Whispers of the Past

A group show by Aisha Alabbar Gallery in collaboration with Sotheby’s Middle East at Sotheby’s gallery space in DIFC. It featyures five influential rgeional artists – Najat Makki, Khalid Al Banna, Sara Al Haddad, Sara Aref Ahli, and Samar Hejazi – each of whom draws from personal narratives, regional histories, and cultural heritage to create works that engage with questions of memory, identity, and inheritance, offering nuanced reflections on how the past shapes both individual and collective experience.

Says the gallery: “At the heart of the exhibition lies an invitation to listen closely to the stories etched in surfaces, suspended in space, or woven through patterns and repetition. ‘Whispers of the Past’ does not speak loudly; instead, it draws viewers into a contemplative space, where quiet gestures reveal enduring legacies”.

The opening programme includes Brushes Between Us: Art and Legacy, a brunch talk to open the exhibition at 11.30am on 11 September. Munira Al Sayegh moderates a panel that includes artists Najat Makki, Khaled Al Banna, and Sara Al Haddad. RSVP here for an invite.

To 14 November.

Above: Sara Al Haddad, Remembering(s) (2018)