Current
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Shifting Sands: A Battle Song
Venice Biennale 2024 16 Apr - 24 Nov 2024 Shifting Sands: A Battle Song tunes into the energy of Saudi women during a period of profound cultural transformation. In her installation, Manal AlDowayan (born 1973, Dhahran) brings together the sonic and geological features of the desert with the voices of women, in a collective expression that defies misconceptions about... Read more -
Tuning In- Acoustique De L'emotion
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum 10 Oct 2024 - 24 Aug 2025 Tuning in - Acoustique de l'émotion is an innovative new exhibition that explores the links between voices, heritage and humanitarian action, drawing on the audio archives and collections of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and the International Red... Read more
Past
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Hudood: Rethinking boundaries
SOAS Gallery, London, United Kingdom 11 Jul - 21 Sep 2024 Hudood, a collaborative exhibition led by SOAS students at the SOAS Gallery, is set to take place from 1 July - 21 September 2024. The exhibition introduces contemporary art from the Barjeel Foundation, with a focus on the overarching theme of 'Boundaries' as both a subject and a tool for... Read more -
Their Love is like all Loves, Their death is like all deaths
9 Feb - 23 Mar 2024 Arts AlUla and Sabrina Amrani are pleased to present ‘Their Love is Like All Loves, Their Death is Like All Deaths’, a solo exhibition by Manal AlDowayan. ‘Their Love is Like All Loves, Their Death is Like All Deaths’ is a chapter in an unceasing story that Manal AlDowayan has... Read more -
Oasis of Stories
9 Feb - 23 Mar 2024 AlDowayan (b.1973, KSA) is a multi-media artist whose works are often made with the participation of a host of collaborators.Together they reveal untold stories about places and people - in particular women. She is creating a major new installation for Wadi AlFann, or Valley of the Arts, inspired by the... Read more -
Breaking the monument
Casall Solleric, Palma de Mallorca 1 Feb - 31 Mar 2024 Casal Solleric presents Breaking the Monument, a selection of works by artists from very different contexts that, in very different ways, attack the power of pre-established images; of all those that manipulate and condition us, that limit us, that disapprove and censor us. A group of creators who work from... Read more -
Matters Through Matter
Main Exhibition in Balad Al Fann Festival in Jeddah Historical District. Curator Jumana Gouth 9 Jan - 9 Mar 2024 The “Matters Through Matter” display, part of the Jeddah Historical District Program’s Balad Al-Fann arts and culture initiative, aims to challenge traditional human-centric worldview. Curated by Jeddah-born Jumana Ghouth in collaboration with Graham Harman, the exhibition invites visitors to explore the enigmatic and mysterious potential of objects, shifting the focus... Read more -
Signs in the Landscape - Bienal Sur
Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil - Brasilia, Brazil 19 Sep - 5 Nov 2023 'Signs in the Landscape seeks to generate, through artistic production, a reflection on the ways in which the world we inhabit is being modified. In different ways, our gaze on the natural environment - previously identified among conventional artistic themes as the landscape in a state of urgency - demands... Read more -
TEAM WORK. 30 YEARS OF CGAC
Gaiás Centre Museum of the City of Culture - SANTIAGO, SPAIN 12 Jul - 15 Oct 2023 An anniversary is somewhat more than a celebration: it also entails remembering a history, taking stock, reviewing, and re-reading the past in order to gain momentum to address the future. In the case of the CGAC, this exercise of revision also, necessarily, involves acknowledging the work of all those individuals... Read more -
Being and Belonging: Contemporary Women Artists from the Islamic World and Beyond
