Healthy artistic reach

Art therapy: Works from three generations of Emiratis will be displayed for three months in Cleveland, Ohio.

The first-generation Emirati artist Najat Makki’s untitled painting depicts a strong, female form in a sea of texture. Courtesy Najat Makki / ADMAF

After a hugely successful run in Sotheby’s in London, the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation’s (Admaf) exhibition Three Generations has moved to the United States.

As part of their constant efforts to expand audiences for Emirati art, as well as to explore its healing powers, Admaf has partnered with the Cleveland Clinic in the US to display 16 pieces.

The show, which opened on UAE National Day and will run until the end of March, is installed in the Cleveland Clinic’s Art Exhibition Area, located in the company’s headquarters in Ohio.

As the name suggests, the art includes pieces from three generations of Emirati artists. From the first generation, Najat Makki’s untitled painting is a figurative piece that depicts a strong, female form in a sea of texture, and Karima Al Shomaly’s acrylic on canvas Emirati Burqa, is a reflection of her career-long investigation into the burqa – a disappearing element of her culture.

Al Shomaly, who has exhibited previously in London and Hamburg and is currently studying for her doctoral degree in London, says that having her work displayed in the clinic marks a milestone in her career.

“When the artist displays his or her artwork, the most important to him is the audience and, in this case, it is being used to help with the care of patients, so it is extremely important,” she says.

One generation down features another Sharjah artist, Ebtisam Abdulaziz, whose performance piece Autobiography shows her in a full-body suit covered in numbers. The piece dates back to 2007 and is still considered pioneering for breaking taboos.

Jalal Luqman’s The Hint of a Smile, which depicts a digitally repainted version of the Mona Lisa inside an old door and Mattar bin Lahej’s Depth and Speed, a sculpture of moving horses, are important as pieces that reflect the artists’ pursuits.

The younger artists include Maitha Demithan, who uses a unique technique called scanography, where she uses a scanner to capture the image of her subjects, then combines the images to create ethereal end products, which appear to float in darkness. Strangely compelling and beautiful, Demithan’s contribution is Rashid bin Saeed. For it, she scanned the bisht (brown robe) once worn by Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the former prime minister of the UAE and late ruler of Dubai.

In another piece, Dana Al Mazrouei has created an oversized pair of sunglasses reflecting the skyline of Abu Dhabi.

Al Mazrouei is a 26-year-old artist who has exhibited in a number of public venues as well as a collection of galleries. “I enjoy these spaces more than galleries because there is more interaction with the audience and that is actually the reason that I first created this work,” she says. “Also, I really believe in art therapy.”

The collaboration and exploration of art therapy began in 2009 when Iva Fattorini, the chair of the Cleveland Clinic’s Global Arts and Medicine Institute, was invited to speak at the Abu Dhabi Festival.

The two institutions have been working together ever since, with this exhibition marking the first time many of the artists will have been exhibited in the US.

“The intersection of cultures and experiences is where the future of progress happens – in arts as well as medicine,” says Dr Fattorini. “Our collaboration with Admaf has shown the transcultural power of arts in connecting people regardless of where we come from. Art can take us into new worlds, cultures and state of mind.”

Hoda Al Khamis Kanoo, the founder of Admaf, adds that the exhibition underlines her commitment to cultural diplomacy and is the fruit of a joint journey into discovering the healing power of music and art within health care.

“Music and art are able to unite people from different backgrounds through the commonality of emotion and artistic expression – allowing the exchange of ideas, values, traditions and other aspects of culture and identity, while helping the healing process through changing the state of one’s body and mind,” she says.

She says that Three Generations also provides “a window into the cultural currents of the UAE through the eyes of some of its established and emerging creative minds”.

• Three Generations will run until March 31 in the Cleveland Clinic’s Art Exhibition Area, Ohio, US