halwany efforts as part of Dubai Culture’s ‘Artist in Residence’ programme at Al Safa Art and Design Library last year. Simar was the library’s very first artist-in-residence. This is part of the Authority’s efforts to create an incubating environment that ensures the care and empowerment of Dubai’s creative artistic talents, as well as the development of the city’s promising creative sector, in order to meet the goals of the Dubai Creative Economy Strategy, which is to make Dubai the global creative economy’s capital.