Royal Ontario Museum - Ontario, Canada 1 Jul - 19 Nov 2023 Being and Belonging: Contemporary Women Artists from the Islamic World and Beyond is a bold exhibition exploring the defining issues of our time from the perspective of 25 women artists from or connected to the broader Islamic world spanning across West Africa to Southeast Asia or living in diaspora. Deftly... Read more -
Women Defining Women in Contemporary Art of the Middle East and Beyond
Los Angeles County Museum of Art - Los Angeles 23 Apr - 24 Sep 2023 'This exhibition presents 75 works by women artists who were born or live in what can broadly be termed Islamic societies. Frequently perceived as voiceless and invisible, they are neither. Each through her unique vision is fashioning not only her own definition of self but also helping to redefine and... Read more -
Woven Spaces
Fenaa Alawwal - Riyadh 11 Apr - 24 Jul 2023 'Beyond the classical quarrel of arts and crafts, woven art has been part of our daily practice across cultures. The story behind each of the represented artworks is the starting point of Woven Spaces. On display, there are installations that hold multiple dimensions, exploring in some the liminality of a... Read more -
(Solo Show) Manal AlDowayan: Participatory Acts
Misk Art Institute - Riyadh 1 Mar - 15 Jun 2023 'Saudi artist Manal AlDowayanis a prolific multimedia artist that emerged in the global scene during the early 2000s. Originally from the Eastern province, AlDowayan’s art has often touched on the crucial topic of gender-specific social obstacles and socio-political narratives in Saudi Arabia. Many of her work throughout the years has... Read more -
(Solo Show) Their Love Is like all Loves, Their Death is Like All Deaths
Sabrina Amrani Gallery - Madrid 4 Feb - 15 Apr 2023 'Sabrina Amrani is pleased to present Their Love is Like All Loves, Their Death is Like All Deaths, Manal AlDowayan’s fourth solo show at the gallery. Their Love is Like All Loves, Their Death is Like All Deaths is a chapter in an unceasing story that Manal AlDowayan has forged... Read more -
The Future of Traditions. Writing Pictures: Contemporary Art from the Middle East
Brunei Gallery, SOAS, University of London - London 12 Jan - 25 Mar 2023 'This exhibition is about three generations of artists from Iran and the Arab world, from the early pioneers of a vernacular Lettrism movement in the 1960s till now. These artists, from different backgrounds and possessing diverse styles, take inspiration from their own culture; they use the morphology of letters and... Read more -
Icon. Iconic. Art Here 2022. Richard Miller Art Prize
Louvre Abu Dhabi - Abu Dhabi 18 Nov 2022 - 19 Feb 2023 'An Icon is at once an object, an image, and a symbol. Its material qualities are as important as what it represents. To be ‘iconic’ is to represent and embody something unique and undefinable that delivers an immediate effect. It involves a physical encounter with an art object, a sublime... Read more -
Setouchi Triennale
Ibuki - Japan 29 Sep - 6 Nov 2022 'The Seto Inland Sea has been a vital transportation route since ancient times. Ships plying its waters stopped at different islands where their crew passed along the latest cultural and lifestyle trends. The distinctive local cultures that emerged through such interactions can still be found today. The islands’ unique identities,... Read more -
History in Fragments
Sabrina Amrani Gallery - Madrid 8 Sep - 6 Nov 2022 'History in Fragments is a group exhibition featuring works of artists whose practices touch on aspects and qualities of ceramics, either as a primary material, conceptual framework or context for larger installations. This exhibition highlights the diversity of approach to making artworks in ceramics and the significance of this media... Read more -
Amakin
Ithra (Dammam) - 21, 39 Saudi Art Council (Jeddah) 3 Mar - 30 Sep 2022 ' Amakin is an exhibition of contemporary and modern art that showcases the work of 28 international and regional artists, all of whom have a reputable careers in the art scene. This exhibition explores what the notion of “makan” (Arabic for “a sense of space”) means to each of the... Read more -
The Time is Right: Jeddah Photo
