The NYU Abu Dhabi presents TRACE: Archives and Reunions new exhibition virtual tour

As the world continues to practice physical distancing amid the current global pandemic, The NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Art Gallery invites the public to virtually reunite with artists and curators from its past exhibitions, and re-trace those exhibitions through the Gallery’s first-ever digital archive. "TRACE: Archives and Reunions" is a series of ten events and archive releases that will enable viewers to digitally explore each of The NYUAD Art Gallery’s past exhibitions every two weeks over the course of the summer. Each exhibition’s archive include a range of material, such as the youth guides, illustrated by a local artist and developed by Assistant Director of Publications Alaa Edris; book publications; installation photos; videos; brochures; and audio guides. Audiences can virtually join a series of events in which curators reunite with artists for a conversation to revisit their past exhibitions at The NYUAD Art Gallery, as well as their current and future work. The inaugural event reunites the UAE-based artists from Speculative Landscapes.



The first archive to launch is that of Speculative Landscapes. Curated by Executive Director of The NYUAD Art Gallery and the University’s Chief Curator Maya Allison in 2019, this exhibition featured four newly commissioned installations by UAE-based artists. Areej Kaoud, Ayman Zedani, Jumairy, and Raja’a Khalid have established reputations in the UAE, and have continued to gain international attention since this exhibition.

Every installation in the exhibition offered both a physical and metaphorical landscape of the artist’s projected world. Working from observations of life in the UAE and beyond, these artists today continue to reflect back on our surroundings through: the lenses of risk (Kaoud), virtual reality (Jumairy), human-plant relations (Zedani), and the intersection of marketing with our metaphysical body (Khalid).

The virtual reunion with all four artists and Allison will be held on Monday, May 18 at 9pm via Zoom. The conversation will explore what the artists are working on now, where they are, and how they are experiencing this new era that has emerged since their exhibition closed last December. To register for the talk, please visit this link.

"TRACE: Archives and Reunions" will eventually lead up to the launch of a six-year anniversary publication, one that will act as a retrospective of The Art Gallery’s journey since its inception.

For more information, please visit the NYU Abu Dhabi HERE.