Past Exhibitions
2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016
No Sugar Added | Collective Exhibition | 18 November 2019 - 11 January 2020
Artists + Designers: Almaha AlJarralla, Alreem Al Marzooqi, Barka Alzubaidi, Fatma Essa AlBastaki, Hamda Alkhajeh, Hamda Helal Al Teneiji, Hassana Arif, Hessa AlFahim, Khawla Almheiri, Leen Ayman Albejawi, Maitha AlMazrouei, Malina Server, Mariyam Ali Alkatheeri, Maryem Almannaee, Mouza Albedwawi, Mouza Alfalasi, Mouza Tariq Alsuwaidi, Rafiaa Alnassar, Reem Rashed, Roudha Alshamsi, Sara Almarzouqie, Shamsa Sultan Lootah, Yasmeen Al Marzooqi.
The white cube will be transformed into an all immersive environment where visitors are encouraged to engage and interact with works ranging from contemporary art, various design features, custom furniture, digital animation and video games. All works in the exhibition are designed and created by Zayed University students and alumni.... no sugar added!
Transcending Limits of Hope, Aspiration, and Fear | Collective Exhibition | 30 September - 30 October 2019
Artists: Aisha Al Ahmadi, Alia Al Ansari, Amira Albastaki, Ayesha Essa Belremaitha, Hassana Arif, Hessa Al Fahim, Malina Server, Mariam Abdulla Almheiri, Moza Mohammed Alnuaimi, Sara Hamed Alrefaei.
Now what?! After final exams hope, aspiration and fear are the overwhelming emotions felt by some of our brightest recent grads. With a well-deserved summer vacation on the horizon, the prospect of navigating the art world’s hazy landscape in search of exhibition opportunities, commissions and exposure is a daunting new reality. The spotlights have dimmed on the creative pinnacles of academia, the fresh paint is finally dry to the touch, and the first phase of professional creativity takes its place. This next chapter of life sees student through to artist and it is undefined, unclear and rife with self-doubt. No one is watching. Does anyone care?
In recognizing the challenges our graduates are facing, the College of Arts and Creative Enterprises (CACE) and the College of Communication and Media Sciences (CCMS) at Zayed University have teamed up to greet them head on. This inter-college collaboration between media and art & design nurtures community growth through mutual expertise. CACE graduates and CCMS social media students are working to advance the promotion of art and design beyond the gallery and social media, and beyond the limits of commercial advertising and branding.
The visual scope of social media platforms, including Instagram and Snapchat, are redefining how artists and their public interact with art. As an evolving medium social media has the aesthetic scope to expand the immersive and conceptual framework of its own digital boundaries. It is an increasingly commercialized endeavor and the CCMS-CACE collaboration hopes/aims to facilitate critical and creative engagement with the state of the medium through social media art. This innovative initiative, fusing Zayed University’s artists, designers and social media storytellers, explores the conceptual potential of visual expression and interpretation.
The Tolerance Project | 15 May - 31 July 2019
Featuring the work of over a 100 renowned graphic designers from around the world, The Tolerance Project is a travelling poster exhibition, that was created by New York-based graphic designer Mirco Ilic. The exhibition offers an opportunity to see a collection of posters addressing the concept of tolerance, designed by some of the world’s most well-known graphic illustrators.
Speaking about the exhibition Illic explains the role of the graphic designer in promoting tolerance:
“The initial idea of this exhibition was to invite well- known graphic designers to create posters based on their understanding of tolerance in their mother tongue. One of the conditions was that the exhibition is placed in public space, among the citizens.
The purpose of the exhibition is not only displaying posters, but in gathering and approaching people. Artists are the ones who promote tolerance and peace, and facilitate the reconciliation process.”
The exhibition reinforces Zayed University’s commitment to providing its students and the community at large with opportunities to engage with some of the leading global names in the field of art and design, such as Milton Glaser from the USA and Japan’s Yuko Shimizu, and believes it will contribute to a positive dialogue about tolerance in the UAE.
Everything You Can Think of is True | Shamma Al Amri | 18 March - 5 May 2019
Everything You Can Think of is True is a solo exhibition of new sculptural works by Zayed University alumna Shamma Al Amri. Her sculptures perform multiple meanings with a visual lyricism that she creates by using the Arabic language in unexpected and inventive ways. The performance of her sculptures is acted out mechanically, sometimes digitally, always measuring time with rhythm and repetition.
Peeling Back The Blue Sky | Collective Exhibition | 12 November 2018 - 19 January 2019
Artists + Designers: Alyaa Nasser Al Breiki, Ayesha Hadhir, Jumaanah Alhashemi, Maitha Abdalla, Mariam Eisa Al Fahim, Meera Alhameli, Narjes Noureddine, Rawdha Al Ketbi, and Shaikha Al Ketbi.
