Dubai art represents thriving cultural landscape

Photographs of Dubai by Cedric Delsaux were one of the highlights of an exhibition that took place in London this month. Delsaux's collection, entitled The Dark Lens, was inspired by the Star Wars films and was previously on show at the Empty Quarter in Dubai. The pictures show futuristic robots and machines superimposed on scenes from contemporary Dubai.

The organisers of Dubai Futures, which was staged in association with the Mayor of London’s Shubbak festival, said they chose the artworks featured in order to challenge stereotypes about Emirates culture and "glimpse of the creative, grassroots energy that has deveoped over the past five years and lead to the city’s status as a major cultural centre for the region". The AIR Gallery in London's Dover Street co-ordinated the display.

Author Ahmed Makia launched his new book Evolving Spaces: Dubai's emerging cultural districts during the exhibition and there was also music from Soufian Saihi.

Ahmed Bin Shabib, co-founder of Brownbook, which published Evolving Spaces, said: “Dubai is not necessarily perceived as having a thriving cultural landscape, but this is simply not true. What we’re seeing on the ground is a real buzz and a whole new breed of young and dynamic cultural entrepreneurs coming through.

"The scene is growing and not just in terms of galleries and collectors but production as well. Dubai Futures is great because it gives us an opportunity to showcase Dubai in a different light – a fun look through an artist’s eyes – while also having a meaningful conversation about what is happening.”

Find out more about the exhibition here.