Abraaj Capital Art Prize 2009

The Museum of Arts and Design presents the Abraaj Capital Art Prize and the first exhibition of its prize winners. The three winners, whose spectacular artworks were unveiled at Art Dubai, the Middle East’s largest contemporary art fair, are Iran’s Nazgol Ansarinia, Algeria’s Zoulikha Bouabdellah and Turkey’s Kutluğ Ataman.

Prize-winner Nazgol Ansarinia, who partnered with curator Leyla Fakhr, offers what seems, at first glance, to be a classic Persian carpet, rich in color and swirling, recurring patterns and shapes. A closer look reveals scenes from local Iranian life woven into and reflecting her interest in pattern and language. Ansarinia, born and raised in Iran, has studied and worked in London and New York and now lives in Tehran.

Zoulikha Bouabdellah collaborated with Carol Solomon from the United States to create a meditative installation entitled Walk on the Sky. Pisces, which references ancient Persian astrology and Arab legend. Bouabdellah, born in Moscow and raised in Algeria, is highly attuned to the nuances of cultural identity but picks and chooses influences and inspirations wherever they suit her projects.

Artist Kutluğ Ataman, with curator Cristiana Perrella, created a recorded performance piece, Strange Space, filmed in Erzincan, a small city set high on a north-eastern mountain plateau in his native Turkey. This region is extreme not only in its physical environment (scorching-hot summers, icy winters) and its war-torn history, but also, more recently, in its adaptation to modernity. His video, based on a Turkish fable of tragic love, looks to illustrate the tension between Turkey’s eastern heritage and its western outlook.

The Abraaj Capital Art Prize, established by the Dubai-based private equity company Abraaj Capital, provides international exposure to artists from the MENASA region, aiming to empower contemporary artists from this culturally rich and diverse area. The prize encourages collaborations between artists and internationally acclaimed curators, bridging the gap between the Middle Eastern and Western art worlds and offering these artists opportunities to realize ambitious art projects and gain recognition beyond their immediate cultural environment

The Abraaj Capital Art Prize is made possible through the support of Abraaj Capital.