Hera Büyüktaşcıyan

After being held as a virtual event in 2020, Abu Dhabi Art is making a triumphant return in physical form this year, taking place from 17 to 21 November at Manarat Al Saadiyat, with the internationally renowned fair announcing its guest curators and commissioned artists for 2021.

The Beyond: Artist Commissions programme was launched in 2017 to present new, site- specific public installations by established artists in public spaces across the Emirate. This year’s programme is the most ambitious to date, with works being shown in historic and cultural sites throughout the capital. Beyond: Artist Commissions will launch during the fair and remain open for three months as part of Abu Dhabi Art’s year-round programming. Each year, the fair also features In & Around, with distributed spaces throughout the fair venue for galleries to show large-scale installations outside their booth space.

The commissioned artists for Beyond: Artist Commissions will also be showing large-scale artworks at the fair as part of Abu Dhabi Art’s on-site programme, In & Around, to connect fairgoers to the off-site projects. Other artists who will be presenting their works as part of In & Around include Alfredo Jaar, artist, architect and filmmaker who is represented by Giorgio Persano Gallery (Turin); Hera Büyüktaşcıyan, who examines the relationship between labour and productivity and the power dynamics embedded in the shaping of social, urban and historical landscapes and who is represented by Green Art Gallery (Dubai); Siah Armajani, a leading artist with a decades-long career, best known for his work in public art and who is represented by Rossi & Rossi (London, Hong Kong); and Zineb Sedira, who works across photography, film, sculpture and installation and is represented by The Third Line (Dubai).