Nada Ammagui

Associate – Arts, Culture, and Social Trends, AGSIW

Nada Ammagui is an associate in arts, culture, and social trends at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. Her interests include artistic and cultural spaces in Gulf countries, particularly the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, contemporary Arab art, and cultural diplomacy in the region. Previously a research associate at AGSIW, Ammagui graduated from Georgetown University with an MA in Arab studies in 2023 and New York University Abu Dhabi with a BA in Arab crossroads studies and minors in art history and Arabic in 2020.

Before joining AGSIW, Ammagui was a postgraduate research fellow in the arts and humanities at NYU Abu Dhabi conducting quantitative, geospatial research on the Sharjah Biennial (UAE). She has written articles on regional cultural matters for Global Art Daily and Fiker Institute and on digital humanities research on her own blog. Ammagui’s previous experience includes internships in the Islamic Art department at the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism in the Education and Outreach department.

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SARAI Gallery Connects Emerging Iranian Artists With the World

Mahshahr-based SARAI Gallery supports emerging artists from around Iran and Southwest Asia through various curatorial initiatives and attendance at art fairs spanning the globe.

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Meaning in Material: Amani AlThuwaini’s Artistic Mantra

Through her multidisciplinary creative practice, Kuwaiti Ukrainian artist Amani AlThuwaini engages with themes of heritage and history, consumerism, childhood, and ritual.

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Climate Action, Water Scarcity, and Nostalgia: Bahrain at the Venice Architecture Biennale

As new studies emphasize the rising danger of heat exposure in Gulf states, young Bahraini curators Maryam Aljomairi and Latifa Alkhayat pose architectural solutions to air conditioning overuse and waste through the atmospheric exhibition “Sweating Assets.”

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Islamic Arts Biennale: Saudi Arabia Puts a Spotlight on Global Islamic Art

One year after the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale launched in Riyadh, the Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah embraces myriad global traditions of Islamic religious practice and places the city at the center of narratives of pilgrimage, piety, migration, and movement.

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Charting a Path for Cycling the Arab World

Kuwaiti cyclist Abdulrahman Alkhamees hopes to make Arab countries the world’s newest cycling destinations while encouraging audiences to learn about local riders.

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Home of Khaleeji Hip Hop and R&B: Bahrain in the Gulf Music Scene

To Bahraini music producer Sarah Nabil, khaleeji hip hop and R&B are all about the grooves native to Arab cultural heritage and a language that is relatable.

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Sandstorm Comics: Building a Local Comic Book Industry

Entrepreneur and creative Mo Abedin launched Sandstorm Comics as a dedicated comic book production studio, educational space, and community site to fill a gap in the UAE’s creative industry.

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Constructing Mars in Kuwait: Young Kuwaitis Lead Space Sector Development

Lama Al-Oraiman, a winner of this year’s Emerging Space Leaders award, pushes for more space education in Kuwait, the development of a local space strategy, and the increased participation of women in the field.

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Probing Social Pressures With Textiles and Ice Cream

Emirati artist Maitha Hamdan, featured in a UAE Embassy exhibition in DC situating women in the intimate space of the majlis, uses video performance to explore the more public social restrictions imposed on women.

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Qatar's World Cup and Public Art: Expanding the Field of Dialogue

As Qatar gears up to host the FIFA World Cup in November, Qatar Museums is ensuring that visitors get a taste of the country’s cultural scene through new public art installations.