The UAE is embarking on a venture to transform itself into a world-class arts hub. Since 2003, it has already become one of the cultural centres of the Arab world, with a thriving gallery scene: “Artspace” in Dubai is an art fair that celebrates the best the UAE galleries have to offer, highlighting the work of contemporary galleries that now make visits to Dubai essential for art lovers. It was founded by Maliha Al-Tabari at the Dubai International Financial Centre, hosting a diverse and regularly acclaimed series of exhibitions and providing consulting and corporate services for art investors and the business community. Over the last decade Artspace Dubai has featured such major Egyptian names as Adam Henein, Adel Al-Siwi and Mohamed Abla as well as Syrian artist Louai Kayali and Lebanese artist Hussein Madi. It is also responsible for discovering new talents from the region, whose work it showcases: Moroccan artist Zakaria Ramhani, Saudi Arabian artist Ahmed Mater, Egyptian artist Mohamed Taman and Libyan artist Shadi Al-Zaqzouq, to mention but a few. This year while celebrating its 10th anniversary, Artspace Dubai hosted the exhibition of former Egyptian minister of culture Farouk Hosni, his first since the 25 January Revolution. The exhibition was officially inaugurated last Wednesday by Emirates Minister of Culture and Youth Sheikh Nahyan Mubarak Al-Nahyan along with other top Emirates officials such as Minister of Health Abdel-Rahman Uweis, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anwar Gergash, Minister of Education Mohamed Eid Al-Qitamy and head of the Emirates National Council Mohamed Al-Mur. Egyptian Ambassador to the UAE Hisham Badour along with Egyptian actor Leila Elwi, writers Moufid Fawzi and Assem Hanafi, musician Tarek Sharara, sculptor Adam Henein, choreographer Walid Awni and President of the Roman Association of Modern Art Galleries Carmine Siniscalco were all there for the event. The exhibition includes 19 of Hosni's painting, all made in Egypt. They reflect his rejection of Muslim Brotherhood rule. Hosni used signs and symbols on his paintings to express his anger and resentment but his optimistic personality triumphed in the end with gestures of hope and optimism. According to Henein, Hosni used several colours in his paintings so viewers could catch the red passion, the blue sky, the green grass, the brown sand, the violet sunset, the black tragedy, the white innocence, the grey waiting, the emotions and the beauty of life and the energies it lavishes on us. Henein pointed out that black, which Hosni considers the master of all colours, appears in every painting, even if it only shows as a very fine line. “Black is the garnish that gives life its authentic shade,” Hosni says, explaining that it is black that separates masses and identifies their features. “People think that black reflects sadness but I think I can read in it all the festivities as well,” he insists, adding that black absorbs all colours in contrast to white, which reflects them. “Both colours are diametrically opposed and they are very important in paintings because they provide all kinds of emotions.” Hosni recounted that he hoped to hold the exhibition in Egypt but that the current conditions of the country stood in the way of its being organised. “Younger artists,” he explained, “do not consider me an artist. They say that I only give exhibitions so that they can be visited by top officials, actors and artists who would come only because I was minister... The irony is that I used to encourage those young artists, many of whom made their name through the Youth Salon that I organised to introduce them to the international community. I never expected this from them. I can only thank the UAE for its support and the excellent facilities it presented me with to make this happen.” For his part Siniscalco sees this exhibition as a great opportunity for Hosni's sheer talent, for his position as Egypt's minister of culture over the last 20 years did affect his dedication to art: “The exhibition also puts an end to all that talk of Hosni not being a talented artist and his fame being a function of his position etc. His exhibition is very successful even though it is held outside his homeland and he is now out of office...” Ihab Al-Laban, the director of the Ufuq Hall at the Mahmoud Khalil Museum, overlooking the Giza Nile Corniche, says that one of Hosni's paintings was already sold before the inauguration of the exhibition: the person who bought it saw it while passing the Artspace hall when workers were hanging it on the wall. “So when the director of an art museum in Canada saw the painting during the opening and wanted to buy it it was already sold. He insisted on buying it and offered to pay double its price but nothing could be done. This I think is a case that shows how Hosni's art speaks for itself regardless of whatever else he has been besides an artist.” Viewing the exhibition, Al-Nahyan said he was happy that