Body, Loss, Memory and Healing: Three Emerging Emirati Women Artists

The UAE is rapidly transforming into a global cultural hub with the establishment of prominent institutions such as the Sheikh Zayed National Museum, the Louvre, and the Guggenheim in Abu Dhabi. Sharjah hosts the Exposure International Photo Festival and an art biennale, with a historic district featuring numerous museums and galleries. Dubai is home to Art Dubai, a leading international art fair in the Middle East, and recently hosted the World Expo and COP28. These developments not only highlight the UAE as a dynamic business hub driven by the petroleum and energy sectors but also position it as an attractive destination for arts and culture. Such rapid changes prompt artists to contemplate issues beyond the visible in the progressing world around them. This paper argues that there is a process of internalization of thoughts and feelings occurring within young artists of the region and transfiguration to art due to such built environment alternation within a bourgeoning social and cultural landscape. More specifically, it elucidates the trajectory of the UAE’s artistic development by analysing recent art projects by Aysha Al Dhaheri, Mariam Al Mansoori, and Sara Alqardaeai. The objective is to analyse the conceptual and contextual frameworks and approaches employed by these emerging artists as they navigate ‘intangible places,’ tackling concepts of the body, loss, memory, and healing within the evolving social and cultural landscape of the region.