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Abu Dhabi Art 2022: Everything to Know About the Annual Fair’s Biggest Edition to Date

Photo: Courtesy Abu Dhabi Art

Abu Dhabi Art Fair is back, and it promises to be bigger than ever before this year. Taking place from November 16-20, the 2022 edition of the annual event will bring together 78 galleries from 27 countries at Manarat Al Saadiyat. This year’s event highlights artists from North Africa, Türkiye, and the wider region, who have been handpicked by sector guest curators and collaborators, art historian Rachida Triki, gallerist Jade Yeşim Turanlı, and arts journalist Riccarda Mandrini. Triki, who is also a professor of philosophy, will curate the fair’s Focus section dedicated to galleries and artists from North Africa. Under the theme of New Tomorrows, the section will explore the artistic evolution of the region. “As the curator of this year’s Focus section, I had the pleasure of bringing together dynamic galleries that present works by established and emerging artists from the Northern Africa region,” Triki states. “The works have been selected based on the section’s theme that links heritage and re-creation as a continual rebirth for New Tomorrows.”

Photo: Courtesy Abu Dhabi Art

Turanlı of Pi Artworks will shine a light on the galleries and artists from Türkiye with exhibitors Dirimart and Galeri Nev İstanbul making their debut at Abu Dhabi Art Fair. “Last year I was blown away by my visit to the extraordinary Abu Dhabi Art fair and by the energy it generates in the UAE. The fair’s content is very diverse, and it appeals to a vast audience,” shares Turanlı. “For this edition, there will be six Turkish galleries with extraordinary works on show by established and emerging artists from Türkiye. The selected galleries are pioneers, both locally and internationally, and cover a whole spectrum of art.” As for Mandrini, she will use her expertise to bring together galleries from around the world with diverse programs including Mazzoleni, P420 and Dep Art Gallery. “For this section, I wanted to bring together a diverse group of galleries and artists from different historical periods and geographies,” comments Mandrini. “The artworks presented by the galleries create an open narrative and a shared dialogue, writing a new page in art history, which we as individuals, regardless of our cultural and geographical affiliations, can feel part of.”

Photo: Courtesy Abu Dhabi Art

The fair has also announced Abed Al Kadiri, co-founder and Director of Lebanon-based publisher Dongola Limited Editions, as the guest curator for its annual Beyond: Emerging Artists program. The year-round initiative will see the multidisciplinary artist mentor three UAE-based emerging artists, Majd Alloush, Sarah Al Mehairi, and Mohamed Khalid. As part of the program, each artist has been commissioned to create works exploring the notions of borders, home, man-made territories, and geographical mapping, which will be exhibited at the upcoming fair. “I am very excited to be curating this year’s Abu Dhabi Art’s Beyond: Emerging Artists,” says Al Kadiri. “In this edition, I hope to spark deep conversation that weaves the works of the three artists together while approaching the exhibition with a new perspective by focussing on the practice of artist’s book making. I am very happy to be working with the passionate young artists I have selected for this edition, who are embracing this challenge head on. Each one of these artists has a strong individual voice that is rooted in contemporary concerns around negotiating land and borders, and the notion of home. I am looking forward to the conversations we are going to generate.”

Photo: Courtesy Abu Dhabi Art

The UAE capital’s highly-anticipated fair marks the culmination of Abu Dhabi Art’s year-round visual arts program. Alongside the physical fair, the event is also hosting a virtual platform where collectors can discover artworks. In a statement, Dyala Nusseibeh, director of Abu Dhabi Art, said, “Since the first fair in 2007, Abu Dhabi Art has played an integral role in the art eco-system in Abu Dhabi and the wider emirates, fueling the appetite for art in the region. Over the years, we have not only succeeded in bolstering the growth of the country’s cultural and creative industries but also in nurturing homegrown talent.” Speaking of this year’s edition, she added, “Through collaborations with guest curators such as Rachida Triki, Jade Yeşim Turanlı and Riccarda Mandrini, we also continue to enable diverse perspectives to be present at the fair, ensuring that Abu Dhabi Art continues to be a place of discovery for our art collectors and wider public.”

Photo: Courtesy Abu Dhabi Art

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