UAE: Plan your art visits around town

Exploring the world of nurturing and feeding

On Foraging: Food Knowledge and Environmental Imaginaries in the UAE’s Landscape explores the nuances of what it means to be in constant search of nurturing and feeding, for the individual and the collective, within seemingly arid environments. There are deep reserves of cultural and agricultural knowledge that have been passed down through generations that continue to be tapped into and added to today. The exhibition reveals the work that goes into unearthing the landscape through a confluence of personal and collective narratives.

Until December 25, Gallery 2, Warehouse421, Mina Zayed, Abu Dhabi

A box of delights and prosperity

Under Iwan Makati’s curated collection Terminal G, Saudi artist Sultan Bin Fahad will be presenting a limited-edition carpet collection that commemorates familiar phrases traditionally used during weddings and other happy occasions. The visuals used for this collection are inspired by a traditional tin box of delights (historically offered to guests attending weddings) with inscriptions of prosperous wishes. The collection represents what the artist describes as “something far, something close and something real to cherish and hold dear”. The limited-edition pieces for Terminal G are titled: Delight I, Delight II and Delight III. Iwan Maktabi collaborated with design curator and creative director Samer Yamani to build the narrative of a design collection that represents the Gulf region’s culture through a contemporary lens. Terminal G is the first of its kind curated collection of carpets commissioned by a local brand that is developed by creatives from five countries: Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE.

November 8-13, Dubai Design Week, D3 Building 9, Dubai

Love is all around us

Colourful, full of poetry, symbolism and, most importantly, love — Letters of Love II is a collection of 50 original artworks all centering on the key theme of love. Eleven years on from his hugely successful exhibition, Letters of Love, in New York comes the second edition from artist Wissam Shawkat. A leading authority on Arabic calligraphy, Shawkat is largely self-taught, who has attained mastery through book research, visits to various masters, museum and library collections throughout the region. His technique, “Calligraforms”, leans away from traditional practices and focuses on the form of the script instead, portraying modern symbolism and highlighting the beauty and multiple angles of his works. The results are spectacular and differ greatly from piece to piece. The exhibition that will start from November 11 holds personal significance for the artist, who left his home in Basra, Iraq, (where his artistic journey began), on 11/11. The work aspires to be different from clichéd calligraphy, and pushing traditional boundaries, the collection includes abstract and Cubist pieces.

November 11-30, Mestaria Gallery, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

purva@khaleejtimes.com

• Dubai