Art Week: gallery openings, pop-up projects and commissioned programme
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The 2016 Art Week, March 14–19, will see a host of openings, commissions, projects and public programming take place at Alserkal Avenue. At the heart of the vibrant week, the galleries at Alserkal Avenue will present shows by Seher Shah, YZ Kami and Hassan Hajjaj and Stéphanie Saadé to name a few. The eagerly awaited openings of Custot Gallery, The Jean-Paul Najar Foundation and eL Seed Studio will bring further cultural dimensions to the Avenue, while Alserkal Avenue Programming will present commissions by Mary Ellen Carroll, Mohammed Kazem, Jessica Mein, Fari Bradley, Chris Weaver and Vikram Divecha alongside a selection of pop-up projects.
Abdelmonem Bin Eisa Alserkal, Founder of Alserkal Avenue, comments, "Alserkal Avenue has evolved to become an important platform for genuine, grassroots cultural exchange not just for the Dubai arts community, but within the region at large. We want this cultural wealth to cement the importance of The Avenue as a home for visionaries and creative leaders, making it their window to the world, and, the world to Alserkal."
New spaces
The Jean-Paul Najar Foundation in partnership with Alserkal Avenue gathers over 600 pieces of European and American post-minimalist works from the 1960s through the 1990s and will offer a full programme of exhibitions and public events. The inaugural exhibition, titled Jean-Paul Najar: Vision & Legacy, curated by Jessamyn Fiore in a newly designed space by Mario Jossa of Marcel Breuer & Associates, reflects on Najar's immense care and understanding of artists. The show presents masterpieces from the last half century, as well as letters and ephemera from several artists throughout the decades.
Custot Gallery's opening show, The Word Meets Here, will present works from artists such as Jean Dubuffet, Peter Halley, Marc Quinn, Frank Stella and Fabienne Verdier. The selection will embody the two cornerstones of the gallery—contemporary fine art and large-scale sculpture.
Bringing a new dimension to the community, renowned calligraffiti artist, eL Seed establishes his studio in Alserkal Avenue, making it the first artist's studio on the premises. eL Seed will use the multi-purpose space to work on new projects and showcase his art pieces. The studio will be open for visits upon request.
Alserkal Avenue programming
Alserkal Avenue programming is dedicated to incubating innovative ideas and creative projects that increase understanding and appreciation of communities and histories within the region. This year's commissioned artists have been invited to examine the built environment of the Avenue, break-down barriers and borders, reveal hidden spaces and view-points, highlight the incoherence of the neighbourhood, and challenge notions of permanence and place.
Collaborations and pop-up projects
Back by popular demand, RCA Secret Dubai—Dubai's edition of the Royal College of Art's anonymous art exhibition and sale—returns to Dubai this year. For the first time, in partnership with Art Dubai, the sale will take place across both key locations, Alserkal Avenue (March 14–19) and Art Dubai (March 17–19). The 2016 RCA Secret Dubai will feature 1,000 original post-card size artworks available for sale. Previous contributors include: Zaha Hadid, Paul Smith, Christopher Bailey, eL Seed and more.
The Avenue's central Yard spaces will be host to an eclectic range of pop-up presentations including the region's first solo exhibition by Michelangelo Pistoletto in which Leila Heller Gallery invites Galleria Continua to organise, site-specific works by artist Zahra Al-Ghamdi and Issam Kourbaj, the Middle Eastern launch of Farhad Moshiri's new monograph and Art Barter, a playful take on the art collecting process.
To register as a buyer please visit dubai.secret.rca.ac.uk.
For full Art Week programme please visit: www.alserkalavenue.ae
Non UAE press enquiries:
Concetta Duncan, Sutton PR
concetta@suttonpr.com / T +1 917 9714664
Press enquiries:
Haniya Bhatty, Alserkal Avenue
haniya@alserkalavenue.ae / T +971 558 7776
About Alserkal Avenue
Alserkal Avenue is the region's foremost arts and culture neighbourhood located in Al Quoz, Dubai. Since it was established in 2007, Alserkal Avenue has become an essential platform for the development of artistic and cultural initiatives. It supports a vibrant community of contemporary art galleries and alternative art spaces, together with design, media and industrial studios. In 2015, Alserkal Avenue introduced its own programme dedicated to encouraging new ideas, open dialogue and a more diverse and rich eco-system for art in the region. In 2016, Alserkal Avenue will launch its project space as well as new art, design and creative concepts. |
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