Artist Nadia Kaabi-Linke to host Berlin meeting on UAE art of the 1990s
Artist Nadia Kaabi-Linke is preparing an informal gathering at her studio in Berlin, Germany, where guests will discuss the art scene of the United Arab Emirates in the 1990s. One of the participants will travel to the event from the UAE specifically for it, The National reports.
Kaabi-Linke was born in Tunisia in 1978 and spent her teenage years in the UAE. In the 1990s, she painted watercolours depicting Sharjah port and the ice rink at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Dubai. She was taught the fundamentals of art by her mother of Ukrainian origin. The artist also visited the Sharjah Art Museum, where local artists were offered residencies.
A career that began in Sharjah
According to the artist, her time in the Emirates was decisive for her professional development. After leaving Dubai, she went to Tunisia and France, but associates the beginning of her career specifically with Sharjah.
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She gained recognition through her participation in the 2009 Sharjah Biennial. Her breakthrough work was Under Standing Over Views, a composition of fragments that form the shape of the seven emirates. The outline of the UAE becomes visible when standing beneath the installation. The work, through which the artist wanted to speak about the country’s openness, was shown several times in Berlin.
A space for dialogue
The artist calls the gatherings at her Berlin studio “lamma,” an Arabic word for an informal get-together. The current event will be the third in a series she launched after war broke out in the Middle East on October 7, 2023. Kaabi-Linke explained that she seeks to offer her space for a safe critical conversation.
The artist’s connection with the UAE has remained after her move: her father stayed in the country and established himself as a director in Emirati football. Kaabi-Linke also has a permanent sculpture at the Dubai Expo site. She recently returned from Uzbekistan, where she showed the work Flying Carpets, which was acquired by the Guggenheim collection. The work was inspired by tighter measures against illegal migration in Italy.
