Abu Dhabi Art returns to Manarat Al Saadiyat this November 20–24, bringing together innovative artists, curators, and galleries from across the emirate and around the globe. The annual fair is a culmination of a year-round visual arts program, featuring both on- and off-site projects with opportunities for collectors and the greater public to experience special exhibitions, installations, and commissions.

Manarat Al Saadiyat at night. Courtesy of Abu Dhabi Art.

Among the fair’s most anticipated programs is the Gateway exhibition, which showcases local and international artists through distinctive curatorial perspectives, and Beyond Emerging Artists, which provides three UAE artists with a launchpad for highly ambitious projects.

Curated by Carine Harmand and Odessa Warren, this year’s Gateway exhibition illuminates connections between the Arab world and Latin America. Titled Otra Orilla (Spanish for Another Shore), the show features works by Emilia Estrada, Alia Farid, Francisca Khamis Giacoman, Ishtar Yasin Gutiérrez, and Mandy El-Sayegh.

Often reflecting on diasporic experiences, these artists map and interweave the personal with the political through textile, moving image, and installation.

Francisca Khamis Giacoman, As Close As I Get (2021). Courtesy of Abu Dhabi Art.

According to the curators, “There is relatively little scholarship on the history of art which emerged from the movements between the two regions. It was important for us that the show focuses on artistic practices which explore South–South networks, moving away from center–periphery narratives.”

The 2024 edition of Beyond Emerging Artists, curated by Galleria Continua co-founder Lorenzo Fiaschi, comprises three new commissions by Fatma Al Ali, Dina Nazmi Khorchid, and Simrin Mehra Agarwal.

Al Ali’s contribution explores historical power dynamics through archival documents and oral histories, while Khorchid’s piece inverts familiar landscape elements to evoke an experience of statelessness, and Agarwal’s monumental installation draws from several undersea research expeditions. After the fair closes, these works will travel internationally, bringing the work and its themes to an even greater audience.

Simrin Mehra Agarwal, Subterraneous – I (2024). Courtesy of Abu Dhabi Art.

Abu Dhabi Art Director Dyala Nusseibeh commented, “During the selection process, we were struck by how analytical and thoughtful each of the chosen proposals was. Together, the commissioned artists navigate utopian or dystopian imagined landscapes, in often playful, often piercing ways, creating the space for new histories of the region to emerge.”

Guided tours are offered in Arabic and English. Courtesy of Abu Dhabi Art.

Enriched by a range of public engagement initiatives, it is clear that Abu Dhabi Art is deftly stretching beyond the conventional art fair paradigm. The Gateway and Beyond Emerging Artists programs, in particular, demonstrate an ongoing commitment to foregrounding new talent and fostering meaningful intercultural and interdisciplinary dialogue. Together, the fair and its programming not only offer insight into the landscape of contemporary art today, but a glimpse into the future of art making and international exchange tomorrow.

Abu Dhabi Art is presented under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council.

Abu Dhabi Art takes place at Manarat Al Saadiyat through November 24, 2024.