Alserkal Art Week 2024: Celebrating the Power Of Connection

by Sophie She

Alserkal Art Week 2024: Celebrating the Power Of Connection

19 Nov 2024

Vian Sora — Olivine, 2024

Alserkal Art Week, one of the region's most anticipated cultural events, returns to Alserkal Avenue from November 17 to 25, exploring the theme "Acts of Presence." With exhibitions, public art, and discussions, this year’s week is focused on the themes of connection and resilience in a divided world. The context these days is hard, but what else than art can help all of us navigate in the realities of the modern world?..

Art as Memory and Resilience

This year’s centrepiece, Made Present: Biographies of Artworks Defying the Ongoing Nakba, reimagines Palestinian art history through stories of artworks that have survived displacement and erasure. Curated by Faris Shomali and Zaina Zarour, it offers a bitter narrative of resistance and preservation.

Ayesha Sultana — Threshold Series, 2013

Public art that invites reflection

The Walk With Me series transforms Alserkal Avenue into a haven of thought-provoking installations curated by Zoé Whitley. Highlights include:

Dima Srouji’s

Abbas Akhavan’

Vikram Divecha’s

Vian Sora — Untitled, 2024; Charbel Joseph H. Boutros — Five consecutive dreams, five suns, and a garden; Behrang Samadzadegan — Dear Diary, 2024

Voices from Africa in the Majlis Talks

This year’s Majlis Talks, Acts of Presence: Stories of Africa’s Creative Leaders, curated by Charlotte Ashamu, amplifies African voices. Highlights include a live performance by Ghanaian artist Kwame-Akoto Bamfo, and Thania Petersen’s mobile galleries transforming Cape Town’s minibus taxis into spaces for art.

Kwame Akoto-Bamfo, Majlis Talks, 2024

Dynamic Gallery Showcases

Over 15 participating galleries will host exhibitions ranging from Thaier Helal’s Navigating Through Nothing at Ayyam Gallery to Marc Quinn’s Photosynthetic Forms at Waddington Custot. The programming blends emerging and established voices, offering a rich cultural tapestry.

Thaier Helal — Untitled, 2024

A Glimpse into the Future

Special projects include the Dubai Future Foundation’s Our Future(s), an immersive installation that challenges visitors to reimagine resilience and sustainability. For this one you’ll have to wait in line, but it will definitely be worth it.

by Sophie She