Abu Dhabi Festival brings landmark exhibition of Emirati art to Berlin Art Week

Abu Dhabi Festival has announced that it will present Portrait of a Nation, the largest exhibition of artworks by Emirati artists in Europe, at Berlin Art Week.

Held under the patronage of Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, Portrait of a Nation brings together the UAE’s leading contemporary arts practitioners to reflect upon their homeland.

Portrait of a Nation will be open to the public from 13th September to 29th October 2017, bringing together the UAE’s leading contemporary practitioners such as Ebtisam Abdul Aziz, Amna Al Dabbagh, and Mohammed Kazem, to reflect upon the nation from individual artistic perspectives.

The exhibition is divided in seven themes; Nation and Unity, Geography and Nature, Architecture and Urbanism, Portraiture and Identity, Religion and Spirituality, Language and Calligraphy, and Tradition and Heritage.

Hoda Alkhamis-Kanoo, Founder of the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation, ADMAF, and Artistic Director of Abu Dhabi Festival, will take part in a discussion on the exhibition. The discussion will be followed by Tarek Yamani performing his Abu Dhabi Festival commissioned piece, "Peninsular: Portraits in Khaleeji Rhythms and Jazz", exploring the correlation between jazz and Khaleeji traditions through complex rhythms and harmonies.

The programme also includes a discussion on ‘Emirati Identity, Emirati Creativity’ with featured artists Zeinab Al Hashemi, Amna Al Dabbagh, and the first Emirati spoken word artist, Afra Atiq. Karima Al Shomely will speak about her research into the Emirati burqa, before giving a live performance. UAE filmmakers will be represented by Ahmed Zain’s ‘Father’s Grant’ and ‘Nearby Sky’ by Nujoom Al Ghanem.