Saudi Art Council / ATHR Gallery - Jeddah 17 Feb - 16 Apr 2022 'A group of acclaimed Saudi and international photographers have joined forces for the launch of a new exhibition project in the Kingdom. The inaugural edition of Jeddah Photo 2022, running at Athr Gallery until March 17, will be showcasing a variety of images including some of the earliest photographic experiments,... Read more -
What Lies Within
Maraya - AlUla, Saudi Arabia 11 Feb - 30 Mar 2022 'What Lies Within brought together works from the past two decades by some of the most significant artists of Saudi Arabia and its diaspora from the private collection of Saudi female patron and collector Basma AlSulaiman. This collection preserved a remarkable visual record of Saudi heritage and reflected a journey... Read more -
Portrait of a Nation II: Beyond Narratives
Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation (ADMAF) - Abu Dhabi 21 Jan - 16 Apr 2022 'Portrait of a Nation II: Beyond Narratives, the jewel of Abu Dhabi Festival 2022, has come to a close but the story of the nation’s artistic development as it transpired over 50 years lives on through the innovative launch of the virtual exhibition and its book companion, Portrait of a... Read more -
Feeling the Stones - 1st Diriyah Biennale
Biennale Foundation - Jax - Riyadh 11 Dec 2021 - 11 Mar 2022 'Feeling The Stones The first edition of Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale marks the beginning of era-defining connections, a celebration of Saudi Arabia’s contemporary art scene and the Kingdom’s evolving position as a major global art powerhouse. Diriyah Biennale Foundation is deeply aware of the current level of recognition enjoyed by... Read more -
Taehwa River Eco Festival
TEAF21 - Ulsan 14 Oct - 7 Nov 2021 'Following this year’s theme, ‘Unhidden/Unseeable’, the exhibition sets out to examine the role of visual culture in a rapidly changing state, showcasing works submitted by 12 teams from six countries—Korea, Saudi Arabia, Japan, India, Canada and the United States—at Taehwagang National Garden Migratory Bird Park. During the past, the exhibition... Read more -
(Solo Show) The Eternal Return of the Same
IVDE Gallery - Dubai 5 Oct - 23 Dec 2021 'Manal AlDowayan's first solo exhibition at the gallery includes mixed media sculptural works inspired by the intricate form and occurrence of the desert rose. AlDowayan’s practice reimagines the body’s renegotiation with space, here she considers women’s new freedoms in daily life and society in Saudi Arabia. Grappling with these unreconciled... Read more -
Here, Now
MISK Art Institute - Riyadh 3 Oct 2021 - 15 Jan 2022 '‘Here, Now’, Misk Art Institute’s 3rd annual exhibition curated by Sacha Craddock, assisted by the Institute’s own assistant curators Alia Ahmad Al Saud and Nora Algosaibi. This exhibition brings international artists into conversation with local talent, showcasing a variety of media on show including paintings, textiles, sculptures, immersive installations, and... Read more -
The Northern Alps Festival
Northern Alps Art Festival - Omachi 1 Oct - 31 Dec 2021 'The Water, Trees, Earth, Sky of the Northern Alps Overwhelming torrents of water come flowing from the mountains of the Northern Alps. Omachi City in the Nagano Prefecture lies on the Fossa Magna, which runs through the center of the Japanese archipelago. Surrounded by a series of alluvial fans, it... Read more -
(Solo Show) I Am Here
IVDE Gallery - Dubai 22 - 25 Sep 2021 'Manal AlDowayan's participatory art work inspired by “instruction art' I Am Here invited the gallery visitors to stencil the words 'I am here' as part of a running print. By stenciling over others’ own declarations of presence, the visitor is at once eraser and erased: her individualism disappears. Emblematic of... Read more -
Long Story Short
Sabrina Amrani Gallery - Madrid 9 Sep - 13 Nov 2021 'Sabrina Amrani is pleased to present Long Story Short for Apertura 2021, a group exhibition that brings together ten works by ten gallery artists, each representing one year of the gallery history. Ten universes and concerns that gallerists and artists share, from the perspective of drawing as a reminder of... Read more -
