It centres on a group sometimes called “the five,” at an intersection of visual artists, writers and filmmakers based in the UAE. Its members identified with a new culture of encouraging radical, formal and conceptual experimentation. Eventually, some of these artists founded the celebrated Flying House.
But We Cannot See Them: Tracing a UAE Art Community, 1988-2008 was published in conjunction with the eponymous exhibition at New York University Abu Dhabi.
Edited and with an introductory survey essay by Maya Allison, it includes essays by Aisha Astoby and Adel Khozam, and a 20-year timeline by Bana Kattan. The curatorial team conducted and publishes here interviews with members of the community, including Hassan Sharif, Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim, Abdullah Al Saadi, Mohammed Kazem, Hussain Sharif, Vivek Vilasini, Ebtisam Abdulaziz, Cristiana De Marchi, Nujoom Alghanem and Khalid Albudoor.
About the Editor
Having curated numerous exhibitions, Maya Allison is Founding Director of the art galleries and Chief Curator at New York University Abu Dhabi. She holds an MFA from Columbia University and a BA in Art History from Reed College and was awarded a research fellowship on curatorial practices at Brown University’s Center for Public Humanities.
About the Publisher
With an extensive network of contacts and decades of experience in the industry across the Middle East and Europe, Akkadia Press offers companies, cultural institutions and universities the chance to showcase their brands—and tell their story—in an innovative, upmarket and creative way.
