Cultivating Opportunity within the UAE's Expanding Ecology of Contemporary Art: Vikram Divecha's Quotidian Practices, from Urban Epidermis (2012) to The Train To Rouen (2017)

In this conversation, UAE-based artist Vikram Divecha speaks about his work with the “found processes” of the UAE, the forces and capacities that prevail in contemporary Gulf society. By situating himself as an artist within urban operations, Divecha attempts to work through state, social and economic systems. In the past, he has aligned himself with trading houses, municipal gardeners, rock-blasting engineers, non-architects and other diverse faculties. His engagements translate into situations, public art, permanent fixtures, sculptural installations and video works. In this talk with NYU Abu Dhabi Assistant Professor Debra Levine, Divecha discusses his body of work in relation to the emerging contemporary art scene in the UAE, and previews his newest work The Train to Rouen, commissioned as an installation for the Louvre Abu Dhabi.

Image: Sweeping, 2016, courtesy Sharjah Art Foundation

Speakers

• Vikram Divecha, Artist, Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation Emerging Artist Fellow, Individuals

Hosted by

• NYU Abu Dhabi Institute

In conversation with

• Debra Levine, Assistant Professor of Theater, NYUAD