(Solo Show) The Eternal Return of the Same
Cromwell Place - London 2 - 9 Jun 2021 'The artworks in the exhibition not only deepen AlDowayan’s nuanced interrogation of women’s shifting status within a metamorphosing Saudi society, but also intensifies her exploration of new material. A nod to Nietzsche’s concept of eternal recurrence, the title The Eternal Return of the Same captures gestures of repetition and iteration... Read more -
Contemporary Ceramic from the Middle East
V&A Museum - London 19 May - 17 Oct 2021 'This display brings together for the first time contemporary artists from the Middle East and North Africa who work primarily in clay. The richness and inventiveness of their output reflects the vitality of current ceramic practice across the region.' More Info Read more -
Reflections,Contemporary Art From the Middle East and North Africa
British Museum - London 17 May - 15 Aug 2021 'This display weaved together a rich tapestry of artistic expression from artists born in, or connected to, countries from Iran to Morocco. With drawings by artists trained everywhere from Paris to Jerusalem, and subject matters ranging from the Syrian uprisings to the burning of the National Library of Baghdad, it... Read more -
Bum Bum Ba Ye (Under Pressure)
Sabrina Amrani Gallery - Madrid 20 Apr - 29 May 2021 'Bum bum ba ye [Under pressure] is a group show that invites us to reflect on the different tensions that shape our world, showcasing works by Manal AlDowayan, Amina Benbouchta, Gabriela Bettini, Zoulikha Bouabdellah, Babak Golkar, Ayesha Jatoi, Timothy Hyunsoo Lee, Mónica de Miranda, Edison Peñafiel, Dagoberto Rodríguez and Jorge... Read more -
Light upon light: light art since the 1960s
Noor Riyadh - Riyadh 8 Mar - 12 Jun 2021 '“Light Upon Light: Light Art since the 1960s” is a landmark retrospective exhibition of light art divided into four sectional “rays” that survey light as an artistic medium: “Perceiving Light,” “Experiencing Light,” “Projecting Light,” and “Environmental Light.” Each ray blends time and unites established artists of diverse geographic origin. From... Read more -
Breaking the Monument (Images of Resistence)
Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea (CGAC) - Santiago 25 Feb - 13 Jun 2021 'The power of images, symbols, icons, but also the political representation of history and its manipulations and omissions are matters that have been extensively addressed in the field of art theory and history. The new kind of monument is not the one that appears on a pedestal in a public... Read more -
Ver Versus Ver
Sabrina Amrani Gallery - Madrid 4 Jul - 8 Aug 2020 'Ver versus ver, a group exhibition that invites to reflect about what is beyond the visible, including works by :mentalKLINIK, Manal AlDowayan, Joël Andrianomearisoa, Amina Benbouchta, Gabriela Bettini, Zoulikha Bouabdellah, Babak Golkar, Alexandra Karakashian, Waqas Khan, Nicène Kossentini, Timothy Hyunsoo Lee, Mónica de Miranda, Dagoberto Rodríguez, Jong Oh, Edison Peñafiel... Read more -
Desert X
Royal Commission of AlUla - AlUla 31 Jan - 7 Mar 2020 'Desert X AlUla is a site-responsive exhibition that ran January 31 – March 7, 2020. The exhibition which took place in the desert of AlUla, an ancient oasis in Saudi Arabia, brought together a plurality of voices, co-curated by Saudi curators Raneem Farsi and Aya Alireza with Desert X Artistic... Read more -
I Love You Urgently
21,39 Saudi Art Council - Jeddah 28 Jan - 18 Apr 2020 'I Love You, Urgently contends with the global climate emergency through a series of individual artistic explorations. Driven by emotion and curiosity, the 22 artists whose works are featured have embarked on personal journeys into the collective experience defining our epoch, seeking places of empathy and understanding.' Curator: Maya El... Read more -
Durational Portrait: A Brief Overview of Video Art in Saudi Arabia
ATHR Gallery - Jeddah 19 Jan - 18 Apr 2020 '“New artistic mediums are rare, and by any measure, video ranks among the defining inventions of any kind in the 20th century. Once relegated to alternative spaces because some didn’t believe it could even be called art, video is now seen in museums and galleries across the world and counts... Read more -
