1980 – Today: Exhibitions in the United Arab Emirates condenses the history of UAE art

The exhibition takes 1980 as the nominal start point, because that was the year the Emirates Fine Arts Society was founded, although the works on display date back to 1969.

1980 – Today: Exhibitions in the United Arab Emirates features 15 Emirati artists. Courtesy National Pavilion UAE – La Biennale di Venezia
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After making its debut at last year's Venice Biennale, 1980 – Today: Exhibitions in the United Arab Emirates is coming home.

The exhibition, which features works by 15 Emirati artists, is an ambitious attempt to condense the history of contemporary art produced in the UAE.

It takes 1980 as the nominal start point, because that was the year the Emirates Fine Arts Society was founded, although the works on display date back to 1969.

The show’s curator, Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi, who is also the founder and president of the Sharjah Art Foundation, has mined the society’s archives to find some truly classic pieces, many of which have not been shown in an exhibition for many years.

More than 100 pieces will be displayed in Sharjah Art Foundation’s newest space – The Flying Saucer building. Itself a part of anecdotal history, the building dates back to the 1970s and, as the name suggests, resembles an alien spacecraft, with its jagged edges and bright colours.

The show, which opens on Saturday and will run for three months, is an extraordinary display of UAE art.

aseaman@thenational.ae