Najat Makki is an Emirati visual artist. She is a member of the Dubai Cultural Council. and one of the pioneers in Emirati contemporary art scene.
Mohammed Seif al-Din Wanly, most commonly referred to simply as Seif Wanly was an Egyptian painter.
Salah Taher (1911–2007) was an Egyptian painter.
Tahia Mohammed Halim was an Egyptian painter. Tahia Halim was one of the pioneers of the Modern Expressive Movement in Egyptian Art in the 1960s, where she excelled in expressing the Egyptian character’s idiosyncrasies in her works. Many of her works concern the Nubian culture, the Nile, boats, and the popular and national subjects for which she has been granted several honorary awards in Egypt and abroad.
Abdul Qader Al Rais is a multi-award-winning, Emirati painter noted for his abstract art which combines geometric shapes with Arabic calligraphy. He is known for including calligraphy and abstracted objects in his paintings, and regarded as a colour master.
Hassan Sharif was an Emirati artist and prolific writer. He lived and worked in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He is widely regarded as a central figure in contemporary and conceptual art in the region, often known as the father of conceptual art in the Gulf. He founded Al Marijah Art Atelier, and through his extensive work and writings, he inspired the next generation of artists in the United Arab Emirates. His work is represented in major public collections, such as the Guggenheim New York, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Centre Pompidou, Mathaf Arab Museum of Modern Art, Tate Modern, and Sharjah Art Foundation.
The Sharjah Biennial is a large-scale contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in the city of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The first Sharjah Biennial took place in 1993, and was organized by the Sharjah Department of Culture and Information until it is reorientation in 2003 by Hoor bint Sultan Al Qasimi.
Emirates Fine Arts Society is a non-profit association of art professionals in the United Arab Emirates, established in 1980. The Head Office is located in Sharjah, and there are branches in Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaimah and Khor Fakkan.
The Sharjah Art Foundation is a contemporary art and cultural foundation based in Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates, founded in 2009 by Hoor Al Qasimi, daughter of Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi, a member of the Supreme Council of the United Arab Emirates and current ruler of Sharjah, to support artists and artistic practice in the Sharjah communities, the UAE, and the region via different platforms that include Sharjah Biennial, the annual March Meeting, art residencies, production grants, commissions, art exhibitions, artistic research and publications. The foundation include exhibitions featuring the work of Arab and international artists, performances, music, film screenings, artist talks, and educational for a range or audience from children to adults. The Sharjah Art foundation strives to promote public learning and participating in art practices.
Mohammed Kazem is a contemporary Emirati artist working in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He works primarily with video, sound art, photography, found objects and performance art.
Hussain Sharif is an Emirati artist based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Co-founder of Emirates Fine Arts Society and is one of the original "Five" conceptual artist in the UAE including Mohammed Kazem, Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim, Abdullah Al Saadi and his brother Hassan Sharif.
Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim is an Emirati artist from Khor Fakkan and one of the pioneer "five" conceptual artists from the United Arab Emirates including Hassan Sharif, Abdullah Al Saadi, Hussain Sharif and Mohammed Kazem.
Abdulraheem Salim is an Emirati painter and sculptor born in Dubai and lives in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. He is one of the first contributors to the fine art movements in the UAE alongside Hassan Sharif, Abdul Qader Al Raes and others. Salim completed his Bachelor of Fine arts and sculpture at the University of Cairo in 1981.
March Meeting is an annual gathering of international art practitioners and art institutions in Middle East and North Africa. Organized by Sharjah Art Foundation and was launched in 2008 in the city of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, to encourage regional art professionals to connect, partner and share ideas in the sphere of contemporary art.
Wael Shawky is an Egyptian artist working between Alexandria and Philadelphia. Shawky gained international recognition for his works that trace the history of the Crusades through a Middle Eastern lens. Shawky has won many awards and prizes for his work, including the Ernst Schering Foundation Art Award in 2011 and the Mario Merz Prize (2015) for his film trilogy, Al Araba Al Madfuna. He is represented by Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Galleria Lia Rumma and Lisson Gallery.
The Hurufiyya movement (Arabic: حروفية ḥurūfiyyah adjectival form ḥurūfī, 'of letters' is an aesthetic movement that emerged in the second half of the twentieth century amongst artists from Muslim countries, who used their understanding of traditional Islamic calligraphy within the precepts of modern art. By combining tradition and modernity, these artists worked towards developing a culture-specific visual language, which instilled a sense of national identity in their respective nation-states when many of these states were shaking off colonial rule and asserting their independence. They adopted the same name as the Hurufi, an approach of Persian Sufism which emerged in the late 14th–early 15th century. Art historian Sandra Dagher has described Hurufiyya as the most important movement to emerge in Arabic art in the 20th century.
Manal Al Dowayan is a Saudi Arabian contemporary artist, best known for her installation piece Suspended Together from the Home Ground Exhibition at the Barjeel Art Foundation in 2011. She has shown work in a number of shows including the 2012 Soft Power show at Alan Art Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the 2013 Journey of Belonging, a solo show at Athr Gallery in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the 2017 100 Masterpieces of Modern and Contemporary Arab Art in Paris, France, as well as having her work exhibited in the 2014 USA Biennial in Houston, the 2015 P.3: Prospect New Orleans USA Biennial Notes For Now, and the Venice Biennale in the Future of a Promise Exhibition. Her work spans many mediums from photography to installation and focuses on a progressive examination and critique women's roles in Saudi society.
Aula Al Ayoubi, born in 1973 in Damascus, is a Syrian painter and visual artist.
Barjeel Art Foundation is a non-profit arts organisation based in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The foundation was established in 2010 by Emirati commentator Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi to manage and exhibit his personal art collection. There are over 1,000 pieces of modern and contemporary art in the foundation's art collection. The organisation primarily focuses on artwork produced by Arab artists worldwide and includes paintings, sculptures and installations.
Nadia Saikali is a Lebanese Abstract Expressionist painter. She attended the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts (ALBA), the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, and the L'École des Arts Decoratifs.
