Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
AL QUOZ - DUBAI'S GALLERY QUARTER
Abu Dhabi may try to hog the UAE culture mantle, but it's brash Dubai that is increasingly becoming key to keep-
ing tabs on what hot in Middle Eastern art. Fueling the boom is the Art Dubai (
Click here
)
art fair, international
galleries and a growing local art scene. The most cutting-edge galleries are in Al Quoz, a dusty and chaotic indus-
trial area south of Sheikh Zayed Rd between Downtown Dubai and the Mall of the Emirates. Most are tucked away
in nondescript buildings and dusty warehouses with a major hub being the
Alserkal Avenue
OFFLINE MAP
GOOGLE MAP
(
www.alserkalavenue.com
; 8th Avenue; First Gulf Bank) complex. Roughly 20 galleries
have taken advantage of the high-ceilinged warehouses and turned them into pristine, white-walled art spaces, and
there are plans to double the compound by 2014. Here's a short list of our Al Quoz favourites.
»
Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde
OFFLINE MAP
GOOGLE MAP
(
323 5052;
www.ivde.net
;
Alserkal Avenue, Unit 17; 10am-7pm Sat-Thu) This innovative gallery has lifted some of the Middle East's
most promising talent from obscurity into the spotlight. The distorted photography of Iranian-born Ramin Haeriza-
deh and Cairo-based Lara Baladi's mythology-laced installations, videos and collages are among the works that
have attracted collectors and the curious since the space opened in 2005.
»
Green Art Gallery
OFFLINE MAP
GOOGLE MAP
( 346 9305;
www.gagallery.com
; Alserkal Aven-
ue, Unit 28, 8th & 17th Sts; 10am-7pm Sat-Thu) This gallery dates back to 1995 and has since been a key
player in the promotion of local artists in the region. Typical exhibitions include a solo show of works by renowned
Turkish photographer Nazif Topcuoglu, and a seven-channel video installation entitled Balloons on the Sea by
Turkish artist Hale Tenger, which was voted one of the best international shows of 2011 by leading contemporary
art magazine
Artforum
.
»
Carbon 12
OFFLINE MAP
GOOGLE MAP
( 340 6016; carbon12dubai.com; Alserkal Avenue, Unit
D37, 8th & 17th Sts; 11.30am-7pm Sat-Thu) This edgy gallery represents paintings, sculpture, photograph and
media created by hand-picked, newly discovered talent as well as internationally established artists. The clear lines
and minimalist vibe of the white-cube space offers a perfect setting for both large-scale and smaller pieces.
»
Third Line
OFFLINE MAP
GOOGLE MAP
(
341 1367;
www.thethirdline.com
; Al Quoz, near 6th &
Marabea St; 11am-7pm Sat-Thu) Run by a couple of talented young curators (Sunny Rahbar and Claudia
Cellini), this is one of the city's most exciting spaces for contemporary Middle Eastern art. Artists represented of-
ten transcend the rules of traditional styles to create new forms, including emerging Emiratis and already-famous
names like Iranian artist Farhad Moshiri, and controversial Iraqi artist Hayv Kahraman with her depictions of hon-
our killings, gender and war.
»
Courtyard
OFFLINE MAP
GOOGLE MAP
( 347 5050;
www.courtyard-uae.com
; 6a St) This cultur-
al complex wraps around its eponymous courtyard, flanked by an eccentric hodgepodge of buildings that makes it
look like a miniature movie-studio backdrop: here an Arab fort, there a Moorish facade or an Egyptian tomb. It's
the brainchild of Iranian expat artist Dariush Zandi, who also runs the bi-level gallery Total Arts at The Courtyard,
specialising in Middle Eastern art. Other spaces are occupied by a cafe, artists' studios and various creative busi-
nesses.
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