Letters: Fragments of a Memory
Warehouse 421 - Abu Dhabi 14 Nov 2019 - 16 Jan 2020 'Athr Art Gallery, Warehouse 421 and Abu Dhabi Art present a group show featuring 14 artists who draw from landscapes and cityscapes in the Arab world, the show is inspired by the book 'Letters to a Young Muslim' by the UAE Ambassador to France, H.E. Omar Saif Ghobash. ' More... Read more -
Public/Private
Saudi Art Council - Jeddah 8 - 18 Jul 2019 'The video installation And I Had No Wings (2015) was included in an exibition in the historical location of Albalad in Jeddah. The exhibition was curated by Turki and Abdulrahman Al-Gazzaz, known as Bricklab, in collaboration with the Saudi Art Council and Ministry of Culture' Curators: Turki and Abdulrahman Al-Gazzaz... Read more -
Your Voice Matters
Museum Arnehm - Arnhem 8 Mar - 12 May 2019 'In line with the national commemoration of 100 years of women's suffrage in the Netherlands. The discussion about the role of women and male-female relationships in society is more current than ever. Women around the world stand up for their rights and demand recognition. The right to drive, equal wages... Read more -
The Nobel Museum
The Nobel Museum - Stockholm 3 Feb - 3 Mar 2019 Two art works were commissioned to respond to Nobel Prize winning laureates books: Midaq Alley By Nagiub Mahfouz and The Unwomanly Face of War by Svetlana Alexavitch. More Info Read more -
(Solo Show) What is and What Has Been
Sabrina Amrani Gallery - Madrid 12 Jan - 12 Feb 2019 'The show brings together works from the series 'The Choice', the very first works of AlDowayan in silver gelatins, that are the reflection of a continuous dialogue that affects the lives of millions of Arab women and that discusses the restrictions imposed on them due to the local traditions that... Read more -
(Solo Show) Watch Before You Fall
Sabrina Amrani Gallery - Madrid 12 Jan - 30 Mar 2019 'Watch Before You Fall, a solo show by Manal AlDowayan. In this exhibition, AlDowayan looks at symbolism found in books written about women’s bodies, using soft sculpture, ceramics, and fabric. AlDowayan describes this exhibition as “a space that stands between fear and activism; the artworks are symbols of the resilience... Read more -
Crude
Jameel Art Center - Dubai 11 Nov 2018 - 30 Mar 2019 'Bringing together 17 artists and collectives from the region and beyond, ‘Crude‘ explores oil as an agent of social, cultural and economic transformation across the Middle East and North Africa, as well as a driver of geo-political upheaval. Oil has been a trigger for misguided colonial adventures, wars and coups;... Read more -
Tribe: Contemporary Photography from the Arab World
American University Museum, Katzen Arts Centre - Washington DC 10 Nov - 16 Dec 2018 'Tribe: Contemporary Photography from the Arab World is an exhibition highlighting a selection of artists published within the eight editions of Tribe—a magazine founded in Dubai that is dedicated to covering developments in photography and new media from the Arab World. The exhibition contextualizes an expansive field of image-based work... Read more -
Femitopias
Rafael Boti Foundation - Cordoba 7 Jun - 28 Sep 2018 'Femitopías brings together some of the best examples of feminine vindictive art, including figures from the Muslim sphere, of enormous symbolic significance due to their historical relationship with Cordoba. But above all, it has the capacity to break with values and discourses, incorporating a feminist and integrating look to our... Read more -
(Solo Show) Suspended Together
Aga Khan Museum - Toronto 29 May - 1 Oct 2018 'The Aga Khan Museum presents this summer’s installation, Suspended Together, which floats above the courtyard café in the Museum’s atrium until October, is a flock of 30 birds representing Manal AlDowayan's response to Saudi Arabia’s travel restrictions.' More Info Read more -
Melancholia
