A selection of emerging artists has also been put together by the curators Munira Al Sayegh and Mohammed Al Olama. Yang creates stainless steel balls, streaming down to the floor, in an approximation of planetary bodies the Palestinian artist Khalil Rabah recreates a means to measure latitude in three enormous geometric forms. Many of the works assume a grand and monumental scale that responds to Abou El Fetouh’s brief of looking to the cosmos to think anew about world identity. These works, all but one a commission, will be spread out across Expo’s three districts and two parks. They were designed so that people could touch them, sit on them, and in some cases walk on them.”Ībou El Fetouh has selected 11 artists for his programme: a mix of local artists including Abdullah Al Saadi and Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim-both members of the storied “Five” who were among the UAE’s first conceptual artists-and international names including Haegue Yang, Olafur Eliasson and Yinka Shonibare. “These works will be literally in the squares and streets. “Expo is building a new community in the district, and I wanted contemporary art, with its concepts, language and aesthetics, to be part of the public life,” says Tarek Abou El Fetouh, the curator of Expo 2020. This includes the art: Expo’s commissioned works of art will remain as permanent sculptures. Around 80% of the built Expo will transition into residential, business and commercial developments.
When Expo closes at the end of March, it will become District 2020, a large-scale, real-estate investment in the south of Dubai. With laser lightshows, an estimated $18bn budget, and long-deferred excitement, Expo 2020 Dubai finally launches this week, with pavilions for the 191 countries in the world (1 October-31 March 2022, opening ceremony 30 September).īut in an art context, its most significant legacy might be after the fanfare dies down.
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