The NYUAD Art Gallery has organised Between the Tides: A Gulf Quinquennial, a collective exhibition delving into the evolving artistic landscape of the GCC. Featuring 21 artists and collectives from across the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia, this show marks the beginning of a recurring event held every five years. Spanning visual arts, architecture, and design, the exhibition runs through 20 April 2025 and is co-curated by Maya Allison (Executive Director of the NYUAD Art Gallery) and Duygu Demir (Art Gallery Curator and Research Assistant Professor).
Expanding beyond national boundaries, Between the Tides highlights a shared artistic ecosystem, with a title that refers to the Gulf’s connection to lunar cycles and nature’s rhythms. The exhibition showcases diverse art styles, exploring themes such as urbanisation, environmental change, heritage, identity, and representation.
Visitors can see works by Saudi artist Alia Ahmad, whose practice inspired by Saudi landscapes examines the interplay of memory, place, and landscape. Qatari-American artist Sophia Al Maria addresses themes of climate and the future in her thought-provoking pieces. Emirati artist Afra Al Dhaheri, whose interdisciplinary practice delves into the themes of time, adaptation, rigour, fragility, loss, and memory, presents Collective Exhaustion (2023). This interactive installation, produced with international collaborators, invites reflection on the fast pace of contemporary life.
On view are also works by Saudi interdisciplinary artist Mohammad AlFaraj. Inspired by Saudi Arabian oral traditions and legends, his creations are dedicated to contemporary social and ecological issues. American artist Christopher Joshua Benton, who works in socially engaged art and installation, also showcases his art pieces. Residing in the Emirates, he explores themes of homeland identity within immigrant communities.
Saudi performance and visual artist Sarah Brahim employs physical expression to explore pain, grief, and loss while Dubai-based artist Vikram Divecha examines authorship, value, and transience. He collaborates with workers, contractors, and decision-makers to investigate the often invisible structures behind urban planning and labour.
In his practice, Palestinian artist Hazem Harb uses gauze, a material historically tied to Gaza that symbolises the act of repair. Employing this material, he creates pieces uncovering untold stories from his home city. The exhibition presents Harb’s GAUZE شاش series (2023) which confronts viewers with the harsh realities faced by Palestinians.
Also, on display are pieces by Yemeni-East African visual storyteller, photographer and filmmaker Shaima Al Tamimi; multimedia artist and filmmaker Abdulrahim Alkendi; Bahraini architect and photographer Mariam M. Alnoaimi; multidisciplinary artist and fashion designer Faissal El-Malak; Kuwaiti artist and photographer Aziz Motawa; Kuwait-based designer Mohammad Sharaf; Saudi artist Ayman Zedani; Noor Al-Fayez; Mohamed Almubarak; and Bu Yousuf.
Additionally, exhibited are pieces by Civil Architecture, founded by Hamed Bukhamseen and Ali Ismail Karimi, that offer alternative narratives for Middle Eastern identity, alongside a collaborative project by Kuwaiti artist and writer Aseel AlYaqoub, architect Asaiel Al Saeed, architect and researcher Saphiya Abu Al-Maati, and Yousef Awaad Hussein. Meanwhile, Lebanese-born Canadian photographer Camille Zakharia and Ali Ismail Karimi showcase Photos A La Chair, their collaborative event-based serial work.
To get more information about Between the Tides: A Gulf Quinquennial, please go to the official web page of the show.
You might also be interested in attending Roots and Modernity: Contemporary Mediterranean Arab Art, a group exhibition at the Sharjah Art Museum, and Between Circles and Constellations by Bouchra Khalili.
