Abu Dhabi Art commissions artist Monira Al Qadiri for Visual Campaign

Abu Dhabi, 22 March 2018 - The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi and Abu Dhabi Art have announced that artist Monira Al Qadiri has been commissioned to provide works for the visual campaign of Abu Dhabi Art 2018.

Al Qadiri is a Kuwaiti visual artist born in Senegal and educated in Japan. In 2010, she received a Ph.D. in inter-media art from Tokyo University of the Arts, where her research focused on the aesthetics of sadness in the Middle-East stemming from poetry, music, art and religious practices. Her work explores petro-cultures and their possible futures. The visual campaign will draw on images from her series of sculptural works entitled Spectrum 1 & 2, Amorphous Solid Ghost, and Alien Technology. Selected works from these series will be on display at Abu Dhabi Art in November 2018.

Commenting on the artist commission for 2018, Abu Dhabi Art director Dyala Nusseibeh said: “Monira Al Qadiri is a fascinating artist and we are excited to be collaborating with her for this year’s edition of Abu Dhabi Art. Her oil drill sculptures, painted with pearlescent hues, are compelling. Re-presented out of context, they allude to a fictional archeologist in an imagined future, unearthing artifacts of beauty. We are asked to consider the Gulf in the ‘post-contemporary’ – to imagine a world that has moved beyond oil consumption and forgotten its pearl diving heritage, a future in which the tools of our time have become obsolete objects of beauty. There is an underlying urgency to these works as much as an alchemy. We look forward to showing them in November 2018.”

Commenting on her collaboration with Abu Dhabi Art, Al Qadiri said: "I am honoured to be featured in this year's edition of Abu Dhabi Art. My work attempts to blend past, present and future in the Gulf, and I feel this is a perfect opportunity to highlight and reflect on these topics."

Returning from November 14th to 17th, 2018, Abu Dhabi Art, organised by the Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi, will offer a diverse programme of exhibitions, commissions, performances, and events which bring together the world’s leading galleries, artists, cultural thinkers, collectors and visitors from across the globe.

Applications are also now open for Modern and Contemporary art and design galleries to participate in Abu Dhabi Art 2018. Galleries can apply under the categories of Modern & Contemporary or Solo Projects.

The Modern & Contemporary section features established art galleries which have been open for more than seven years, presenting exceptional artworks. Solo Projects invites applications from all galleries wishing to highlight either a single artist’s works or a two-artist presentation and can be applied for independently or alongside a main application in another category. Galleries must have been open for three years or more to apply for this section.

Abu Dhabi Art is held in the Saadiyat Cultural District of Abu Dhabi, home to Louvre Abu Dhabi, and the planned location for Zayed National Museum and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.

About The Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi The Department of Culture and Tourism conserves and promotes the heritage and culture of Abu Dhabi emirate and leverages them in the development of a world-class, sustainable destination of distinction that enriches the lives of visitors and residents alike. The Department manages the emirate’s tourism sector and markets the destination internationally through a wide range of activities aimed at attracting visitors and investment. Its policies, plans and programmes relate to the preservation of heritage and culture, including protecting archaeological and historical sites and to developing museums, including the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the Zayed National Museum and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. The Department of Culture and Tourism supports intellectual and artistic activities and cultural events to nurture a rich cultural environment and honour the emirate’s heritage. A key role played by the Department is to create synergy in the destination’s development through close co-ordination with its wide-ranging stakeholder base.

About Abu Dhabi Art – Abu Dhabi Art expands beyond the notion of a traditional art fair, in placing strong emphasis on a diverse public engagement programme, including art installations and exhibitions, talks and events that take place in different locations throughout the year. The culmination of this year-long programme is the Abu Dhabi Art event in November, which provides an important sales platform for participating galleries whilst also offering these galleries an opportunity to showcase ambitious installations and site specific works by their artists to an audience of over 20,000 visitors.