In a groundbreaking collaboration across Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Art Gallery and Ishara Art Foundation will both open solo projects in spring 2020 by Amar Kanwar, one of India’s most critically-acclaimed and internationally-exhibited contemporary artists. The award-winning artist explores the politics and intricacies of power, violence, and justice, through poetic films and comprehensive multimedia works.
The Ishara Art Foundation, a non-profit institution dedicated to contemporary South Asian art and artists in West Asia, will host Such a Morning (from 2017), from January 20 to May 20, while the NYUAD Art Gallery, the university’s academic museum-gallery, will show The Sovereign Forest from January 22 to May 30.
Smita Prabhakar, chairperson of Ishara Art Foundation, said, “Our goal at Ishara Art Foundation is to champion South Asian voices and share compelling contemporary artistic practices. This collaboration with the NYUAD Art Gallery allows us to bring audiences in the UAE an even greater depth of work by Amar Kanwar, offering a comprehensive introduction to the practice of one of South Asia’s foremost artists. Such a Morning is a key work by the artist, offering us deep insight into how we might face contemporary challenges. As a new member of the UAE arts community, we are honoured to work alongside the NYUAD Art Gallery on this presentation, and look forward to future collaborations that benefit and grow our shared audiences.”
Chief Curator at the NYU Abu Dhabi and Executive Director of the NYUAD Art Gallery, Maya Allison, said, “This is an exceptionally exciting exhibition and collaboration for The NYUAD Art Gallery. I’m delighted that our collaboration will enable audiences here to have the rare experience of seeing two such major Amar Kanwar projects in proximity. It is a unique privilege to host his thought-provoking and critically important work. The Sovereign Forest is, in many ways, a ‘living’ artwork, one that continues to grow and shift with each installation, as do the questions it brings to light. The opening of the Ishara Art Foundation earlier this year marks an important new chapter for South Asian art in the UAE. When we opened our doors five years ago, I hoped we would one day see such a trans-institutional collaboration—one that benefits our university faculty and students, as well as our broader UAE audiences.”