Dubai is hosting Hosni's exhibition because he is one of the greatest contemporary artists internationally. “Hosni has a distinguished style in paintings which made its way to several international museums,” Al-Nahyan said. “He won the Sharjah Cultural Personality Award for 2013 and this is the least the Emirates can do for a person who contributed a lot to Arab culture. The arts serve all communities and the countries of the world should exchange their cultures and find out about each other through it,” Al-Nahyan pointed out, adding that he is very proud that Dubai us hosting such an exhibition because art at this point in history is the only thing that can support and unify the Arab countries, repairing what politics has broken in their relations. Hosni himself feels that Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi have managed to become hubs for culture and the arts on a par with Paris, London and New York. And Art Abu Dhabi in its fifth round (19-23 November) only goes to show he is right. With a programme including street performances, poetry readings and bus tours as well as exhibition, Art Abu Dhabi proposes a new concept, Durub Al-Tawaya (Routes of Water Spring, a route of exhibitions and performances that connect the Saadiyat Cultural District, where the fair is taking place, to four significant destinations within the city of Abu Dhabi: Manarat Al-Saadiyat, Mina Zayed, Corniche Beach and Marina Mall. Activities with artists, poets and performers will be taking place at each stop. Al-Saadiyat Cultural District also houses the Guggenheim and Louvre Abu Dhabi. According to Tarek Abul-Fotouh, the independent curator and architect based in Brussels who created the programme, artists from the UAE, Egypt and China have been commissioned to transform these four buses into moving art pieces using images, video and sound. About 50 galleries are participating in this fair's round under four sections: “Modern, Contemporary and Design”; “Beyond”, which is for large-scale installations and sculptures; “Bidaya”, which features an emerging gallery; and “Signature”, which features solo emerging artists. A new section entitled “Artists' Waves” was instituted this year to present selected artworks by innovative artists. It also includes a special salon, where visitors can engage with the artists in a rotating programme. “Bidaya” features Dubai-based gallery Lawrie Shabibi, showcasing the works of Nabil Nahas, Farghali Abdel-Hafiz, Driss Ouadahi, Larissa Sansour, and for the first time, Korean artist Meekyoung Shin. Shin's debut will feature vases from her Ghost series — a group of colourful renditions of Chinese vases made from soap and based on Chinese antiquities. Three new galleries, Lawrie Shabibi from Dubai, Cheim & Reid from New York, and Carpenters Workshop, a design gallery from London, are included. Hosni and Henein are participating in this fair through Artspace. Hosni is contributing five paintings while Henein is participating with one medium-sized wooden sculpture entitled Umm Kolthoum. Managing Director Maliha Al-Tabari noted that Artspace — participating for the second time this year — will contribute a prime collection to this year's Art Abu Dhabi. The showcase includes a signature booth solely dedicated to exhibiting the works of Sheikha Alyazia Nahyan Al-Nahyan, as well as a stand showcasing pieces by Egyptian artists: Farouk Hosni, Adam Henein, Adel Al-Siwi and Khaled Zaki. Art Abu Dhabi includes a vast spectrum of installations and large-scale sculptures. According to Al-Tabari, “Art Abu Dhabi is an incredible event. It brings together some of the art world's most renowned artists with new and emerging talent. It is a wonderful way to remind us all what a huge role art plays in culture and within our community. We are absolutely delighted to be a part of it again this year.” According to a press release from Artspace, “This year's showcase captures the essence of contemporary art. The gallery's exceptional pieces are beautifully complex, diverse and inspirational as some works are a true reflection of Middle Eastern heritage and traditions with a modern approach. Hosni is well known for his unique abstract style in art. Composed with exquisite balance, enigmatic imagery and a dynamic palette, Hosni's paintings speak the language of the modern world... Sculptor Henein's pieces are greatly influenced by the Pharaonic wonders of his homeland as a child. He is considered to be one of the major sculptors of our time... Although known for his treatment of the human figure, Al-Siwi's latest works have been more narrative and iconic. Pure colours pierce the tonal elements, but are restrained by the somber Egyptian landscape marked by the monochromes of the desert and the grayness of Cairo... A versatile artist, Khaled Zaki's passion for the ancient Egyptian and Mediterranean arts and his deep concern about the resurrection subject can be touched in the forms, techniques and colours of his sculptures...”
