Art can be a powerful tool. It can inform and inspire, tell a story through words unspoken, and shed light on important issues. At this year’s Art Dubai, Palestinian artists are doing just that.
Fourteen Palestinian artists from across generations and mediums will showcase stories of preservation, tradition and survival to international audiences at Dubai’s Madinat Jumeirah from April 18 to 20.
“These presentations focus largely around tradition and preservation – of cultures, customs and perspectives,” says Pablo del Val, who has served as Art Dubai’s artistic director since 2015. “What stands out so beautifully in the work of Palestinian artists this year is a deep connection to roots and heritage. Each piece speaks to those ties, and you can see it across the works featured.”
Speaking to The National, Mr del Val emphasises that these artists chose not to focus on themes of war, conflict or destruction, but rather on the conservation of culture – or “the preservation of something that is in a struggle for existence”.
Mr del Val singles out several artists bringing powerful works to the fair. These include Tarik Kiswanson, whose sculptures retrace stories of displacement through the lens of his own family’s history and Saudi-Palestinian artist Dana Awartani’s Standing by the Ruins installation of patterned flooring that, on closer look, replicates the geometric designs of Gaza’s historic Qasr Al Basha.
The selection also features masters of the 1980s New Visions movement, including Nabil Anani and Sliman Mansour, who united at the height of the first intifada to inspire freedom and autonomy through their works.
Now opening its 18th edition, the annual art fair has become a focal point for themes of identity, discovery and expression, resonating most deeply with artist in regions often overlooked by art fairs in the West. Art Dubai welcomes galleries from across the Middle East, Africa and regions including Latin America for a distinctive and diverse showcase each year.
“It holds a unique place in the region, bringing audiences together who can connect with the political and emotional layers of my work without the need for over-explanation,” says artist Mirna Bamieh, who will be presenting a personal offering about grief, memory and land at Nika Project Space’s booth this year. “Since relocating to Portugal after the [start of the Gaza] war, returning to Art Dubai feels like a kind of grounding, a way to stay connected, present and in conversation with the region.”
For her second participation in the fair, Bamieh is showing pieces as part of larger installations titled Grieving in Colours and Sour Jars. “In Grieving in Colours, I was navigating personal displacement while witnessing the horrors in Gaza unfold, and I needed a material that could hold that pain without demanding language,” the artists says. “Ceramics allowed me to express grief through form, through collapse, weight, and transformation.”
Bamieh's work centres around the Jaffa orange, a powerful symbol in Palestinian memory and resistance. Inspired by her heritage – her paternal family originates from Jaffa – the orange is symbol across Palestinian literature and visual culture. It has come to signify the “rupture of 1948 and the ongoing loss of land”, she explains.
“These oranges decay, ferment, and dissolve into each other. They say grief moves in stages, but mine arrived all at once – dense, suffocating and sour,” she adds.
Sfeir-Semler Gallery is representing several Palestinian artists and artists of Palestinian descent at this year’s fair. Founded by Andree Sfeir-Semler in 1985, the gallery has championed art from the Arab world, providing a cultural link between western and Middle Eastern contemporary art practices, for decades. In addition to works by Dana Awartani, the gallery brings a diverse collection of works by Taysir Batniji, Bayan Kiwan and Samia Halaby, a celebrated global trailblazer of contemporary abstract art.
“Every single artist we chose to collaborate with is first and foremost an artist who has something urgent and critical to say,” says Sfeir-Semler. “It is heartbreaking that the same concerns find their ways in their works across generations. And how can it be otherwise? Even with those who are removed from the land, they are consistently trying to bridge this gap of space and time.”
Represented by Dubai's Tabari Artspace, Palestinian American Saj Issa brings her story to life through a solo presentation comprising ceramic amphoras, tiles and paintings that invites viewers to explore themes of longing and memory. Her showcase, Never Make a Wish in a Dry Well, is created from a lived experience.
After a visit to her family home in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, Saj brought back shards of 10th-century pottery she found near a former ceramics factory.
“She didn’t just preserve them – she pulled them into her process, fusing them into glazes or sealing them in glass,” says Maliha Tabari, the founder of Tabari Artspace. “It’s a powerful gesture: reclaiming history not as a fixed past, but something she’s actively reshaping.”
For Mr del Val, these presentations were not chosen for an “agenda”, but purely for their quality. They naturally align with the fair’s broader themes and discussions around immigration, including displacement, or global issues such as climate change.
“I believe the selection is fantastic,” he says. “It’s beautiful to see the rising consciousness of Palestine as a culture with an enduring tradition and an undeniable right to exist. It’s about preserving and surviving.”
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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MATCH INFO
Kolkata Knight Riders 245/6 (20 ovs)
Kings XI Punjab 214/8 (20 ovs)
Kolkata won by 31 runs
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Jumanji: The Next Level
Director: Jake Kasdan
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Jack Black, Nick Jonas
Two out of five stars
The biog
Favourite colour: Brown
Favourite Movie: Resident Evil
Hobbies: Painting, Cooking, Imitating Voices
Favourite food: Pizza
Trivia: Was the voice of three characters in the Emirati animation, Shaabiyat Al Cartoon
Read more from Johann Chacko
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Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-AMG C63 S Cabriolet
Price, base: Dh429,090
Engine 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission Seven-speed automatic
Power 510hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 700Nm @ 1,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.2L / 100km
The%20specs
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
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How The Debt Panel's advice helped readers in 2019
December 11: 'My husband died, so what happens to the Dh240,000 he owes in the UAE?'
JL, a housewife from India, wrote to us about her husband, who died earlier this month. He left behind an outstanding loan of Dh240,000 and she was hoping to pay it off with an insurance policy he had taken out. She also wanted to recover some of her husband’s end-of-service liabilities to help support her and her son.
“I have no words to thank you for helping me out,” she wrote to The Debt Panel after receiving the panellists' comments. “The advice has given me an idea of the present status of the loan and how to take it up further. I will draft a letter and send it to the email ID on the bank’s website along with the death certificate. I hope and pray to find a way out of this.”
November 26: ‘I owe Dh100,000 because my employer has not paid me for a year’
SL, a financial services employee from India, left the UAE in June after quitting his job because his employer had not paid him since November 2018. He owes Dh103,800 on four debts and was told by the panellists he may be able to use the insolvency law to solve his issue.
SL thanked the panellists for their efforts. "Indeed, I have some clarity on the consequence of the case and the next steps to take regarding my situation," he says. "Hopefully, I will be able to provide a positive testimony soon."
October 15: 'I lost my job and left the UAE owing Dh71,000. Can I return?'
MS, an energy sector employee from South Africa, left the UAE in August after losing his Dh12,000 job. He was struggling to meet the repayments while securing a new position in the UAE and feared he would be detained if he returned. He has now secured a new job and will return to the Emirates this month.
“The insolvency law is indeed a relief to hear,” he says. "I will not apply for insolvency at this stage. I have been able to pay something towards my loan and credit card. As it stands, I only have a one-month deficit, which I will be able to recover by the end of December."
TOUCH RULES
Touch is derived from rugby league. Teams consist of up to 14 players with a maximum of six on the field at any time.
Teams can make as many substitutions as they want during the 40 minute matches.
Similar to rugby league, the attacking team has six attempts - or touches - before possession changes over.
A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.
After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.
At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.
A touchdown is scored when an attacking player places the ball on or over the score-line.
