Alserkal Avenue opens the art season with 19 exhibitions

As Dubai’s days begin to cool, it is a great time to wander the lanes of Alserkal Avenue and see what’s new

September marks the return of the cultural season, with galleries and art spaces opening their doors to a packed programme of exhibitions that will unfold over the coming months. 

Across 16 galleries and art spaces, 19 exhibitions bring together artists from the UAE, the wider region and beyond, spanning painting, sculpture, textiles, film and multidisciplinary practice.

Mark your diaries for the exhibitions below, with openings taking place throughout September and continuing into the months ahead. Whether you are looking to discover a new artist, explore a solo presentation or simply spend an afternoon gallery hopping, there is plenty to see across Alserkal Avenue this season.

Ishara Art Foundation

At Ishara Art Foundation, The Sky Held It, the Earth Remembered brings together Rohini Devasher, Sarker Protick and Shahana Rajani in an exhibition exploring land, water and the cosmos as living archives. The artists consider memory, history and ecological change through their respective practices. 

The exhibition runs from 11 September to 15 December at Alserkal Avenue, Dubai.

Zawyeh Gallery

At Zawyeh Gallery, Bashar Khalaf presents The Field of Dreams, bringing together two new series that examine steel in public space. The material becomes a symbol of protection, control and power, prompting questions around the structures and boundaries that shape our surroundings. 

The exhibition runs from 19 September to 8 November at Alserkal Avenue, Dubai.

Firetti Contemporary

Firetti Contemporary presents The Living Archive by Ahmad Tallaa, an exploration of the face as a record of lived experience. Through his work, Tallaa reflects on identity and the experiences accumulated over a lifetime, considering how memory and time become embedded in our physical selves. 

The exhibition runs from 21 September to 11 November at Alserkal Avenue, Dubai.

1x1 Art Gallery

At 1x1 Art Gallery, Sharmila Samant’s Locacola (2000 to ongoing) continues her long running exploration of the tension between global consumer culture and local identity. The ongoing project considers the ways in which consumerism, place and cultural identity intersect. 

The exhibition runs from 23 September to 24 October at Alserkal Avenue, Dubai.

Aisha Alabbar Gallery

Aisha Alabbar Gallery presents What We Carry Becomes the Terrain by Bénédicte Gimonnet, bringing together paintings, drawings and textiles that explore landscape, cultural inheritance and identity across place and time. The exhibition considers how the things we carry, both physically and culturally, can shape our understanding of place. 

It runs from 23 September to 7 November at Alserkal Avenue, Dubai.

Ayyam Gallery

At Ayyam Gallery, Hisham Sharif presents Allusive Veil, a series of autobiographical paintings that move between intimacy, tradition, memory and private life. The works offer a personal reflection on the experiences and influences that shape an individual over time.

The exhibition runs from 23 September to 30 October at Alserkal Avenue, Dubai.

Carbon 12

Carbon 12 presents May the Tree No Longer Burn When I Wake by Amir Khojasteh, an exhibition reflecting on departure, distance, destruction and renewal. Working with ash and the symbolism of the Persian garden, Khojasteh explores ideas of loss and regeneration, bringing together themes of destruction and the possibility of new beginnings. 

The exhibition runs from 23 September to 5 November at Alserkal Avenue, Dubai.

Efie Gallery

At Efie Gallery, Maggie Otieno presents Sojourner: The Difference is the Same, her first solo exhibition. The show features sculptural works made from reclaimed railway sleepers and found materials, reflecting Otieno’s interest in material, transformation and the stories embedded within everyday objects. 

The exhibition runs from 23 September to 13 November at Alserkal Avenue, Dubai.

Gallery Isabelle

Gallery Isabelle presents Bloom Where You Hold Me by Tirdad Hashemi, an exhibition exploring love, intimacy, care and resilience. Hashemi considers these ideas as forces that sustain relationships and communities, creating a body of work that reflects on connection and the ways people support one another. 

The exhibition runs from 23 September to 4 November at Alserkal Avenue, Dubai.

Green Art

At Green Art, Private World brings together Lulua Alyahya, Rami Farook, Sohrab Hura and Khaled Jarada for an intimate group exhibition centred on solitude, inward attention and personal experience. The works invite a closer look at the private spaces and individual perspectives that exist alongside our shared world. 

The exhibition runs from 23 September to 24 October at Alserkal Avenue, Dubai.

Grey Noise

Grey Noise presents The Importance of Staying Quiet: 6. Open Forms by Iqra Tanveer and Faheem Abbas, bringing together conceptual and material practices shaped by stillness and abstraction. The exhibition considers how quietness and open forms can create space for contemplation, allowing material and ideas to take centre stage. 

It runs from 23 September to 30 December at Alserkal Avenue, Dubai.

Lawrie Shabibi

At Lawrie Shabibi, Nada Elkalaawy presents The Butterfly’s Burden, a series of layered paintings exploring memory, loss, regeneration and the passage of time. Through her use of layered surfaces, Elkalaawy reflects on the ways memories accumulate, shift and transform. 

The exhibition opens on 23 September at Alserkal Avenue, Dubai.

Leila Heller Gallery

Leila Heller Gallery presents three exhibitions this season, beginning with Between Land and Sea by Azza Al Qubaisi. The Emirati artist explores identity, heritage and nature through her multidisciplinary practice, bringing together ideas connected to place and cultural memory. 

The exhibition runs from 23 September to 10 November at Alserkal Avenue, Dubai.

Also at Leila Heller Gallery, In Search of Material within Material by Manish Nai explores the relationship between form, space, material and repetition. Nai’s minimalist practice focuses attention on the qualities and possibilities of materials, creating works that encourage a closer consideration of structure and space. 

The exhibition runs from 23 September to 10 November.

The third presentation at Leila Heller Gallery is Between a Fold and a Memory by Karima Al Shomely. Through her multidisciplinary practice, Al Shomely explores memory, identity, place and cultural heritage, considering how personal and collective histories are held within objects, spaces and experiences. 

The exhibition runs from 23 September to 10 November.

Taymour Grahne Projects

Taymour Grahne Projects presents The Canticle of the Birds by Paris based French Algerian artist and filmmaker Katia Kameli. The solo presentation brings together Kameli’s multidisciplinary practice, with the exhibition running from 23 September to 11 November at Alserkal Avenue, Dubai.

The gallery also presents Frogs, Jazz & Blisters, a solo presentation by Kuwaiti artist Dalal Al Obaidi. 

The exhibition offers an opportunity to discover Al Obaidi’s practice and runs from 23 September to 11 November at Alserkal Avenue, Dubai.

The Third Line

At The Third Line, Rana Begum presents Taking Form, featuring new works across textile, wood and paper. The exhibition explores light, colour, material, abstraction and geometry, reflecting Begum’s ongoing interest in the relationship between form and space. 

It runs from 23 September to 10 November at Alserkal Avenue, Dubai.

Waddington Custot

Finally, Waddington Custot presents Sculptures, Furniture and Works on Paper by Bernar Venet. The exhibition offers a survey of Venet’s practice, bringing together his steel sculptures, furniture and works on paper and highlighting the breadth of his work across different mediums. 

The exhibition runs from 26 September to 31 October at Alserkal Avenue, Dubai.

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