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HSBC has given visitors to Abu Dhabi Art Fair a rare opportunity to enjoy pieces from its global art collection during the bank’s first international exhibition.
The financial services giant - perhaps unbeknown to many - holds a collection of more than 4,000 artworks, acquired over more than a century.
Although diverse in subject matter, they are united by a theme of connection and self-identity in a globalised world.
This was something HSBC was keen to underline as it established a “meaningful connection” with the UAE art sector during the capital’s revered annual art showcase at Manarat Al Saadiyat.
Staged within Abu Dhabi Art, which concluded on Sunday, HSBC showcased five trailblazing artists with “authentic voices”.
It said the exhibition represented the bank’s global footprint and the opening of a world of opportunity for its diverse communities.
HSBC collaborated with Emirati curator Amneh Al Ghanim, co-founder of Menart Contemporary, on the exhibition, entitled The Evolving Self.
The bank said its global partnership, alongside its increased presence at Abu Dhabi Art, as an opportunity for HSBC to build deeper relationships, and support the regional art sector.
Daniel Lancaster, global art manager for HSBC, said: “This marks an exciting moment in the 101-year history of the HSBC art collection, as it’s the first time that our works were shown in the Middle East.
“Our ambition was to build a truly inclusive collection that celebrates the different perspectives of our employees, clients and the communities we serve. We are keen to ensure voices of Emirati artists are represented in the collection, especially given HSBC’s deep roots in the region.”
Mr Lancaster collaborated with Ms Al Ghanim to curate the HSBC Collection Space. They gathered five diverse, yet cohesive works for a display that encouraged visitors to consider the human experience across borders while highlighting the global nature of the collection itself.
The HSBC exhibition brought together contributions from Omar Ba, Mandy El Sayegh, Makiko Kudo, Lucia Laguna, and Jade Fadojutimi in an “exploration of how self-identity is shaped”.
HSBC said each artist offered a distinct perspective on the “perpetual fluidity of the self” in the wider context of culture, memory, environment and history.
Curator Ms Al Ghanim said all five artists have broken new ground as they paved the way in their careers - and their works have strong messages behind them.
“The longer viewers sit with these pieces, the more they will discover,” she said, before the exhibition. “I would invite people to take their time with each … to consider who they are and where they stand right now. They should recognise that identity isn’t just affected by who we are and what we think but by everything around us.
"When we travel, we are ourselves, and yet our essence changes from the experience. We want viewers to notice these little changes that happen to them.”
Creative works from around the world
In her work White Grounds (The Sun), Ms El-Sayegh examines the social, cultural, and political structures of the contemporary world, and the fractured nature of identity shaped by migration.
Born in Malaysia to a Malaysian Chinese mother and a Palestinian father, she spent her early childhood in Sharjah before settling in the UK at a young age. Ms El-Sayegh’s heritage is referenced in her works, which integrate diverse media including her drawings, found materials, newspaper and magazine scraps, her father’s calligraphy, and occasionally Chinese characters.
British Nigerian artist Ms Fadojutimi, whose work The Adorning Self was also on show, is the youngest artist to have work acquired for the permanent Tate Collection.
She refers to her colourful paintings, frequently monumental in scale, as emotional landscapes as they often portray emotion, identity and a continuous quest for self-understanding. Japanese culture, in particular artist and fellow HSBC exhibitor Makiko Kudo, has had a significant influence on her work.
Ms Kudo’s Becoming a Field was displayed to Abu Dhabi Art visitors.
Her works are characterised by expressive brushwork, vivid colours, and nostalgic motifs in surreal landscapes. The social context of growing up in Japan and themes of childhood are key, blurring boundaries between memory and history.
Ms Kudo’s paintings investigate the co-existence of melancholy and peace, youth and maturity, reality and imagination, and invite viewers to reflect on how identity is formed and transformed.
The intercontinental feel of HBSC’s offering continued with Champ de Riz a Kidal (Rice Field in Kidal), by Senegalese artist Mr Ba. The tension between history and contemporary identity are emphasised in his mixed-media paintings, with the imagery open to interpretation. Humanity’s fraught relationship with the natural world is a recurring theme, often including African symbolism and social motifs.
Mr Ba, who lives and works between Dakar, Senegal, and Geneva in Switzerland, is also known for his early use of cardboard as a canvas and has works in the collections of the Centre National Des Arts Plastiques in Paris, and the Fonds Municipal d’Art Contemporaine de la Ville de Geneva.
Ms Laguna’s Paisagem completes the quintet. The Brazilian creative’s works celebrate the lush ecosystems found in her home country.
Her paintings also demonstrate keen observations of her surroundings in Rio de Janeiro’s sprawling North Zone, where the favelas inform her depiction of the relationship between environment and identity.
'Building cultural bridges'
HSBC acquired Paisagem during Ms Laguna’s first UK show - at the age of 83 - recognising the artist’s gift for “speaking to people across the world”.
From the bank’s first art acquisition of a small group of paintings in 1923, it has built what is described as a powerful collection to “open up conversation through authentic voices”, offering different perspectives, global and inclusive stories, and artists pushing their practice into new, meaningful and exciting directions.
“From our earliest beginnings as the first bank in the UAE in 1946, to becoming the country’s leading international bank, we have been a key part of the social fabric,” says Mohamed Al Marzooqi, chief executive officer for the UAE at HSBC Bank Middle East.
“We understand the role we play in fostering economic development and in building cultural bridges.”
“By partnering with Abu Dhabi Art, and showing works from our collection, we reaffirm our commitment to supporting the communities we serve, fostering creativity, and contributing to the rich cultural landscape of the capital," he said.
“This collaboration reflects our responsibility to invest in initiatives that create lasting, positive impact for both local communities and the global audience.”
Through that global partnership with Abu Dhabi Art, HSBC said it was supporting multiple initiatives, including two travelling exhibitions bringing local artists to the global art scene.
“Visiting Abu Dhabi presents a wonderful opportunity for me to build new relationships with local galleries and artists,” said Mr Lancaster, HSBC's global art manager.
“My hope is that in the future we can hold similar exhibitions in other regions to showcase talented Emirati artists, bringing them to new audiences around our global network.”
