Art in the Middle x Fatma Lootah: Emirati Women’s Day Exhibition

Art in the Middle Magazine is excited to team up with Emirati artist Fatma Lootah for a special exhibition celebrating Emirati Women’s Day

The show will be held at ME Dubai Hotel on the third floor, from 20 August to 30 September 2026.

Emirati Women’s Day was first celebrated on 28 August 2015, following an initiative by Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak. The date marks the founding of the General Women’s Union in 1975 and honours the achievements, contributions and enduring role of Emirati women in shaping the UAE.

Lootah is one of the UAE’s most unique contemporary artists, bringing a truly Emirati perspective to her work. She creates sophisticated, collectible pieces inspired by memory, place, and time. Her artistic journey is closely tied to House 35, her studio in Dubai’s historic Al Fahidi neighbourhood, which has played a key role in her work since 2010 when it was gifted to her by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in recognition of her contribution to the arts.

The exhibition brings together a selection of compelling works, each exploring identity, memory, femininity and the enduring threads of human connection.

The Two Women (2021) portrays two female figures emerging from a richly saturated red ground. Expressive layers of colour and texture draw the figures into dialogue, exploring ideas of connection and shared identity while preserving an intriguing sense of individuality and mystery.

In The Violet Dress (2015), a graceful female figure emerges from a dark, atmospheric background, illuminated by nuanced tones of violet and blue. Fluid fabric and gestural brushwork lend the composition a subtle sense of movement, while its restrained palette evokes a mood of introspection and quiet contemplation.

Grandma (2022) offers a tender portrait rendered in deep greens and blues, punctuated by warm red accents. The elongated figure conveys a quiet strength and dignity, while her traditional adornments and commanding presence speak to heritage, memory and the enduring legacy of generations past.

For Art in the Middle, the collaboration is an opportunity to celebrate not only Lootah’s work, but the wider creative voices and stories that continue to shape the UAE’s cultural landscape. As we celebrate Emirati Women’s Day, it is also a moment to recognise the women who have contributed to the country’s artistic story, both past and present.
The exhibition takes place at ME Dubai Hotel, located within The Opus in Business Bay, one of Dubai’s most recognisable architectural landmarks designed by the late Dame Zaha Hadid. The building’s striking form brings together two towers around a dramatic central void, creating a fluid relationship between architecture, light and space. Zaha Hadid Architects also designed the hotel’s interiors, making ME Dubai a natural setting for a presentation that places art and design side by side.

Bringing Lootah’s work into this environment creates a dialogue between Emirati artistic identity and one of Dubai’s most recognisable examples of contemporary architecture. It is a meeting of different creative languages, connected by a shared interest in place, form and the way we experience our surroundings.

For Art in the Middle, it feels particularly special to celebrate Emirati Women’s Day through the work of an artist whose practice is so closely connected to the UAE, its history and its evolving cultural landscape.

Visit: Instagram Reel of Art in the Middle and Fatma Lootah Exhibition