In Leading to the Middle, curator Munira Al Sayegh revisits the sites, mentors, and moments that shaped the UAE’s contemporary art ecosystem. Her section of ‘Rays, Ripples, Residue’ traces how influence circulates through communities and how collective histories continue to shape the present.
‘Rays, Ripples, Residue’, 2025. Installation view. Image courtesy of 421 Arts Campus, Abu Dhabi. Photography by Ismail Noor, Seeing Things
For curator Munira Al Sayegh, the past decade of the UAE’s art scene cannot be understood through a single narrative. Instead, it unfolds through movements, catalysts, and communities. Her section of ‘Rays, Ripples, Residue’, titled Leading to the Middle, takes this belief as its foundation. Rather than offering a linear retrospective, she constructs a map of anchors that people, spaces, and moments that continue to generate ripples across the creative ecosystem.
“The notion of time, for me, is essential to my curatorial practice,” she explains. “We are considering the trajectories, evolutions, and subtle shifts that have shaped our ecosystem.” Over the past ten years, the UAE art scene has expanded rapidly, branching into new forms of collaboration, new institutions, and new languages of making. Leading to the Middle becomes a way to acknowledge these shifts while also honouring the forces that set them in motion.
Tarek Al-Ghoussein, Abu Dhabi Archipelago (Ramhan), 2015. Courtesy of the artist and The Third Line, Dubai
Between Memory and Movement
Although anniversary exhibitions often risk falling into nostalgia, Al Sayegh approached the past with careful balance. “Nostalgia is a romanticisation of people, places, and moments,” she says. “It is a natural state of human emotion, but I didn’t want it to be the main lens of how you see my section.” Instead, she focused on biography and influence.
Her curation foregrounds figures like Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim, whose pioneering practice shaped early contemporary art in the UAE, and the late Tarek Al Ghoussein, whose mentorship and vision left a deep imprint on emerging generations. She also highlights platforms like UAE Unlimited, which provided early opportunities for young artists to experiment and grow.
“These anchors reveal how creative influence moves,” she explains. “Anyone can be an anchor, and any space or platform can serve in the manner of one.”
‘Rays, Ripples, Residue’, 2025. Installation view. Auguste Nomeikaite, On Foraging_ From the Field, 2022. Feral Matters (MiZa Emergence), 2024 – ongoing. Digital Photography. Image courtesy of 421 Arts Campus, Abu Dhabi. Photography by Ism 2
A Return to 421
Leading to the Middle carries personal resonance for Al Sayegh, who began her curatorial path at 421 when it was still known as Warehouse 421. “Returning to it feels significant,” she notes. The exhibition allowed her to revisit a site that shaped her early thinking about community, mentorship, and ecosystem-building. It also allowed her to reflect on how curatorial practice itself has evolved, becoming more collaborative and more attuned to the invisible labor behind cultural production.
The ripples she traces are not abstract. They reflect friendships, dialogues, shared experiments, and quiet acts of support that rarely appear in formal histories. By bringing these influences into focus, she offers a portrait of a scene built not on spectacle, but on interdependence.
Tarek Al-Ghoussein, Abu Dhabi Archipelago (Jubail), 2015. Courtesy of the artist and The Third Line, Dubai
What the Ecosystem Still Needs
Even as the UAE art world expands, Al Sayegh is clear-eyed about what remains underdeveloped. “Policy,” she says, “Clear guidelines around how artists and curators can work, the capacities in which they can operate, and the licenses and frameworks they need are still evolving.”
When asked to sum up the future of art in the UAE in one word, she chooses “expansive.” It is a future defined not just by ambition, but by breadth, depth, and collective contribution.
‘Rays, Ripples, Residue’, 2025. Installation view. Tarek Al-Ghoussein, Abu Dhabi Archipelago (series), 2015. Digital Print. Image courtesy of 421 Arts Campus, Abu Dhabi. Photography by Ismail Noor, Seeing Things
An Invitation to Recognise Our Own Imprints
Ultimately, Al Sayegh hopes that Leading to the Middle encourages visitors to see themselves as part of the story. “We’re all part of a wider network, a web of connections that is vital to navigate together,” she says. The exhibition highlights the idea that cultural ecosystems depend on many forms of contribution, from mentorship and publishing to organizing, archiving, and simply showing up.
“I hope visitors reflect on their own role within their ecosystems,” she says, “and recognize that every contribution resonates, leaves an imprint, leading to a ripple effect.”
Her section reminds us that history is not made only by institutions or icons. It is shaped by the many hands that hold the scene, steady it, and push it forward. The UAE’s next decade of artistic production will rest on these collective gestures, expanding outward in ripples still to come.
‘Rays, Ripples, Residue’ is on view at 421 Arts Campus until 24 April 2026. For more information, visit 421.online.
