A landmark exhibition that delves into the evolving artistic landscape of the GCC is set to open at the NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Art Gallery on October 1. Between the Tides: A Gulf Quinquennial features 21 artists and collectives from across the region, including the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia. Set to recur every five years (a “quinquennial”), it captures key moments in the GCC’s arts scene since 2019, showcasing works across the fields of visual arts, architecture, and design, featuring painting, video, installation, and sculpture that reflect the region’s unique cultural and environmental landscapes.

Running until December 8, the launch of this quinquennial marks the Art Gallery’s 10th anniversary. Since its opening in 2014, the Art Gallery has played a key role in NYUAD’s emergence as a cultural destination on Saadiyat Island. By spotlighting both emerging and established voices that are shaping the region's vibrant arts scene, alongside artists from across the globe, the Art Gallery has fostered a rich and diverse cultural dialogue across the Gulf and on the global stage.

Between the Tides: A Gulf Quinquennial is co-curated by Executive Director of the NYUAD Art Gallery Maya Allison and Art Gallery Curator and Research Assistant Professor Duygu Demir. Their work evolved out of dialogues with artists and curators from across the region, in particular four that became their curatorial interlocutors: Abdullah Al Mutairi, Ali Ismail Karimi, Aseel AlYaqoub, and Ayman Zedani. Rather than a comprehensive survey, this exhibition reflects on significant moments within the field of visual production from the last five years. 

Featured in the exhibition are works by Alia Ahmad, Abdulrahim Alkendi, Mohammad AlFaraj, Noor Al-Fayez, Afra Al Dhaheri, Mohamed Almubarak, Sophia Al Maria, Mariam M. Alnoaimi, Christopher Joshua Benton, Sarah Brahim, Vikram Divecha, Faissal El-Malak, Hazem Harb, Aziz Motawa, Mohammad Sharaf, Shaima Al Tamimi, Ayman Zedani, and Bu Yousuf, as well as collaborative work, including by Civil Architecture (Hamed Bukhamseen and Ali Ismail Karimi); by Aseel AlYaqoub, Asaiel Al Saeed, Saphiya Abu Al-Maati, and Yousef Awaad Hussein; and by Camille Zakharia and Ali Ismail Karimi.

“In the first decade of the NYUAD Art Gallery and Project Space, alongside our own development as a cultural institution, we have seen a proliferation of artists—thanks in part to the support of new initiatives across the Gulf—who are producing complex, nuanced, and provocative work, alongside their more seasoned peers. Expanded beyond a national arts landscape, this exhibition brings together and makes visible a larger shared ecosystem.  A distinct chapter has opened in the region, and on the global stage.”

“The title of the first iteration, ‘Between the Tides,’ reflects the Gulf’s deep connection to lunar rhythms and a sense of time shaped by natural patterns. The exhibition showcases a wide variety of artistic styles, from emerging voices to well-known figures, and explores important themes like urban growth, environmental change, heritage, identity, and representation. During the research phase of this show, our conversations with the curatorial interlocutors, as well as the exchanges with the artists were immensely educational.”