The inaugural exhibition Peeling Back The Blue Sky features artworks, installations, designs and a performance by students and alumni from the College of Arts and Creative Enterpises (CACE) at Zayed University. These young Emirati artists and designers offer unique perspectives to a rapidly evolving sense of identity and place. The exhibition aims to engage new audiences, and encourage dialogue on how the role of art and design reflects on social issues and lifestyle in the UAE.
Al Doobah | Ayesha Hadhir | 19 March - 31 March 2018
The objects in the الدوبـة (Al Doobah) installation by Zayed University alumna Ayesha Hadhir are taken form a sunken shipwreck close to Al Dhabiya, a small island of beach houses in Abu Dhabi. Ever since Hadhir can remember the shipwreck has been there, just off the coast of their beach house. She considers it a monument to the island. When she first started visiting the shipwreck, it was mostly intact. It had a room with a carpet, a table and windows. Recently it collapsed and was swallowed by the sea. Hadhir began diving into the shipwreck to document the sinking process, observing the changes that occur when the metal began to deteriorate and coral started to invade the wreck. For الدوبة (Al Doobah) she has retrieved pieces from the shipwreck and is recreating part of it at Alserkal Avenue. This work is a tribute to Hadhir’s late father, who passed away recently.
ShowCACE: I Remember an Endless Space | Collective Exhibition | 5 November - 18 November 2017
Artists + Designers: Amina AlMazrooei, Hissa AlZarooni, Khulood AlRais, Maryam Alhammadi, Rawan Habib, Sumaia Alamoodi, Ayesha Bin Khadia, Khawla Alsuwaidi, Mariam Al Suwaidi, Meera Alhameli, and Rawdha AlKetbi.
Through the creative fields of Animation Design, Graphic Design, Interior Design and Visual Art, Zayed University’s College of Arts & Creative Enterprises presents a selection of innovative projects and artworks from young Emirati artists and designers who offer unique perspectives to a rapidly evolving sense of identity and place. This exhibition aims to engage new audiences, and encourage dialogue on how the role of art and design reflects on social issues and lifestyle in the UAE.
Future Perfect Future | Collective Exhibition | 13 March - 18 March 2017
Artists + Designers: Al Anood Al Obaidly, Hessa Al Ajmani, Lateefa bint Maktoum, and Zeinab Al Hashemi.
The Future Perfect Future is featuring work by distinguished Zayed University alumni Lateefa bint Maktoum and Zeinab Al Hashemi and recent alumni Al Anood Al Obaidly and Hessa Al Ajmani. As the culture within the Emirates evolves, these alumni are contemplating their cultural heritage and social engagement in a rapidly changing country with grand ambitions. The works in the exhibition reflect their journey and show an insight into their universe.
Look Beyond Them | Asma Khoory | 13 November - 19 November 2016
Look Beyond Them by alumna Asma Khoory is an audio-visual diary of construction workers in Dubai. Using sculpture, sound, photography, and personal stories of the men who took part in this project, Khoory aspires to humanise the innumerable construction workers who assist in the rapid expansion of Dubai. Construction helmets play a decisive role in a construction worker’s safety, and they look identical from a distance. A closer proximity divulges the humanising and intimate scars of their laborious vocation. The men interviewed and portrayed in Look Beyond Them marked their helmets with personal messages for protection, to honour their loved ones, or to remind them why they are where they are. This practice is common among construction workers in Dubai. Each helmet in the exhibition was given to the artist by a worker in exchange for a new one and originates from a different construction site in the city. An accompanying photographic series of the labourers on location is paired with a personal message and the longitudinal and latitudinal coordinates of their construction site. Khoory has recorded their personal stories of childhood memories, formative incidents in their lives, words of affection to their families, and poems committed to memory. Movement within close range of the helmets triggers playback of the recordings. Asma Khoory’s installation is an insight into people who go unnoticed. The men portrayed in Look Beyond Them have left their homelands in an effort to increase economic resources, access to education, and improve living conditions and quality of life for the families they are separated from. They have sacrificed a lot and now we can hear the stories of why they came to Dubai and what they value most in life.
Artists + Designers: Alaa Al Hashmi, Alya Alansari, Alia Alshafar, Alia Mazrooei, Asma Al Masabi, Ayesha Hadhir, Hind Al Fahim, Jumaanah Alhashemi, Maha Mohammed, Mariam Al Binali, Salma Salem, Sara Al Ali, Sara Alyousef, and Sheikha Al Ketbi.
Zayed University’s College of Arts & Creative Enterprises presents the future of emerging young female Emirati design thinkers. As the culture within the Emirates evolves, emerging designers must consider the scope of the nation’s needs, cultural heritage and social impact. The panel discussion focusses on the mentor- student relationship in the fields of graphic design, interior design and visual art exploring the challenges they encounter in their own communities.