8 awesome art events and exhibitions in Dubai to check out in April
There’s so much art in this city…
With a new month comes plenty of brand new art events to check out, and culture vultures, there’s plenty to go scope out in the city to keep you busy this April.
Here are 8 awesome art events and exhibitions in Dubai to check out this April.
SpiritFest 99
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Where: Dubai Festival City Mall
When: During Ramadan
This one-of-a-kind art exhibition showcases the 99 names of Allah across 15 stands in various locations around the mall. The mall is also hosting a live painting demonstration where a specially selected artist will produce exceptional pieces of art to create a mural on the first floor of the mall. You can catch it from 4pm to 10pm on weekdays and 5pm to 11pm on weekends. Additionally, if you’re one of the first 100 visitors to the mall, you will receive an art collector book to take home with you.
Dubai Festival City Mall, Dubai Festival City, Dubai, during Ramadan, free. @festivalcitymall
The World of Banksy – The Immersive Experience
Where: The Theatre, Mall of the Emirates
When: April 5 to June 30, 2021
Street artist Banksy, known for being famously unknown, is the mystery man by some of the most renowned graffiti in the world. His famous works such as Girl with a Balloon, Flower Thrower and Mobile Lovers have earned him an elite art status, without ever revealing his identity. And fans of the painter can see some of his most loved pieces on display in Dubai, as the travelling exhibition ‘The World of Banksy – The Immersive Experience’ has arrived at Mall of the Emirates. The exhibition features 120 unique Banksy reproductions and shouldn’t be missed by fans. Tickets will be priced at Dhs75 for adults and Dhs45 for children under 12. A VIP pass, priced at Dhs110, will offer queue jumping, while a VVIP ticket includes a guide on demand. Read more here.
The World of Banksy – The Immersive Experience, The Theatre, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai. April 5 to June 30, prices start from Dhs75. malloftheemirates.com
Wired Artistic Energies
Where: La Galerie, Alliance Française Dubai
When: From April 12 to April 29, 2021
This solo art exhibition is by Anastasie Akibode whose works may be summed up as the visual materialization of her inner self. Her subjects are often of elements in their natural environment. Expect art that is very impressive, spontaneous, and vivid.
La Galerie, Alliance Française Dubai, Oud Metha, Dubai, April 12 to 29, afdubai.org
Alymamah Rashed
Where: Tabari, Artspace
When: Until April 30
A solo exhibition by Kuwaiti surrealist painter art is invested in the power of transition. The figures appear magically from different timescapes and in multiple states eventually orienting itself according to the gravity of the space in which it breathes. When painting, artist Rashed seeks to investigate the colour of Barzakh – a space that lays between life itself and the afterlife – a space of transition. In doing so, she expands the spatiality or perhaps the typology in which her figures exist.
Tabari, Artspace, DIFC, Building 3 Gate Village, Dubai. Until April 30. @tabari_artspace
Abyss of Bliss
Where: Oblong Contemporary Art Gallery
When: From March 25 to May 20 2021
For the first time in the region, three renowned Israeli artists, Yinon Gal-On, Areila Wertheimer and Keren Shpilsher will display their art in the UAE. Yinon, a young 18-year-old Israeli photographer, is set to present 14 of his artworks in the exhibition, ranging from physical to spiritual, realistic to surreal and he seeks to immerse visitors in happiness, an invitation to dive into an Abyss of bliss. Wertheimer will be showcasing three works from her ‘Jaffa Port Surface, 2014’ series that combine layers of printed photography on canvas, painting and a razor that fixes them. Shpilsher is a visual artist who has developed a unique artistic language, which combines comics, modern and historic art, Judaica (Jewish ceremonial art), consumerism, current event and folklore. Her work offers a glimpse into the way she views the world, full of colour and joy.
Oblong Contemporary Art Gallery, Bluewaters Island, Dubai. Tel: (0)4 232 2071. @oblongcontemporary
Boundary Space
Where: Lawrie Shabibi
When: Until May 27 2021
The sculptures and wall-based works here by Lima-based Ishmael Randall Weeks explore the impact of cultural displacement and the rise of new urbanistic identities. Created using recycled adobe, mineral substrates, rattan screens, books, mud, glass and metal, his works depict a world that navigates between the obsolete and the contemporary.
Lawrie Shabibi, Alserkal Avenue, Unit 21, Al Quoz, Dubai. Tel (0)4 346 9906. @lawrieshabibi
Kn_bkhair
Twelve months ago, artist Hamdan Buti Al Shamsi embarked on a journey of research and reflection which focused on self-representation through a variety of visual mediums. The culmination is this exhibition – ‘Kn_bkhair’, a deeply personal exploration of the notions of self and identity. The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue and a programme of tours and workshops. The self-taught emirati multidisciplinary artist and writer turns the focus on himself with prints, handwritten poetry, video and an installation that analyse the three associated states of the self-being – identity, individualism and subconsciousness.
Tashkeel, Nad Al Sheba 1, Dubai, 10am to 10pm Sat to Thur, free. Tel: (0)4 336 3313. @tashkeelstudio
Age of You
Where: Jameel Arts Centre
When: Until August 14 2021
Age of You is a dynamic, immersive exhibition about how our perceptions of ourselves have changed, and what it means to be an individual today. The exhibition is set across two of Jameel Arts Centre’s gallery floors and includes works in film, fashion, sculpture and installation by more than 70 contributors that chart the remaking of the interior self.
Jameel Arts Centre at Jaddaf Waterfront, Dubai, daily 10pm to 6pm, closed on Tues. Tel: (04) 8739 800. jameelartscentre.org
Images: Supplied