Weekend In Review: Araaish, No U Turn Pop-Up Exhibition

This past weekend the best of India came to Dubai with more than 50 high-end vendors taking part in the Araaish Festival, and the city’s art season kicked into gear with new exhibits at A4 Space and Sharjah Art Museum.

Araaish brings the best of India to Dubai

Photo Credit: Dubai Calendar

Marketing itself as “a lifestyle exhibition with a heart,” the Araaish exhibition was held in Dubai on Saturday for just one day at the Taj Dubai in Business Bay. Among the exclusive vendors that took part were Mandira Bedi, Madison on Peddar, Glam Closet featuring Malini Ramani, Simar Duggal, and more. There were also plenty of high-end jewelry vendors, including Jewels by Queenie, Lotus Sutr, Private Collections, and Anmol Jewels. Dubai-based luxury brand Essa Walla was also there.

Araaish is actually the fundraising arm of Save the Children India and works closely with the Women’s Institute for Social Education (WISE) to make the world a better place.

No U Turn at Alserkal Avenue’s A4 Space

Photo Credit: Alserkal Avenue

A4 Space at Alserkal Avenue jumped right into this year’s art season with its first exhibit of the season entitled No U Turn. The pop-up exhibition is the first of a series of shows from a brand new art collective which consists of four emerging artists: Maddy Butcher, Clare Napper, Dubai by Design, and Toil & Tinker.

Each artist specializes in a different discipline and offers various perspectives of life and viewpoints in Dubai. Clare Napper has a new collection of her popular “Highlife Dubai” posters, which offer a satirical look at city life and raise awareness. Her work was featured recently on CNN.

Maddy Butcher’s work includes portrait illustrations of philanthropists, media personalities, and heroes from all over the world, while Robert Durrant of Dubai by Design combines map-making with illustrations and graphics. Pau Green from Toil & Tinker has put together a poster series that offer “subtle suggestions and broader statements about City life,” according to Alserkal Avenue’s website.

No U Turn started on Sunday and runs through Sept. 19, so there’s still time to catch it if you weren’t able to attend on Sunday. However, it only lasts one week, so if you want to see it, make it a priority this week before it’s gone.

Cobra: 1,000 Days of Free Art at Sharjah

Photo Credit: Sharjah Art Museum

Earlier this month, Sharjah Art Museum started hosting a new exhibit entitled Cobra: 1,000 Days of Free Art. The avant garde exhibit includes paintings, films, magazines, jazz music, sculptures, works on paper, textiles, and more from the Netherlands’ Cobra Museum of Modern Art. The exhibition is the result of Cobra’s two-year collaboration with Sharjah, which focuses on the Cobra art movement. Although Cobra was in existence for less than three years, its impact on the world’s art landscape has lasted decades. Sharjah’s current exhibit includes pieces by four of the founding artists: Constant Nieuwenhuys, Karel Appel, Lubertus Jacobus Swaanswijk, and Eugene Brand. More than 50 pieces are on display, so it’s quite a large exhibit.

There’s still plenty of time to catch this exhibit, as it runs through Nov. 20.