The three brand-new exhibitions from the Cultural Foundation Abu Dhabi, which debuted at the same time, are an engrossing investigation into the history, diversity, and present of the region’s art scene.
The Foundation’s first NFT art exhibition, Life is a Circus, is one of the three. It is an immersive and entertaining collection of work that links the UAE’s contemporary artistic heritage with its digital future. Life is a Circus commissioned 22 digital artists from in the United Arab Emirates to create pieces especially for the show, building on the groundwork set by Emirati artist Jalal Luqman, who organized the foundation’s inaugural digital art exhibition in 1996.
The images examine the development of digital art and take on the erratic nature of the internet and the highly visual vocabulary of modern living. These paintings are also for sale online as the Foundation’s first NFT art exhibition.
Lullabies: A Journey Through Song, the second exhibition, is a comprehensive and interesting collection of lullabies from diverse parts of the world, including the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.
The exhibition provides insight into the shared values they have throughout generations and cultures as one of the first modes of communication, combining music and storytelling, by highlighting the historical context and character of each lullaby through various mediums.
Fahrelnissa and the Institutes: Towards a Sky, the foundation’s main exhibition, features a selection of abstract works by four internationally renowned and trailblazing female artists from Jordan: Fahrelnissa Zeid, Wijdan, Hind Nasser, and Ufemia Rizk.
The show serves as a physical reminder of the developing talent and nuance of modern female Arab artists, as well as of how they continue to have an impact on the region’s art, mentorship, and community.
The work of Zeid speaks for itself. She incorporates both physical and ethereal aspects of life and culture into a highly complex visual language that is universal and cross-cultural.
Aside from the unique abstract voices of each of these artists, the stunning, carefully curated large-scale paintings in the room emphasize the connections between mentorship, education, and community that exist between artists and women.
The heritage of female mentorship that Nasser’s captivating paintings so amply demonstrate is important to the exhibition. The Cultural Foundation in Abu Dhabi is hosting all three exhibitions through February 2.