Managed by Art Dubai Group, the grant aligns with the government’s efforts to position Dubai as a leading global hub for the creative economy. By supporting local artists and galleries, the initiative helps expand their international presence while reinforcing Dubai’s status as a thriving cultural center.

Strengthening Dubai’s Art Ecosystem

Through this initiative, Dubai Culture aims to:

• Enhance the city’s reputation as the region’s art capital.
• Encourage both emerging and established UAE-based and Emirati artists.
• Provide financial backing to galleries for international exposure.
• Drive growth in Dubai’s creative economy by attracting long-term commitments from galleries and artists.

Eligible galleries must meet the following criteria:

• Maintain a full-time presence in Dubai.
• Represent Emirati artists or those who have resided in the UAE for at least three years.
• Regularly showcase their programs beyond their gallery space, such as at institutions or art fairs.

Qualifying galleries can apply for up to 50% financial support for their booths at international art fairs, depending on the portion dedicated to Emirati or UAE-based artists.

Industry Leaders Welcome the Initiative

Dr. Saeed Mubarak bin Kharbash, CEO of the Arts, Design, and Literature Sector at Dubai Culture, highlighted the grant’s significance, stating, “Dubai’s position as a global art hub is largely due to its vibrant art scene and thriving galleries. Through this grant, we aim to raise the international profiles of our galleries and artists, contributing to the global discourse on contemporary art and promoting Dubai as a center for artistic excellence.”

William Lawrie of Lawrie Shabibi Gallery also praised the initiative, emphasizing that it is a vital step in strengthening Dubai’s role in the international art scene. “This grant supports our participation in global art fairs and helps us showcase our artists on an international level,” he said.

As part of Dubai’s ongoing efforts to foster creativity and innovation, the grant ensures that the city remains a key player in the global art industry. By offering financial aid and international exposure, Dubai Culture continues to strengthen the local art community while reinforcing the emirate’s position as a dynamic and evolving cultural hub.

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The exhibition features a wide range of artworks, from hand-blown glass sculptures to oil paintings, watercolors on Japanese silk tissue, and clay-coated paper works. In addition, it offers a unique glimpse into Sultana’s creative process through personal artifacts, including her sketchbooks, diaries, in-progress works, and an unfinished video. This broad array of mediums is aimed at guiding viewers through a reflection on both the personal and universal experiences of fragility and endurance.

Exploring Vulnerability Through Glass Sculptures and Breath

As visitors enter the Ishara Art Foundation, they are met with Sultana’s hand-blown glass sculptures, which embody the theme of the exhibition. The glass, shaped by the breath of the artist, underscores the relationship between fragility and resilience—delicate yet strong. The sculptures, with their organic forms resembling water droplets and transparent organs, seem as if they could shatter with a single touch.

Adjacent to the glass pieces, visitors can view works from her Breath Count series, which began in 2018. In these pieces, Sultana has scratched marks of various shapes and depths into clay-coated paper in time with her breath. These marks, a symbolic diary of life and breath, reflect the collective human experience during the pandemic, where each breath was both essential and dangerous. The earthiness of clay and the fragility of paper are intertwined in this series, forming a poignant metaphor for life during tumultuous times.

Photographic Memory and the Passage of Time

The exhibition also showcases works from Sultana’s Threshold series, created in memory of her father, who passed away in 2008. These include photographs taken by her father during his assignments in the Bangladesh Air Force, capturing scenes from across South Asia, the GCC, and the U.S. Paired with her own travel photographs, Sultana reworks these images by scratching and solarizing them, marking the passage of time and memory on physical landscapes, just as time leaves its imprints on bodies and minds.

Exploring Ephemerality Through Tissue Paper

Tissue, a material known for its fragility, is used in Sultana’s Miasms and Inhabiting Our Bodies series. These works bring attention to the fleeting, vulnerable aspects of the body and nature. Tissue, easily torn or dissolved, becomes a metaphor for both the human body and natural elements such as the sea. Sultana transforms this delicate medium into a powerful expression of both physical and environmental resilience, connecting the personal with the ecological.

A Glimpse into the Artistic Process

One of the unique aspects of Fragility and Resilience is the insight it offers into Sultana’s artistic process. The exhibition includes her personal sketchbooks, diaries, and incomplete artworks, laid out for visitors to explore. These personal items reveal the depth of her experimentation and emotional engagement with each piece, further emphasizing the idea that fragility and resilience are central not only to the final works but to the process of creation itself.

Public Programmes and Support

The exhibition will also include a series of public programmes such as artist talks, guided tours, and interactive workshops to deepen engagement with the themes of fragility and resilience.

Artworks on display are loaned from various collections, including the Samdani Art Foundation, the Prateek and Priyanka Raja collection, and the Prabhakar Collection. The exhibition is supported by Barclays Private Bank and Carl F. Bucherer, with logistics managed by Experimenter.

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