Mid East Art collaboration with UAE Embassy

During the quarantine early this spring, Mid East Art produced a digital programming series in collaboration with the UAE Embassy’s Cultural Diplomacy Department in Washington DC. A series of artist interviews culminated with a panel discussion, shedding a light on the regional and specifically local UAE art history and the early foundations of the art scene in the country.

As part of the ‘Artist Reflection Series’ two artist interviews were privately recorded and published into 30 minute segments between Emirati and US based artists, all moderated by Suzy Sikorski, founder of Mid East Art. The interviews included Ammar Al Attar and Stephen Shore; Sheikha Al Mazrou and Diana Al Hadid; along with a studio visit interview with Nujoom Alghanem in her Dubai workspace (click the link to view each).

Suzy contextualized these conversations across Middle Eastern and Western art history, while also taking into account the artists’ creative processes during the quarantine.

The panel discussion “UAE-USA United in Art: Building Bridges Through Art” was broadcasted on 24 June, moderated by Suzy with panelists Antonia Carver, Director, Art Jameel, Dubai; Lynn Gumpert, Director, Grey Art Gallery, New York University; Hala Khayat, former Director and Head of Sale at Christie’s, Dubai (currently Regional Director of Art Dubai) and Clare Davies, Assistant Curator, Modern and Contemporary Art Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The panel explored the relationship between United States and United Arab Emirates-based institutions and how they have shaped the regional art scene in the last decade. The topics focused on how these partnerships have created an influential ecosystem of arts experts in education, museums, the art market and philanthropy.

Read The National coverage on the series here.