Ten visual artists in the UAE share their experiences and insights – from the impact of Covid-19 on their work to the outbreak’s effects on the industry – in Art Amid Covid, a video series launched as part of the festival’s annual Riwaq Al Fikr talks series.
Among the list of artists is Najat Makki, a pioneering figure in the UAE art scene. Born in 1956, she was the first Emirati woman to study art abroad on a government-funded scholarship in the 1970s. Her works range from abstract styles to colourist and neon paintings.
Other artists include Sumayyah Al Suwaidi, Mattar Bin Lahej, Saggaf Al Hashmi, Khulood Al Jabri, Obaid AlBudoor, Patricia Millns, Azza Al Qubaisi, Mohamed Yousif and Michael Rice.
The interviews have been conducted by Jalal Luqman, an Emirati artist and visual consultant for Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation, the organiser of the Abu Dhabi Festival. Luqman said the series helps to “better understand how the pandemic affected [artists’] work and aspirations”.
The five-episode series will be available online. A new episode will be released every Tuesday at the same time until Tuesday, February 23.
Here is the first episode…
More information in The National.
