Like the rest of the city, Abu Dhabi’s artists have spent the summer indoors, huddled around air-con units, eating ice cream by the bucketful. Now, with the heat finally subsiding, their latest wares are right this second being hung on the pristine walls of the capital’s galleries. Kicking off a busy season of cultural events is ‘Up Close’, a show from a Dhabi-based team of nine artists hailing from various backgrounds known as the Fanaan group, which takes place at the National Theatre next week. We spoke to founder Julia Ibbini and members Chritch, Daksha Bulsara and Linda Stephanian about their experiences of working in the capital.
How did the Fanaan group come to be formed?
DB: Within my first couple of months in Abu Dhabi, I came across Fanaan through internet research, and, through them, I’ve developed my work a lot more. There’s a lot of collaboration and mentoring, and lots of interaction between these artists.
JI: Abu Dhabi is quite limited in terms of exhibition space. It has helped a great deal to form a community with fellow artists and develop opportunities between us to exhibit. Though we’re all members of a group, our work’s still very diverse, and we each have a very different approach to our working practice.
C: I think it’s a good chance for us to teach, because we’re usually just artists in our corners. I don’t like to be individualistic, sharing and passing on ideas is good. This show’s very big – there is digital art, textile art, sculpture, painting, collage. We’re all very stressed.
How difficult is it to succeed as an artist in Abu Dhabi?
JI: The opportunities here are very limited. You have to create your own opportunities to exhibit, to contact buyers and so on. In somewhere like London there are a huge number of opportunities, but there are also a huge number of artists. There are fewer artists here, so I suppose it’s easier to make a bit of a name for yourself. I’d say that for a younger, newer artist it’s a very good place to start. There’s no glass ceiling here, no institutions that decide which artists should and shouldn’t make an impact.
LS: It has been a great pleasure for me, coming from Iran. As soon as I came here I started having exhibitions and I was really encouraged. In Iran I hadn’t even thought about exhibitions, I was just doing orders and commissions there. Since I’ve been here I’ve had about nine group exhibitions.
What is it that inspires you most about the city?
LS: My work is very feminine. I really like the Emiratis [their aesthetic qualities], especially the elongated female figures. The city and the cultural beliefs are in some way inspiring, but for me it’s more about the people.
DB: I use scientific themes in my work, using my background and training as a pharmaceutical scientist. I took a trip to Sir Bani Yas Island, and it was the geology that really intrigued me; how it was formed, how the colours of the rock came to be. I don’t really draw on Abu Dhabi or the UAE. There are a lot of artists working locally who are very focused on the local culture. Without wanting to diminish it, it’s kind of been done a lot.
C: In my work, I’m very much attracted to the people. Anyone can attract me; it could be a cashier in a shop. All of them have different stories. They’re not very open, and they don’t talk too much, but I like the mystery of that.
JI: Initially, I was inspired by the city, but recently my work has become more abstract, and now it’s more about internal landscapes. It’s to do with experiences that I’ve had, more on an emotional level.
How do you predict the city’s cultural scene will change in the next five years?
C: The country is booming and, artistically, it’s going very fast. It makes me afraid – it’s going too fast. But artistically everything is tolerated; all styles are in. People are not afraid to be painting.
LS: Yes, it’s really growing so fast, it’s really unbelievable. All these major exhibitions we’ve had, such as the Picasso show, the Islamic embroidery at Emirates Palace and the art fairs mean we’re lucky to be here at this time.
DB: Given that the country is relatively young, I think it’s unrealistic to expect the type of vibrant art culture you get in major cities like London and Melbourne, and places like that. But what we do have already is really good, and I was pleasantly surprised to come across so many people who are working actively. People keep talking about Dubai and how there are a lot more galleries there, but with the opening up of all the big galleries on Saadiyat Island, and with the grassroots art community that’s developing in Abu Dhabi, the future of art here is really exciting.
JI: I think it depends on the government’s support. Obviously there’s the Louvre and the Guggenheim. It’s nice to have these big, glamorous things, but if you want to really develop a vibrant cultural scene you need to support the young artists and the students coming out of the universities. So I suppose it depends on the government’s willingness to be involved on a smaller level with the local artists. And that includes expatriate artists, not just the Emirati artists.
‘Up Close’ runs from September 21 to October 6 at the National Theatre. Entry is free