Boghossian Foundation - Brussels 15 Mar - 19 Aug 2018 'The exhibition examines the origins and manifestations of this feeling – manifest in both the East and the West since ancient history – which unremittingly reminds us of a lost origin, and instills in us a sense of mourning for a past world. “Those who have been eminent in philosophy,... Read more -
10 Years Later
Tashkeel - Dubai 13 Mar - 26 Apr 2018 'Tashkeel will celebrate a decade of art and design by presenting new work commissioned by creatives whose careers it has helped shape and, in turn, whose practice has been part of the organisation’s growth.' Curator: Lateefa bint Maktoum More Info Read more -
Dearest Women
Royal College of Art - London 1 Jan - 31 Dec 2018 'A series by Manal AlDowayan Fear distorts the feeling of time. The fear of pain or death creates a need to address the finite by searching for delay, pause or transcendence into the infinite. My art practice is the medium of my temporality. My subjects are the markers of my... Read more -
(Solo Show) You Are From Me and I am From You
Abu Dhabi Art - AlAin 9 Nov 2017 - 16 Jan 2018 Comissioned by the Department of Culture and Arts in Abu Dhabi to respond to a UNESCO hertitage site in AlAin Oasis, UAE. Curators: Turki and Abdulrahman Al-Gazzaz More Info Read more -
Desert To Delta: Contemporary Art in Memphis
The Art Museum of the University of Memphis - Memphis 8 Oct 2017 - 6 Jan 2018 'Curated by AMUM, selected work ranges from seemingly traditional manuscript illumination to bold “calligraffiti,” from bronze sculpture to sound and “scent” portraits, from cell-phone photography to multi-media installation. Saudi artists address issues that resonate throughout the world: environmental degradation, economic disparity, urban growth and loss of traditional culture, social inequality... Read more -
Letters
ATHR Gallery - Jeddah 11 Jun - 30 Sep 2017 'Omar Saif Ghobash's 'letters' to his 'young Muslim' [son] serves as the pivot around which 36 artists respond to in this latest exhibition. In the contemporary globalized world we live in, shaped by money, military and media, finding space to value the authentic and interpret the unadulterated is a feat... Read more -
100 Masterpieces of Modern and Contemporary Arab Art
Institut du Monde Arabe - Paris 28 Feb - 2 Jul 2017 'Complied in 2010, the collection of Sultan Al Qassemi includes the works by leading figures of modern and contemporary Arab art. Managed by the Barjeel Foundation, a private foundation located in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, the collection will be presented for the first time in France in the... Read more -
Bayn (In Between)
Warehouse421 - Abu Dhabi 25 Feb - 25 Apr 2017 'The exhibition centres on new commissioned works that explore the divide between the recent past and contemporary incarnations, examining what lies between those two lives. Manal will be showing her work Tree of Guardians in the third exhibition organised by UAE Unlimited, entitled 'Bayn: the In-Between', which will be held... Read more -
(Solo Show) I Am Here
Rojas + Rubensteen Projects - Miami 17 Feb - 26 Mar 2017 'On the heels of the inauguration, personhood will not be denied, concealed in fabric, or turned into a number on a registry. AlDowayan explores what defines who we are at the most granular level - our thoughts, bodies, personal histories, religious choices. Her photography, installation + mixed media work narrate... Read more -
Safar
21,39 Jeddah Arts - Jeddah 1 Feb - 6 May 2017 'This 4th edition is designed as an educational platform that explores the notion of travel and movement as a vehicle for learning and growth. Conceived as both a public forum for creative experimentation, as well as a visual arts exhibition, Safar will feature artworks by Manal from her Crash series.'... Read more -
(Solo Show) And I, Will I Forget?
Sabrina Amrani Gallery - Madrid 11 Jan - 26 Feb 2017 'Watch Before You Fall, the highly anticipated solo exhibition by Manal AlDowayan, which is her second exhibition at the gallery and the inaugural show of the second space of the gallery in Madrid. In Watch Before You Fall, AlDowayan attempts to fragment these symbols and reconstruct them to create a... Read more -
(Solo Show) And I, Will I Forget?
