8 amazing exhibitions at Alserkal Lates 2022

Check out these shows covering food, fables and feminism.

Art lovers, unite. Alserkal Lates is back with new exhibitions that you can visit after dark. Here’s your chance to enjoy galleries and cafés, and check out work from local as well as international artists. 

Over the winter, Alserkal Avenue is the location that keeps on giving. What makes this season of Alserkal Lates unique is the sheer diversity, as the current exhibitions cover everything from climate change to Italian photographers. 

Show you support to emerging and established artists, who are all sharing their strokes of genius. Best of all, most of the exhibitions are free. Plus, when you need to refuel, stop off at one of the cool cafés, from Wild & The Moon to Nightjar Coffee Roasters. 

Here are the highlights at Alserkal Lates 2022.

Fables in the Unknown at Ayyam Gallery

Ayyam Gallery is welcoming Syrian artist Kais Salmon, who explores the ideas of storytelling in his latest exhibition. Inspired by the human condition, he has created an imaginary world where good sits alongside evil. Kais is known for his humour and sarcasm, and often combines these with art to create social commentary. The exhibition runs until 1 November. 

Fractured Landscapes at Shabibi Gallery

Lawrie Shabibi Gallery welcomes London artist Nathaniel Rackowe, as he explores light and the effect it has on our experiences of urban spaces. The title of the exhibition is inspired by a passage from Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun, which sets the scene of the sun setting across a rural landscape. With the help of sculptures made out of neon tubes – it’s all very nightclub meets gallery – he analyses how light bounces across objects. The exhibition runs until 4 November.

Leaping over the Barrier at Zawyeh Gallery

Palestinian artist Khaled Hourani’s latest show arrives at Zawyeh Gallery. The artist explores a theme close to home – walls. The exhibition includes paintings of young men climbing walls, while using ropes and ladders. As he tackles the idea of occupation, he demands for the building of walls to stop. The exhibition runs until 3 November.

Pattern by Navjot Altaf at Ishara Art Foundation

In Navjot Atlaf’s first solo exhibition in the Arabian Peninsula, she tackles some of the biggest challenges facing us right now, from climate change to female inequality. Head to Ishara Art Foundation and discover how the artist has combined art with activism over her five-decade career. The exhibition runs until 9 December.

Slice of Life at Gulf Photo

Photography fans should make a beeline for Gulf Photo. The picture gallery’s latest exhibition, Slice of Life, brings together more than 50 photographers. The images explore how food and heritage intertwine in the Arab world. Photos cover farms in Sinai, dining tables in Morocco and cafes in Qatar. The exhibition runs until 11 November.

Talaliya at Firetti Gallery

In Arabic, talal means a ruin of a home, and atlal is what is left behind when inhabitants leave. So, the artist Sawsan Al Bahar has fused the words to create Talaliya at Firetti Gallery. The pieces range from large-scale installations to drawings, which explore Arab diasporas through art and poetry. One of the highlights includes Leaving is Home, which is a 3D printed sculptural sheet suspended mid-air. The exhibition runs until 25 November. 

The Beautiful Voyage at The Warehouse

Egyptian artist Youssef Nabil’s The Beautiful Voyage at The Warehouse showcases his work from 2016 to the present day. Admire self-portraits, landscape photography and the debut of his video, which is also called The Beautiful Voyage. The exhibition draws inspiration from the Greek poet Constantine P Cavafy’s Ithaka, and delves into themes of exile, fate and memory. The exhibition runs until 28 October.

The Grand Tour at Firetti Gallery

Want to experience la dolce vita? Well, head to Firetti Gallery. The Grand Tour showcases fifty vintage images from photographers working in Italy between 1850 and 1890. The pictures take you on a tour of Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome, Naples, Pompeii, Palermo and more. Plus, the photographers include Alfred Noack, Carlo Naja, Leopoldo Alinari and Giacomo Brogi. The exhibition runs until 25 November. 

GO: Visit https://alserkal.online for more information.