This week’s calendar is speckled with several short-lasting but memorable exhibitions and events.
From a show delving into Emmanuel Guiragossian’s unique depiction of horses to a pop-up cafe and exhibition at eL Seed Studio, which is taking place during the Quoz Arts Fest, here are a few things to look out for this week.
The Horse and The Night at Saadiyat Rotana Resort Abu Dhabi
The horses in Guiragossian’s paintings are vivid with dynamism and colour. The artist, who is the son of famed Lebanese-Armenian painter Paul Guiragossian, often incorporates stylistic elements that were found in his father’s works, but in his own way.
The Horse and the Night boldly bares this idiosyncrasy. The paintings examine the universal imagery of horses as beings of power and grace, while taking cues from the words of Al-Mutanabbi, the famous Abassid-era poet who often employed horses in his works as symbols of freedom and majesty.
Thursday and Friday; Abu Dhabi
El Seed Studio at Alserkal Avenue
French-Tunisian artist El Seed will be showcasing an exhibition at his workspace in Alserkal Avenue. The show will likely include several new works in the sprawling calligraphic style that the artist has become globally renowned for.
The studio will also feature a pop-up outside. El Seed Latte Cafe will be serving drinks sprinkled with chocolate powder stylised after the artist’s calligraphy. The pop-up will be one of many attractions to take place during Quoz Arts Fest. Running on Saturday and Sunday, the festival will include public art installations, and live performances – including poetry, workshops and panel discussions, pop-ups, a dedicated children’s programme and more.
Saturday and Sunday; 10am to 6pm; Dubai
Reel Palestine at Cinema Akil
Also opening alongside Quoz Arts Fest is Reel Palestine. The festival is returning to Cinema Akil for its 11th year. The programme has feature films and documentaries, as well as shorts. To a Land Unknown from director Mehdi Fleifel will open the event. It premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and recently won the Silver Yusr prize at the Red Sea Film Festival in Jeddah.
Also screening is A State of Passion by filmmaker Carol Mansour; From Ground Zero, an Academy Award-shortlisted collection of 22 short films captured over 11 months in Palestine; Laila Abbas’s film Thank You for Banking with Us; as well as Goran Hugo Olsson’s Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989, a documentary crafted from archival footage that chronicles how the conflict was covered throughout the decades.
Friday to February 2
Dance Will Be You at Efie Gallery
Dance Will Be You is group exhibition at Efie Gallery showcasing modern and contemporary African art and design. The exhibition’s title is drawn from a work by Sonia Sanchez in her 1970 poetry collection We a BaddDDD People. It will run from today to March 26.
Several internationally-established artists are taking part in the exhibition, including Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, whose installations often drawn from her Cuban and Yoruba heritage; JK Bruce-Vanderpuije, whose photographic archive sharply documents events and the cultural history of West Africa; Dina Nur Satti, whose ceramic works are drawn from research into African art and pre-colonial African societies; as well as Myles Igwebuike, whose designs take cues from the Mbari houses of Igbo culture.
Monday to Saturday, 11am-7pm, until March 26; Al Khayat Art Avenue
