The National Pavilion United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the La Biennale di Venezia at the 56th International Art Exhibition was officially opened on Thursday by Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development.

The pavilion is commissioned by the Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation, and supported by the UAE Ministry of Culture, Youth and Community Development. Titled 1980 – Today: Exhibitions in the United Arab Emirates, this is the UAE's fourth national pavilion at the International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia. It is curated by Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi, President and Director of the Sharjah Art Foundation.

The 56th International Art Exhibition is taking place in Venice from 6 May to 22 November 2015 at the Giardini and the Arsenale. The UAE's pavilion is located in the Arsenale – Sale d'Armi.

The exhibition features work by fifteen Emirati artists, including Ahmed Al Ansari, Moosa Al Halyan, Mohammed Al Qassab, Abdul Qader Al Rais, Abdullah Al Saadi, Mohammed Abdullah Bulhiah, Salem Jawhar, Mohammed Kazem, Dr. Najat Meky, Abdulraheem Salim, Ahmed Sharif, Hassan Sharif, Obaid Suroor, Dr. Mohamed Yousif, and Abdulrahman Zainal.

With over 100 diverse works featured, the show aims to create dialogues across artist practices and explore the emergence of contemporary art in the UAE over the past four decades.

Present were Saqer Nasser Ahmed Abdullah Alraisi, Ambassador of the UAE in Rome, Noora Juma, UAE Consul General in Milan and Dr. Salvatore LaSpada, Executive Director of the Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation.
Source: WAM