Today's Edition
RABI HAMAMSAH (ABU DHABI)
Two solo and group exhibitions kicked off on Monday at 421 Exhibition Centre in Abu Dhabi, addressing audio visual arts and architecture. The first exhibition is by Asma Belhamar, an Emirati artist, under the title “Solid Void”. The solo exhibition captures the tensions between shifting natural geographies and dynamic urban environments, featuring new works inspired by the UAE’s architectural history.
It narrates the topographic evolution of the UAE, as influenced by Western classical modernity, contemporary traditionalism in Islam, and the historic trade relationships that shaped much of that landscape; the artist’s interpretation reveals the diversity and fragmentation of the design sensibilities that have made the nation’s aesthetic identity what it is today.
The second exhibition is presented by nine emerging and established artists, thinkers, filmmakers, and researchers from East, South, Southeast Asia, the MENA region, and South America, under the title “Nine Nodes of Non-Being”.
The group exhibition conceives of climate-related extinction through various states of negation and excess emerging from each of the nine artistic nodes to examine ways of existing more equitably within our ongoing crises.
421 Vision
421 is an independent, anti-disciplinary platform dedicated to emerging artists and creative practitioners in the UAE and across the region.
“It is a site for research, learning and experimentation. 421 provides a nurturing environment for emergent creative practices and those who want to harness the arts as an agent for social inquiry and transformation,” Dana Al Mazrouei, Learning Initiative Manager at 421, told Aletihad in an interview.
“We are here indulging senses and telling stories for all. The visitors can experience different things and learn through their senses. 421 is a human centred and nurturing platform, presenting an enriching year-round programme that brings artists, practitioners, educators, collectives, and people together for greater social transformation.
“Yet, social transformation cannot come without the foundational building blocks of openness and connection. Young and early career practitioners need a place where they can cultivate their creative practices, harnessing artistic disciplines as agents for social inquiry, lifelong learning, and critical reflection,” she added.
Various Activities
The 421 Exhibition Centre offers a range of activities, programmes, and initiatives for all ages, especially youth. One of these programmes is the “421 Teens Programme”, which is an educational initiative that is designed for UAE youth who are interested in pursuing a university level arts programme in the future.
“The programme preps and supports high school students with the knowledge and skills required to successfully take on various creative disciplines in higher education and expands their broader understanding of creative industries,” said Mays Albaik, Programmes and Community Initiatives Manager at 421. “421 offers not only the space but also the right environment to excel, think out of the box, and be creative. 421 is a site for research, education, and the invaluable process of trial and error,” she added.
Albaik pointed out that today, the UAE’s arts ecosystem is growing faster than ever before. “Year after year, a record number of exhibitions take place and creative opportunities for regional talent become more abundant. These opportunities often come from two distinct groups: big-ticket institutions and the commercially focused art market.
“As local and regional interest in creative careers continues to grow, we recognise the importance of spaces dedicated to emerging talent. We see a real need for a space that is dedicated to learning and process – one that encourages process over perfection, and experimentation over certainty,” she said.