New York University Gallery - New York 19 Sep - 16 Dec 2016 'In her exhibition, And I, Will I Forget, Manal Al Dowayan visually explores the theme of memory by focusing on the act of forgetting or erasing the past. The silk screened and mixed media works explore the lost stories behind approximately 1,000 Kodachrome slides her father gave to her as... Read more -
Imperfect Chronology - Mapping the Contemporary II
Whitechapel Gallery - London 23 Aug 2016 - 8 Jan 2017 'The exhibition focuses on the theme of mapping geographies, examining the notion of statehood and exploring how artists engage with the rapidly expanding cities of the Arab region. Drawn from the Barjeel Art Foundation collection of modern and contemporary Arab art, this is the final display in a year-long series... Read more -
Genera#ion: Contemporary Art from Saudi Arabia
Minnesota Street Project - San Francisco 11 Aug - 6 Sep 2016 'GENERA#ION: Contemporary Art from Saudi Arabia, presents San Francisco’s first exhibition of contemporary art from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This timely, cross-generational survey of artists working at the center of the Islamic world. GENERA#ION marks the third stop on a multi-city Saudi artist’s tour of the United States, and... Read more -
Illumination
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art - Copenhagen 1 Mar - 11 Sep 2016 'Louisiana presents a cornucopia of international contemporary and classic works of art acquired over the past three years – more than fifty works within painting, photography, sculpture and installation. Illumination is set to be an exciting encounter with a wide field of both familiar and unfamiliar artists: Andreas Gursky, Franz... Read more -
Earth and Ever After
21,39 Jeddah Arts - Jeddah 10 Feb - 23 Apr 2016 'The Earth is the collective memory that is bound to our subconscious. She is a reflection of ourselves, manifesting herself as a constant flow of images that teem with scent, taste and colour. This exhibition invites you to reflect on humanity’s relationship with the Earth, to explore whether it is... Read more -
Looking at the World Around You
Fundacion Banco Santander - Madrid 9 Feb - 19 Jun 2016 'An exhibition that opened in Madrid at the Fundación Banco Santander showing works by contemporary artists from across North Africa and the Middle East includes Arab-inspired paintings by Goya and Magritte alongside works by Mona Hatoum, Shirin Neshat, Wael Shawky and Manal Al Dowayan among others.The Arab art show is... Read more -
(Solo Show) And I, Will I Forget?
Cuadro Art Gallery - Dubai 4 Feb - 31 Mar 2016 'This collection is presented as a solo show titled 'And I, Will I Forget?' A collection inspired from a box of Kodachrome slides shot between 1962 and 1973 in Saudi Arabia and USA. Manal inherited these images as a child and has been playing with them her whole life. In... Read more -
Do It
Sharjah Art Foundation - Sharjah 23 Jan - 23 Apr 2016 'Co-curated by Sharjah Art Foundation Director Hoor Al Qasimi and Serpentine Gallery co-Director Hans Ulrich Obrist, do it بالعربي is a new iteration of the ongoing do it publication and exhibition project originally founded and curated by Obrist in 1993. Manal Participates with a instructional work titled 'I Am Here'.'... Read more -
Walls and Margins
Barjeel Art Foundation - Sharjah 21 Oct 2015 - 1 Feb 2016 'Soon after people learned how to lead a sedentary lifestyle, and began building permanent dwellings and settlements, the idea of a protective fence was developed. Devised as a security measure, it is a separation of what is in versus what is out, what is accessible versus what is off limits.... Read more -
Home Ground
Barjeel Art Foundation and Aga Khan Museum - Sharjah 25 Jul 2015 - 1 Sep 2016 'The connection one feels to place is an abstract notion, often spoken of in terms of memories, habits, rituals, and experiences. It is elusive, yet always present. Home Ground addresses the struggles associated with navigating geo-political barriers, and explores ways in which identity is shaped by one’s relationship with a... Read more -
Shubbak Festival: What is Home?
