AUD Faculty Members to exhibit in Bastakia during the Creek Contemporary Art Fair

Among the many international and local artists and galleries represented, the faculty from the American University in Dubai is creating a diverse and engaging range of art works, which include painting, photography, printmaking, and installation art in the exhibition entitled Villa 111.

The Creek Contemporary Art Fair, run in conjunction with the Gulf Art Fair, is the first initiative of its kind in Dubai, which heralds the beginning of Dubai's rising eminence in the field of art. Participants in Villa 111 are excited to be a part of this growth and to have a platform to address an international audience.

"AUD's faculty members were approached with the idea of the Creek Contemporary Art Fair in its early stages of development and they agreed that it was a fantastic opportunity to represent local and regionally based artists, alongside those being showcased at the Gulf Art Fair at the Madinat Jumeirah.

'The United Arab Emirates is overripe for the arts, with projects like the Gulf Art Fair in Dubai, the Sharjah Biennial, and several world-class museums slated for construction in Abu Dhabi. It is a rare occasion to be standing at the epicenter of such groundbreaking developments, to say you were part of that energy," said Raymond Prucher, Assistant Professor of Visual Communications at AUD.

"The historic environment in the Bastakia neighborhood is a wonderful, exciting space to exhibit in. It offers artists and designers a chance to show artwork in a gorgeous location; and it's a great way to draw the public into the Bastakia area. Dubai really is a unique city combining the old and the new, and showing contemporary artwork in historic Bastakia is a great idea," said Sarah Lahti, Assistant Professor of Visual Communications at AUD.

Villa 111 houses the creative efforts of a wide range of international practitioners who now all work at the American University in Dubai. The themes address personal passions as well as local and regional perceptions from people who have lived in Dubai and the region for a number of years. The exhibiting artists include Julia Townsend, Roberto Lopardo, Sarah Lahti, Jusri DeVries, Zara Mahmood, Hamad Al-Awar, Michael Bray, Marcelo Lima, and Raymond Prucher.

In cooperation with the Bastakia Municipality and the XVA Gallery in Bastakia, AUD's faculty will be holding an opening event on March 6, with the artists in attendance, to welcome visitors and engage the public regarding their works. The exhibition will remain open for public viewing from March 6-10.