HE Dr. Anwar Mohammed Gargash, Diplomatic Advisor to the UAE President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Foundation, accompanied by HE Mohammed Ahmed Al Murr, Chairman of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Library Foundation; HE Abdul Hamid Ahmed, Secretary General of Al Owais Cultural Foundation; Dr. Fatima Al Sayegh, Member of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees; Dr. Rafia Ghobash, Founder and Director of Dubai Women’s Museum and a wide audience of artists, culture enthusiasts and media personalities, has inaugurated “50 * 50”: The Golden Exhibition of UAE Artists”, which features the work of 50 leading UAE plastic artists in the fields of drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, plastic art and formation art among other means of artistic expression. The exhibition is organized by the Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais Cultural Foundation on the occasion of the United Arab Emirates’ 50th National Day.
Following the opening of the event, Dr. Anwar Mohammed Gargash took a tour of the grand exhibition while viewing artworks by the participating artists and conversing with them. Moreover, His Excellency Dr. Gargash expressed how proud he is of the Emirati art movement and the tremendous progress it has witnessed in light of the Union.
The exhibition sees the participation of 50 Emirati artist belonging to different generations and art movements, namely: Ali Al Abdan, Mohammed Al Astad, Khulood Al Jaberi, Dr. Najat Makki, Abdul Rahim Salem, Dr. Mohammed Youssuf, Mahmoud Al Ramhi, Mona Al Khaja, Fatima Lootah, Abdul Qader Al Rais, Hussein Al Sharif, Abdul Rahman Zainel, Ahmed Al Ansari, Mohammed Mandi, Sheikha Al Yaziya Al Nahyan, Ibrahim Al Awadhi, Salama Al Mazrouei, Salma Al Marri, Amnah Al Falasi, Fatima Al Hammadi, Saoud Al Dhaheri, Khawla Darwish, Salem Al Juneibi, Sumaya Al Rais, Dr. Karima Al Shomaly, Azza Al Qubaisi, Sawsan Khamis, Mohammed Al Qassab, Khalil Abdul Wajid, Bader Abbas, Salem Jawhar, Ali Bin Thalith, Jassim Al Awadhi, Faiza Mubarak, Amin Bin Sinan, Shaimaa Abdul Rahman, Ahmed Al Dosary, Moussa Al Halyan, Wisal Al Ali, Faisal Al Rais, Khalid Al Astad, Sheikha Al Suwaidi, Mohammed Al Marzouqi, Saleh Al Ustad, Alia Lootah, Kaltham Bilslah, Moza Al Falasi, Mohammed Ahli, Khalid Al Jallaf and Jamal Habroosh.
The “Golden Exhibition of UAE Artists 50*50” aims to celebrate the Emirati art movement that has reflected and documented the journey of the country’s establishment and growth through art. Not only does art monitor and record progress on the national front, but it also captures the evolution of artistic tools, concepts and philosophies, and highlights the impact of the latest international art trends on the local art scene.
Moreover, a seminar on “Plastic Art in the UAE in Half a Century” was held on the sidelines of the exhibition. The seminar featured artists Salma Al Marri, Ali Al Abdan and Mohammed Al Astad, and was moderated by Ihsan Al Khatib. Speaking at the seminar, artist Ali Al Abdan talked about how art has evolved in the UAE, keeping up with the major art trends and movements, while artist Salma Al Marri spoke about her artistic experience and philosophy and artist Mohammed Al Astad showed a short film about his method in drawing a landscape painting.
At the end of the seminar, HE Abdul Hamid Ahmed, Secretary General of Al Owais Cultural Foundation gave out Certificates of Appreciation to the participants in the seminar and thanked them for the valuable information they have contributed, wishing them the best in their career.
It is worth mentioning that “50 * 50”: The Golden Exhibition of UAE Artists” will run until December 22, 2021.