Pump House Gallery - London 16 Jul - 9 Aug 2015 'We all think we have the answer to the question What Is Home? - be it the building, town or country we live in, the people we live with or even the objects we surround ourselves with. At the Pump House Gallery the work of a group of Arabian artists... Read more -
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
YAY Gallery - Baku 11 Jun - 31 Aug 2015 'This exhibition will bring together the work of four artists from the Middle East and North America, including a specially commissioned work entitled Mapping Baku, by Roberto Lopardo. Held in collaboration with Cuadro Gallery, Dubai, artists Camille Zakharia, Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim, Roberto Lopardo and Manal AlDowayan will use a range... Read more -
Colla Curating: Sculptural Perspectives
Tashkeel Al Faidi - Dubai 15 - 31 Mar 2015 'An exhibition featuring two artworks by Manal AlDowayan that artist/curator Areej Kaoud responds to with artworks of her own. This project is first in a series of shows that explores curating as an art practice that is articulated via collaborations between artists. For this exhibition, Kaoud uses two of AlDowayan's... Read more -
(Solo Show) I Had No Wings
Rolls-Royce Art Programme, Alserkal Avenue - Dubai 9 Mar - 9 Apr 2015 'A video and sound installation. I Had No Wings questions the symbolism of designated spaces and focuses on the experience of being in the backseat of a moving car. The images and sounds in this project were filmed by Manal from the back seat of a car driving around the... Read more -
Anonymous was A Woman
Hafez Gallery - Jeddah 9 Mar - 15 Oct 2015 'It is the misconception of many that figurative art in Saudi Arabia has ceased to exist altogether. It is true that artists approach the subject with great caution due to the mixed interpretations to prohibition in representing the human form or any living things and opinions are still divided, often... Read more -
Islamic Art Now: Contemporary Art of the Middle East
Los Angeles County Museum - Los Angeles 1 Feb 2015 - 3 Jan 2016 'In recent years, the parameters of Islamic art have expanded to include contemporary works by artists from or with roots in the Middle East. Drawing inspiration from their own cultural traditions, these artists use techniques and incorporate imagery and ideas from earlier periods. LACMA has only recently begun to acquire... Read more -
Prospect 3: Notes for Now
Contemporary Arts Center New Orleans - New Orleans 25 Oct 2014 - 25 Jan 2015 'In Walker Percy’s 1961 novel The Moviegoer the protagonist Binx Bolling is consumed by “the search” in the week leading up to his 30th birthday. The novel, set in a time of heightened social awareness in the first half of the decade’s movement for civil rights in America, delves into... Read more -
Songs of Love and Song of Loss, Oum Kalthoum and Lee-Nan Young
Gwangju Museum of Art - Gwangju 19 May - 25 Aug 2014 'The premise of the exhibition Songs of Loss and Songs of Love is based on an imagined encounter between two singers: Oum Kulthoum (1904–1975) from Egypt and Lee Nan-Young from Korea (1916–1967). Both legendary within their geographical and cultural spheres, the two singers were in Paris at the same time... Read more -
The Other and Me
Sharjah Art Foundation - Sharjah 1 May - 1 Jun 2014 'This exhibition comes as part of an expansive program of significant cultural events that mark the celebration of the city of Sharjah having been awarded the title of the Capital of Islamic Culture for 2014. The exhibition will feature approximately 30 or more artists and will highlight the international currents... Read more -
(Solo Show) Crash
Cuadro Art Gallery - Dubai 17 Mar - 30 Apr 2014 'A conclusion to her research conducted during her residency in Mathaf Museum of Modern Arab Art in Doha she has created an exhibition that documents the alarming numbers of Saudi female teachers that are injured or die in car accidents every year. For these women, the combination of low pay,... Read more -
FotoFest. View from Inside: Contemporary Arab Video, Photography and Mixed Media Art
Fotofest 2014 Biennial - Houston 15 Mar - 27 Apr 2014 'The FotoFest 2014 Biennial, the 15th International Biennial of Photography and Photo-related Art, is March 15 - April 27, 2014. FotoFest's own exhibitions for the 2014 Biennial will focus on Contemporary Arab Photographic Art, including video and multi-media installations. The Biennial will showcase more than 40 contemporary Arab artists using... Read more -
Moallaqat
21, 39 Jeddah Arts - Jeddah 1 Feb - 30 Apr 2014 'This exhibition demonstrates that whilst the world has changed dramatically since the time of the Moallaqat, there is nevertheless a way of life, modes of thought, and cultural foundations that have survived and that have been passed down from generation to generation along with the legend. You will, therefore, find... Read more
