We all on this platform are into cultural and artistic buzz (some maybe more than the other, as I am a true nerd, when it comes to arts). And Dubai is such city where iykyk, but how great it would be to have one casa, one home, one bayt for all arts and culture enthusiasts to have their deeds? As Dubai’s creative landscape matures, there is a growing appetite for spaces that encourage reflection rather than spectacle. This is where Dom Art Projects, a new private art institution opening on 27 November at Al Khayat Avenue, arrives as a timely and meaningful addition. Cheers to the new third space for us Culture buffs!

Founded by Anna Pumpyanskaya and Alisa Bagdonaite, Dom Art Projects sets out to be a home for dialogue, research, and cross-cultural exchange. It joins a new generation of independent, female-led initiatives redefining what an art space can be in Dubai — less about commercial visibility, more about intellectual and emotional engagement.

Anna spent two decades in Geneva working across exhibition design, collection management, and art consultancy before founding Peruta Art. Alisa, a curator with an academic background in art history, previously led curatorial programmes at Zarya Center for Contemporary Art in Vladivostok and Golubitskoe Art Foundation, and launched the nomadic Alisa Gallery in the UAE. Together, they have built Dom as a place where ideas, research, and practice converge — a space where art feels both intimate and expansive.

So what exactly is Dom Art Projects? The institution presents museum-grade exhibitions and installations by emerging and mid-career artists, supported by a year-round residency and publishing programme. It also introduces Dubai’s first dedicated art and culture bookshop, positioning the project as a holistic hub for creation, learning, and reflection.

“When visitors walk into Dom, I want them to feel a sense of discovery and belonging at the same time — as if they’ve entered a home of ideas, emotions, and creativity,” says Anna. “It’s a space where people can slow down, connect with art on a personal level, and engage in meaningful conversations. Dom is meant to feel intimate yet open — a place where curiosity is not only welcomed but celebrated.”

That sense of connection is embedded in the name itself. “The Arabic meaning of “dom” — always — perfectly embodies this continuity,” Alisa adds. “It reflects the idea that art is timeless, that creativity is a constant thread through human existence.” They will further unpack this concept with their inaugural exhibition, but we’ll get to that later on in the article.

Explaining the essence of the “museum-grade” exhibition concept, Alisa notes —

“When we speak of a museum in this context, we mean an institution that bears responsibility not only for carrying out specific project-based or commercial tasks. The museum engages with a complex set of issues, including the responsible representation of the past, ethical approaches to art production, and programmatic strategies where exhibition activities can't exist without research, curatorial work and educational components.”

Alisa highlights that not only their project is aimed at nurturing the local community, but this is their contribution to the regional cultural future — “We emphasise the importance of maintaining relationships with diverse communities and expanding the circle of people with whom we collaborate and exchange ideas. Working in one of the most rapidly growing scenes we feel somewhat responsible for the future of art — for what it will look like tomorrow and for who will step onto the stage.

And, of course, for the names and artworks we choose to bring into the light. It is essential for us that the artworks under the spotlight embody the essence of our approach — these projects feel both contextually organic and capable of posing important, thought-provoking, and meaningful questions.”

My heart warms, knowing that soon Dubai will be enriched with a space that isn't only a place for connoisseurs, but also is a place of exchange, development, education and essentially, change.

To start their contribution into the future — the institution has launched open-call residency in partnership with Bayt AlMamzar (my favourite) extends this ethos into practice. “First and foremost, this collaboration with Bayt AlMamzar is a significant form of support and endorsement for us as a new institution — coming from one of the most important independent cultural and intellectual platforms, which plays a vital role in nurturing the young scene and developing grassroots initiatives,” Alisa explains.

The essence of this residency will be in — as Alisa calls it — “the contact sport between artist, us, and community.” She further explains — “We want to be part of the creative process and contribute to the community of artists within Bayt AlMamzar’s circle of influence. As in Mamzar, we want the studios here to be not detached from the artistic process, but fully integrated into it — at the heart of a vibrant and active community.”

“If an institution has to choose between working with the artist or the artwork, I believe the right choice is always the artist.” Anna adds, “I see the residency studios as laboratories of ideas — spaces where artistic thought is born, tested, and shared. What begins as a studio conversation may later become an exhibition, a performance, or a publication.”

Equally important for both founders is the decision to establish a publishing programme and book shop. “Books are the foundation of any cultural ecosystem,” says Anna. “In a fast-moving city like Dubai, where everything evolves at incredible speed, print culture offers something grounding and timeless. It allows ideas to breathe and stay.”

Dom’s vision, then, is one of deliberate slowness — a counterpoint to acceleration. “We aspire to build a stable platform — one that allows space for reflection, for slow thinking, and for the careful, long-term planning of projects,” Alisa says. “Dom seeks to be independent yet open, rigorous yet accessible — sustainable, but always committed to a meaningful mission.”

Opening the weekend of November 27–29, the inaugural show brings together Japanese artist Michiko Tsuda and Russian artist ::vtol:: (Dmitry Morozov) — both exhibiting in Dubai for the first time — in a dialogue that spans media, philosophy, and perception.

Tsuda’s installation, You Would Come Back There to See Me Again the Following Day, examines how technology mediates our sense of time and self. Her immersive structures invite viewers to question how images, screens, and reflections alter our awareness of presence and continuity. This is an experience each and every one of us has to go through to be disrupted, shaken and reminded of what it is like to live in the modern world.

Morozov’s work, Takir, approaches time from a geological perspective. A kinetic and sound-based installation, it tells the story of the drying of the Aral Sea — a haunting metaphor for environmental fragility, human ambition, and the endless loop of history. The piece oscillates between scientific observation and poetic reflection, reminding viewers that time can be both cyclical and irreversible.

Alisa explains, mirroring the Arabic essence of the word “dom” — “The conceptual foundation of the exhibition is rooted in ideas of Martin Heidegger, who argued that the meaning of being is revealed through time. Yet, similar reflections emerged nearly a thousand years earlier in the philosophy of Ibn Arabi, who described time as the pulse of existence.

The artist’s intention, however, isn't theoretical — it is to create a sensory and visual experience that stimulates reflection and raises questions about who we are, how we expand and unfold within the context of contemporary media that endlessly multiply our images, how we look at ourselves — and what it is that we truly see.”

Together, these works frame Dom Art Projects as a space where ideas aren't simply shown but lived — where philosophy meets form, and where the act of seeing becomes a form of thinking.

As Anna puts it, “We aim to develop educational and inclusive initiatives for adults, children, and young audiences, as well as partnerships with universities and cultural organizations that can help us build bridges between the local community and the wider art world.”