AYYAM GALLERY Alserkal Avenue
Ayyam’s Alserkal show celebrates the tenth anniversary of its founding by highlighting all 52 artists who have had Ayyam solo shows in the past decade – hence the name.
There’s painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, video, and installation work by some of the region’s top names – among them Leila Nseir, Moustafa Ali, Samia Halaby, Rula Halawani, and Rashed Al Shashai.
The focus is on contemporary Arab and Iranian aesthetics. The 10:52 includes a whole chronology of Syrian Expressionism, for example, detailed in the paintings and drawings of Youssef Abdelke, Asaad Arabi, Asma Fayoumi, Safwan Dahoul, and Tammam Azzam.
Photography is another commitment, as seen in images by Sama Alshaibi and Lara Zankoul, and so is conceptual art – evident in the works of Khaled Jarrar and Ammar Al Beik, who reconfigure or reference ordinary objects to reveal a dystopian side of political reality.
A clutch of younger artists have also benefitted from their connection to Ayyam Gallery, thanks both to the Shabab Ayyam incubator programme (launchpad for Kais Salman and Mohannad Orabi) and a similarly mentored artist residency in Dubai.
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