At the centre of Art Dubai’s not-for-profit programme is Art Dubai Commissions, a platform that invites artists to produce site-specific works, as a means to support artistic production by local and international artists and further enhance the cultural landscape.
Complementing Art Dubai’s Bawwaba gallery section, and curated by Emiliano Valdes under the theme ‘Sanación/Healing’, Art Dubai 2024’s Commissions featured a series of new performances and activations focusing on ideas of introspection, spirituality, community and the power of art to help us navigate challenging times.
Participating artists Mirna Bamieh, Cecilia Bengolea, Hashel Al Lamki, Sajan Mani, Debashish Paul and Mithu Sen explored various aspects of the healing process, creating spaces for contemplation and introspection, socially oriented practices that engage with local communities as well as creating nurturing and liberating experiences.
Delhi, India
Mithu Sen is a versatile artist known for herconceptual and interactive works spanningdrawing, performance, poetry, movingimages, sculptures, installations, and sound.She challenges societal norms, questionshierarchies, and explores tabooed identities,Award highlights include the 2020 IndiaToday Art Awards, 2015 Prudential EyeAward, and 2011 The SKODA Prize.
Kolkata, India
Debashish Paul, born in 1994 in WestBengal, explores the body as a tenderlandscape, delving into notions of genderand identity. His performance, rooted inautomatism, allows for the uninhibitedexpression of private emotions. Awardedthe Inlaks Fine Art Award 2022 and Alegro1st Prize 2021, Paul has also receivedrecognition from the Prince Claus SeedFund and the Prafulla Dahanukar ArtFoundation.
Jerusalem, Palestine
Mirna Bamieh explores the politics ofdisappearance and memory in Palestiniancommunities amid contemporarychallenges.Since 2019, she has integratedfermentation into her art using text,ceramics, and video in interactiveinstallations. With a culinary arts degree, shecombines food and storytelling in sociallyengaged work. Featuring dinnerperformances and interventions inspired byfood practices and generational recipesBamieh aims to revive endangeredtraditional Palestinian food cultures.
Buenos Aires, Argentina | Paris, France
Cecilia Bengolea was born in 1979 in Argentina. She uses dance as her primary medium for radical empathy and emotional exchange. Her art is inherently multidisciplinary, collaborating with artists, performers, DJs and dancers. Her work interprets movement, dance and performance as dynamic forms of sculpture and as a result, the boundaries between subject and object become blurred within her artistic creations.
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Hashel Al Lamki, an acclaimed Emirati artist, delves into the interplay between humanity and its environment, addressing the contrast of Al Ain’s Bedouin culture with the swift development in the Gulf. Born near Jebel Hafeet, he navigates the complexities of social dynamics. Actively involving local artisans, Al Lamki’s multidisciplinary work contributes to local economies, fostering community connections and reflecting on the juxtaposition of traditional values and modern development.
Kannur, India
Sajan Mani, an interdisciplinary artist from rural Keralam, South India, uses his art to amplify the voices of marginalized communities, focusing on the “Black Dalit body.” His performances, rooted in embodied presence, tackle issues of pain, shame, fear, and power. Drawing from his personal history, Mani explores the body as a socio-political metaphor. His work often incorporates water, addressing ecological concerns in Kerala’s backwaters and themes of migration.
Mexico City,Mexico
Héctor Zamora was born in 1974 in Mexico City, where he currently lives and works. Zamora’s work transcends the conventional exhibition space, reinventing it, redefining it, while generating friction between the common roles of public and private, exterior and interior, organic and geometric, savage and methodical, real and imaginary .
Drawing on his technical expertise and knowledge of lightweight architecture and a meticulous emphasis on the process of conceptualisation and construction of each piece, Zamora engages the viewer’s participation, encouraging them to question the everyday uses of materials and the functions of space.
Delhi, India
Mithu Sen is a versatile artist known for herconceptual and interactive works spanningdrawing, performance, poetry, movingimages, sculptures, installations, and sound.She challenges societal norms, questionshierarchies, and explores tabooed identities,Award highlights include the 2020 IndiaToday Art Awards, 2015 Prudential EyeAward, and 2011 The SKODA Prize.
Kolkata, India
Debashish Paul, born in 1994 in WestBengal, explores the body as a tenderlandscape, delving into notions of genderand identity. His performance, rooted inautomatism, allows for the uninhibitedexpression of private emotions. Awardedthe Inlaks Fine Art Award 2022 and Alegro1st Prize 2021, Paul has also receivedrecognition from the Prince Claus SeedFund and the Prafulla Dahanukar ArtFoundation.
Jerusalem, Palestine
Mirna Bamieh explores the politics ofdisappearance and memory in Palestiniancommunities amid contemporarychallenges.Since 2019, she has integratedfermentation into her art using text,ceramics, and video in interactiveinstallations. With a culinary arts degree, shecombines food and storytelling in sociallyengaged work. Featuring dinnerperformances and interventions inspired byfood practices and generational recipesBamieh aims to revive endangeredtraditional Palestinian food cultures.
Buenos Aires, Argentina | Paris, France
Cecilia Bengolea was born in 1979 in Argentina. She uses dance as her primary medium for radical empathy and emotional exchange. Her art is inherently multidisciplinary, collaborating with artists, performers, DJs and dancers. Her work interprets movement, dance and performance as dynamic forms of sculpture and as a result, the boundaries between subject and object become blurred within her artistic creations.
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Hashel Al Lamki, an acclaimed Emirati artist, delves into the interplay between humanity and its environment, addressing the contrast of Al Ain’s Bedouin culture with the swift development in the Gulf. Born near Jebel Hafeet, he navigates the complexities of social dynamics. Actively involving local artisans, Al Lamki’s multidisciplinary work contributes to local economies, fostering community connections and reflecting on the juxtaposition of traditional values and modern development.
Kannur, India
Sajan Mani, an interdisciplinary artist from rural Keralam, South India, uses his art to amplify the voices of marginalized communities, focusing on the “Black Dalit body.” His performances, rooted in embodied presence, tackle issues of pain, shame, fear, and power. Drawing from his personal history, Mani explores the body as a socio-political metaphor. His work often incorporates water, addressing ecological concerns in Kerala’s backwaters and themes of migration.
Mexico City,Mexico
Héctor Zamora was born in 1974 in Mexico City, where he currently lives and works. Zamora’s work transcends the conventional exhibition space, reinventing it, redefining it, while generating friction between the common roles of public and private, exterior and interior, organic and geometric, savage and methodical, real and imaginary .
Drawing on his technical expertise and knowledge of lightweight architecture and a meticulous emphasis on the process of conceptualisation and construction of each piece, Zamora engages the viewer’s participation, encouraging them to question the everyday uses of materials and the functions of space.