Rays, Ripples, Residue: Abu Dhabi’s 421 Arts Campus Surveys a Decade of UAE Art

421 Arts Campus has inaugurated Rays, Ripples, Residue, a multifaceted exhibition designed to critically map the trajectory of artistic production and exhibition-making in the United Arab Emirates over the past decade. Rather than a traditional retrospective, the presentation is framed as an inquiry into the “lasting impressions, afterimages, and material residues” that have come to define the region’s contemporary art landscape. Organized structurally into three chapters by curators Munira Al Sayegh, Nadine Khalil, and Murtaza Vali, the show moves beyond chronological documentation to analyze the organic attachments between artists, institutions, and the wider socio-cultural infrastructure.

Leading to the Middle

The exhibition’s first chapter is curated by Munira Al Sayegh, who utilizes the metaphor of a ripple effect to examine the expansion of the UAE’s arts ecosystem. Al Sayegh’s inquiry traces the genealogy of influence within the community, specifically highlighting the intergenerational impact of figures such as Tarek Al-Ghoussein and Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim. The curator posits that these practitioners have generated “lasting reverberations,” establishing pivotal moments that continue to inform current practice. This section includes works by artists and spaces such as Bait 15, Adele Bea Cipste, and Lamya Gargash, illustrating the pivotal attachments that underpin the scene.

Ghosts of Arrival

In the second chapter, curator Nadine Khalil addresses the temporal concept of the “after.” Khalil’s framework reflects on the period following the initial phase of “artistic ferment” and risk-taking that characterized cultural production in the UAE from the early 2000s to the mid-2010s. Entering the discourse after this formative era, Khalil examines the quieter structures that have since emerged, suggesting that the memory of past risk has transmuted into a material substance shaping contemporary output. The selection features collectives and artists including Hashel Al Lamki, Sarah Daher, and Isaac Sullivan, focusing on the layered experience of arrival and presence.

SUN™

The final perspective is curated by Murtaza Vali and aggregates artworks produced in recent years that engage with the sun as a primary subject. Vali recontextualizes the sun not through its traditional association with life, but as a mediated, commodified entity—simultaneously functioning as image, data, brand, and product. The works presented in this chapter critique narratives of modernity and progress, situating the sun’s aesthetic appeal against urgent discourses regarding consumption and climate change. Featured artists include Charbel-joseph H. Boutros, Raja’a Khalid, and Lantian Xie.

Exhibition Highlights and Institutional Context

Significant commissioned works anchor the thematic inquiries of the curators. Liham Mula Sa Araw (Letters from the Sun) by Sa Tahanan Co. presents a collaborative response to Modesh, the mascot of Dubai Summer Surprises. Through a series of postcards created by Filipino creatives based in the UAE, the installation offers a sociological examination of the commodification of happiness and the role of cultural symbols in shaping national identity. Additionally, The Bed by Bait 15 features a large white mattress surrounded by photographs, creating a contemplative environment that interrogates themes of intimacy, domesticity, and the interplay between private and public space.

The exhibition serves as a marker for the institution’s tenth anniversary. Since its founding, 421 Arts Campus has supported more than 1,500 emerging creative practitioners and commissioned hundreds of new works across visual art, design, and performance. The organization has delivered approximately 2,000 programs, ranging from residencies and grants to exhibitions, establishing a pedagogical and developmental hub for the region’s creative sector.

Rays, Ripples, Residue is currently on view at Galleries 1 & 2, 421 Arts Campus, Abu Dhabi, and will remain open until April 26, 2026.