A selection of nearly 70 Modern and Contemporary artworks from the region will feature in the Dubai Collection’s first physical exhibition, When Images Speak: Highlights from the Dubai Collection, which opens to the public on Saturday (November 6) at Etihad Museum in Dubai.

Curated by Dr Nada Shabout, the show features museum-quality pieces by Baya Mahieddine, Naziha Selim, Fateh Moudarres, Dia al-Azzawi, and Abdul Qader Al Rais.

The Digital Museum of the Dubai Collection, launching on Thursday (November 4), constitutes a unique educational resource for the general public and will feature the artworks and artists represented in Dubai Collection, alongside engaging editorial content, said a statement.

The artworks in the exhibition have been lent into the Dubai Collection initiative from the collections of 11 patrons of the Dubai Collection, providing a unique moment for residents and visitors to Dubai to engage with artworks that would not usually be publicly accessible.

Alongside the opportunity to view pieces from The Private Collection of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and The Private Collection of Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, visitors will be able to see works from the A.R.M Holding Art Collection, The Cyba Audi Private Collection, the Snow Feinan Li Private Collection, the Ali & Rafia Malas Private Collection, The Mokbel Art Collection, the private collection of His Excellency Abdul Rahman bin Mohammed Al Owais, The Samawi Collection, The Private Collection of El Shaer Brothers, and the Charles Al Sidaoui, Private Collection, Dubai.

The exhibition unfolds across three thematic chapters, Abstract Variations, Societies in Transition, and Evoking the Environment, while tracing a historical survey of the negotiations through Arab modernism and its progression into contemporary trends. A central element of the exhibition is the digital display of historic issues of Al Tashkeel Magazine, documenting a dynamic academic and intellectual exchange between many of the artists on show at this exhibition and highlighting the UAE’s active role, not just as a creative hub for artists, but also in writing the art history of its region.

Muna Faisal Al Gurg, Chair of the Dubai Collection Curatorial Committee, commented: “I am truly delighted to see the first physical exhibition of the Dubai Collection open at Etihad Museum. The museum provides the ideal backdrop for an initiative that embodies the innovative and progressive spirit of Dubai. The Dubai Collection team is exceptionally grateful to its patrons for entrusting their valuable artworks to the Dubai Collection; without their support, this one-of-a-kind historical survey of the art from our region would not have been possible. We are equally excited to be launching the Digital Museum of the Dubai Collection tomorrow, which constitutes a unique public educational resource.”

The Digital Museum of the Dubai Collection is a virtual repository for the works in the initiative, featuring a catalogue of works included in the collection, biographical information on each of the artists, as well as a host of essays and articles around the history of collecting in the UAE, profiles of prominent patrons involved in the initiative and further information around the works. The Digital Museum aims to be a resource for art lovers and researchers alike, providing unparalleled information on artworks from private and corporate collections, contextualized by academically rigorous and engaging editorial content. The Digital Museum will be accessible via: dubaicollection.ae

The Dubai Collection is the first institutional art collection of its kind. Introducing an innovative new system of sourcing, managing and governing artworks by patrons and collectors from across the emirate, public and private entities, as well as individuals are invited to contribute to the Dubai Collection by either acquiring artworks for loaning to the collection or lending artworks from their own collections.

The motivation behind the initiative is to support patronage, enrich Dubai’s artistic landscape, document its history and consolidate its position as a global cultural hub. By encouraging patrons to display art loaned by them to the Dubai Collection at publicly accessible venues, the initiative seeks to transform the emirate into a city-wide museum and bring the community closer to art and artists, said the statement.

The Etihad Museum operation hours are daily from 10am – 8pm. Admission to the exhibition is included in your museum ticket.