Rashed Stamps Jameel Arts
Rashed Almulla’s Stamps Collections at Jameel Arts Centre
29.12.2023
Reading 3 min

An old stamp peeled off a Dubai letter which was posted in the 1960s is not just a valuable collectible: it may serve as a window into the UAE’s history. This is exactly what the project by Rashed Almulla (an urban history expert and researcher based in Dubai) is about. The latest edition of Library Circles by Jameel Arts Centre features his impressive collection of stamps and old postage materials that reveals much about the history of the Emirates. The exhibition will end on 13 May 2024. 

Almulla, who has been delving into the history of stamp production in Dubai, displays 21 stamp sets, official letters, postcards, and banknotes from different periods in the emirate’s development. “You can see that Dubai’s […] ambition to make a mark on the global stage [was] present even in the 60s,” the researcher says. Speaking about this project of his, Almulla calls it a fascinating exploration into the vision and commitment of Dubai’s leaders since the 1960s to present the city as a centre of opportunities, development, diplomacy, and infrastructure achievements.

Library Circles: Rashed Almulla (installation view). Jameel Library, Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai, 2023. Photo by Leslie Pableo / The National.

The Library Circles initiative takes place at the Jameel Library. It provides a platform for diverse Emirati practitioners to explore alternative research methodologies and representations on a particular topic while focusing on the concept of “thinking in public”. 

About the researcher 

Rashed Almulla earned his MSc in Regional and Urban Planning from the London School of Economics (UK). In his work, he uses a full range of various mediums to investigate urban history and planning. Almulla is the Founder of MABNAI, an organisation educating the public on positive practices of the built environment (architecture, urban planning and design, archival history) through exhibitions, research initiatives, and symposiums.

Library Circles: Rashed Almulla (installation view). Jameel Library, Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai, 2023.

In 2023, Almulla directed the Future of Gulf Housing Symposium. He also curated Spaces that Remain (2022-2023), an exhibition hosted by Bayt AlMamzar in Dubai. It showcased Emirati photographer Jalal Abuthina’s photos that document Dubai’s Sha’biyat Al Shorta neighbourhood from 2007 to 2016.

To get more information about this year’s Library Circles exhibition, please visit its official web page.

You might also be interested in attending the Once Upon a Time Museum in the Jumeirah Mosque. In addition, we would recommend you to look through twelve historical photo albums launched by Akkasah, a photo archive at NYU Abu Dhabi.

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