Warehouse 421: Abu Dhabi’s newest cultural destination opens on November 19

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates – Abu Dhabi’s newest cultural destination, Warehouse 421, will open on November 19 with a three-day event designed to give visitors a holistic cultural experience fea

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates – Abu Dhabi’s newest cultural destination, Warehouse 421, will open on November 19 with a three-day event designed to give visitors a holistic cultural experience featuring art, design, music, cuisine and other creative activities.

The venue was earlier a warehouse in Mina Zayed, the oldest commercial port in Abu Dhabi, but it has now been transformed into a contemporary art space with glass walls and ceilings that let in plenty of natural light, design elements inspired by Islamic architecture, spaces for art exhibitions and workshops and indoor and outdoor areas for hosting cultural events.

The project has been envisioned by the Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation and it was executed by architectural firm Bjarkelngels Group (BIG), which is known for its ideals of sustainability and preservation.

Khulood Al Atiyat, the arts, culture and heritage manager at the Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation, says, “Our mission is to invest in the future of the UAE by investing in its people. To that end the Foundation develops and supports strategic initiatives in the areas of arts, culture and heritage, education and health. Warehouse 421 is envisaged as a platform for artistic expression, understanding and further development of the UAE’s creative community.

“Deeply rooted in the principle of sustainability and creating dynamic spaces for diverse audiences, it will be a space for emerging artists, for creating more awareness of art, and supporting initiatives to preserve and share the nation’s cultural heritage. This inaugural event invites all visitors to explore the various worlds of creative expression.”

The three-day celebration includes the opening of art exhibitions, a variety of art and design workshops for all ages, an outdoor Creative Market, featuring art, design, food and beverages, and live performances by international musicians.

Three curated exhibitions, based on themes of exploration, history, tradition, memory and transformation, will open at Warehouse 421. Visitors can view an extensive collection of family photographs by and of the first generations of Emirati citizens in “Lest We Forget: Emirati Family Photographs 1950-1999”. The photographs, contributed by ordinary people, tell the story of the UAE through simple moments in the daily lives of the people, such as owning their first car, or posing proudly with their camel.

The show will run until June 18, 2016, and visitors are invited to add to this collection their own photographs about life in the UAE during that period, either at the venue or online.

Another photography exhibition, “Mina Zayed: Through the lens of Jack Burlot”, features pictures taken by French photographer Jack Burlot who first visited Abu Dhabi in 1974 and returned recently on the invitation of the Foundation. Through his pictures of the fish market, the carpet souk, homes of people and other places in Al Mina area, the show, which runs until March 19, 2016, offers insights into the daily lives of the people then and now.

The third show, “1:100 The Warehouse Reimagined”, explores the idea of transformation in the context of Mina Zayed and Warehouse 421, by presenting three-dimensional, 1:100 scale models of imaginative ideas for warehouses by various artists. This show will also run until March 19.

A fourth exhibition, “Art Process and Practice”, running until November 19, will open in Warehouse 411 located further down the street. This warehouse is being transformed into a studio for students of the Foundation’s Emerging Artist’s Fellowship Programme. The show by the first and second year students of the programme focuses on the process of researching and producing art rather than finished works.

Several workshops for children and adults have been organised with the aim of making art and design more accessible to the general public. These include “Draw & Stitch”, a doll making workshop led by Ola Dajani, founder of Vinny Dolls (UAE), where participants will make dolls inspired by famous figures from the art, design and fashion worlds.

Lateefa Spiker and Richard Henry, instructors at the UK-based Art of Islamic Pattern will lead “Zellij”, a workshop where participants can learn traditional Islamic art and crafts by assembling tiles precut by Moroccan artisans into traditional geometric patterns.

In “Mix and Match Abu Dhabi”, participants are invited to mix and match modular stamps on tote bags to create their own unique interpretations of Abu Dhabi’s urban landscape. This workshop is led by David Habchy and Hussein Nakhal, founders of Studio Kawakeb in Lebanon.

Design professionals and students are invited to participate in an intensive hands-on product design workshop, conducted by Younes and Mia Duret, co-founders of Younes Design, Morocco. During this two-day workshop, titled “A Vernacular Story”, participants will go out and take inspiration from visual narratives and objects in the Mina Zayed area to develop designs that explore the theme of reinterpretation.

Children aged three to nine years can engage with art, culture and heritage through creative activities such as clay modelling, basket and paper weaving, making paper lanterns and zooming cars. These workshops will be conducted by Dubai-based art space Jam Jar in a dedicated children’s area.

The outdoor space and streets around Warehouse 421 will come alive with the “Creative Market”. Here, emerging regional and international artists and designers will showcase their creations ranging from furniture to jewellery and graphic design. Food stalls selling a variety of cuisines and performances by street artists are also part of the Market. Designed to be in harmony with the port’s environment, the Market features stalls and outdoor seating areas made from shipping containers, crates and boxes.

Visitors can also enjoy a variety of interesting performances by musicians from around the world every evening. These will begin at 8.30pm on a stage that has been set up amid old dhows lying in the dhow yard at Mina Zayed. The performance on November 19 is by Tinariwen, a Grammy-winning group of Tuareg musicians from Mali’s Saharan region. They are known for their compositions of Berber and North African rhythms played on instruments such as the lute and one-string fiddle.

Ethiopian musician Mulatu Astatke, known as the father of Ethio-jazz, is slated to perform on November 20. The performance on November 21 will be by Tarabband, featuring six Swedish folk musicians of Arab origin, whose music is influenced by folk music, flamenco and jazz, and lyrics speak about exile, survival, life and rebirth.

The event

Location: Warehouse 421, Mina Zayed, Abu Dhabi

Dates: November 19–21

Time: 6pm-11pm on November 19; 3pm-11pm on November 20 and 21

Shuttle buses have been arranged to take visitors from Abu Dhabi Art to Mina Zayed.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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