Louvre Abu Dhabi and luxury Swiss watchmaker Richard Mille have named the seven shortlisted artists for the third Richard Mille Art Prize. The selected artists will have their works displayed in the Louvre’s Art Here 2023 exhibition.
This year saw diverse submissions received from multinational artists residing in the UAE and the GCC region, with a select group of seven artists from countries including the UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, India and Syria securing their place on the coveted shortlist. Artists Alaa Tarabzouni, Farah Behbehani, Hashel Al Lamki, Nabla Yahya, Sarah Brahim, Sawsan and Bahar Al Bahar, and Zahrah Al Ghamdi will have works showcased in the Art Here 2023 exhibition, and are in the running for The Richard Mille Art Prize and its accompanying AED220,400 cash award.
Alaa Tarabzouni, a Saudi Arabian architect turned art curator, centres her work around urbanity and the built environment. Farah Behbehani is a Kuwaiti multidisciplinary artist focusing on the Arabic letter, continuously investigating its layered meanings and exploring the boundaries of its physical form. Hashel Al Lamki is an Emirati painter and multidisciplinary artist who unpacks the relationship between humankind and their habitats in his work. Born and raised in the UAE, Nabla Yahya is an Indian artist whose work explores celluloid, earth and the ethereal through video, space and text, revealing suppressed histories. Sarah Brahim is a Saudi Arabian visual and performance artist working across many mediums to present work rooted in experiences of the body. Syrian siblings Sawsan and Bahar Al Bahar are artists, architects and researchers who create multidisciplinary works that move between art, design, materials research and digital fabrication. Hailing from Saudi Arabia, Zahrah Al Ghamdi’s art explores memory and history through traditional architecture in both medium and assemblage.
Opening to the public on 24 November 2023 and running till 18 February 2024, the Art Here 2023 exhibition will offer the opportunity to discover these artists’ interpretation of transparency through visual and perceptional significance. Curated by Maya El Khalil, the sculptures and installations featured this year employ the interplay of sunlight, shadows and water reflections.
Curator Maya El Khalil said: “Reviewing the proposals for Louvre Abu Dhabi's third Art Here exhibition was an inspiring challenge. The jury was struck by the wealth of thought-provoking submissions that offered fresh perspectives, expanding the theme of Transparencies in surprising ways. They work ambitiously with materials, challenge historical narratives, and invite reflection on urgent issues with local and global impact.
"Selecting just seven installations was difficult but rewarding. Together, the chosen pieces offer an intriguing dialogue through their diverse mediums, interpretations and concepts. I'm thrilled these artists have the opportunity to showcase their practice in one of the world's most extraordinary museum settings and I look forward to the coming months of development."
The international Jury Panel includes Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, an Advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), Chairman of UAE Unlimited, an art collector, and a patron of the Centre Pompidou, the British Museum and Sharjah Art Foundation; Dr. Souraya Noujaim, Director of the Islamic Arts department at Musée du Louvre in France, and former Director for Scientific, Curatorial and Collections Management at Louvre Abu Dhabi; Maya El Khalil, independent curator and art advisor, former Founding Director of Athr Gallery in Jeddah, and curator of Louvre Abu Dhabi Art Here 2023; Clare Lilley, Director of Yorkshire Sculpture Park, the selector of the annual Frieze Sculpture in London’s Regent’s Park 2012-22 and a trustee of Art UK, London, the George Rickey Foundation, New York, and the Jupiter Artland Foundation, Edinburgh; Dr. Guilhem André, Acting Director for Scientific, Curatorial and Collections Management at Louvre Abu Dhabi, seasoned museum professional, expert archaeologist and art historian; and Mohammed Kazem, a renowned Emirati artist previously shortlisted for the 2021 edition of Art Here.
For more information on Louvre Abu Dhabi Art Here 2023 and The Richard Mille Art Prize, please visit www.louvreabudhabi.ae/en/Explore/art-here-2023.
