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AGSIW x Culture Summit: A New World History: Nonhuman Perspectives in Gulf Art

On April 29, AGSIW convened a session on alternative histories in art at Culture Summit Abu Dhabi.

April 29, 2025 Manarat Al Saadiyat, Gallery A, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
AGSIW x Culture Summit: A New World History: Nonhuman Perspectives in Gulf Art
(Image courtesy of Saad Alsharrah)

AGSIW is pleased to curate a session during Culture Summit Abu Dhabi.

Centered around historical and contemporary ethno-cartographic practices, this panel explores how Gulf artists trace alternative histories of the world and the universe. From the celestial to the subaqueous, they document stories of movement and migration through a multispecies lens, encompassing pearls, catfish, soil, and the cosmos. In doing so, they provide an understanding of the world that breaks from anthropocentric narratives and considers nonhuman subjectivities using photography, video, drawing, and sculpture.

Nada Ammagui, Saad Alsharrah, and Basmah Felemban, pose at Culture Summit. (Credit: Abu Dhabi Culture Summit)
Nada Ammagui, Saad Alsharrah, and Basmah Felemban pose at “A New World History: Nonhuman Perspectives in Gulf Art,” Abu Dhabi, UAE, April 29. (Credit: Abu Dhabi Culture Summit)
Basmah Felemban speaks during the panel discussion at Culture Summit Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, UAE, April 29. (Credit: Abu Dhabi Culture Summit)
Saad Alsharrah speaks during the panel discussion at Culture Summit Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, UAE, April 29. (Credit: Culture Summit)

About Culture Summit: Culture Summit is a annual global gathering in Abu Dhabi that brings together an exceptional collective of creative thinkers, decisionmakers, artists, designers, changemakers, and leaders from the culture and creative industries. Its ambition is to identify ways in which culture can transform societies and communities worldwide and turn these ideas into actions and solutions. Organized by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, Culture Summit 2025 will bring cultural leaders, artists, and performers to Abu Dhabi for an extraordinary forum of knowledge exchange, debate, and policy development April 27-29 in Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi, UAE. 

Speakers

Moderator

The views represented herein are the author’s or speaker’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of AGSIW, its staff, or its board of directors.

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Through its careful examination of the forces shaping the evolution of Gulf societies and the new generation of emerging leaders, AGSIW facilitates a richer understanding of the role the countries in this key geostrategic region can be expected to play in the 21st century.

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