Young female artists, trained in academic institutions in the United Arab Emirates, have a powerful presence in the art arena.  Some exhibit in art galleries even before their student training is completed.  Others are introduced to art aficionados through their university Bachelors of Fine Arts Thesis exhibition, or come to the attention of the public by entering and winning competitions.  However, regardless of the way in which their work first becomes known, each of them has to find the way to navigate between traditional culture and creative impulse.  As Lamya Hussain Gargash states in a 2005 interview

… being female does complicate things as you always have to be cautious of what you say and do. When working, I feel I have to create something that would not counter my beliefs; I have a high respect and pride in my faith and culture and try to create images that in no way reflects the opposite.  Dubai is growing so fast and is fairly flexible though. I have had a lot of support and it’s amazing to know that people are interested in my work as encouragement really helps new artists.  We cannot expect too much though as contemporary art is fairly new to the region – our intention should be to make our mark nationally and internationally.  It’s like being an ambassador representing your country, identity and ideas! * 

At the time of this interview Lamya Gargash had already participated in several exhibitions in the region between 2000 and 2003, and received an award for her experimental film Wet Tiles (fig. 1).  This was screened in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and at the Arab Film Festival in Paris and the Arab Film Festival in Amsterdam in 2004, the same year she received her Bachelor of Science in Visual Communications degree from the American University of Sharjah. Gargash went on to study at Central St. Martin’s College of Art and Design from which she graduated in 2007.


Gargash returned to photography for her series titled Presence; her lens focused on rooms in abandoned flats and villas in the Emirates. These are victims to urbanization and have been left behind, often still with furniture and personal belongings inside, before the wrecking crew has arrived (Fig. 2).


Raghda Bukhash graduated from the American University of Dubai with a Bachelors of Arts degree in Visual Communication.  She is involved in multiple creative projects through her Pink Sushi business (www.pink-shushi.com), and in her award winning Lomography work, which is inspired by the small defunct Russian camera Lomo LCA. 
   
As a member of the international group of Lomography adherents her work titled Snap (Fig. 3) exemplifies the directive to “Don’t think! Just shoot.”  Snap demonstrates the Lomography shooting process through the multiple images of the female figure set against the architectural space of the Emirates. Sharjawi Sailor (Fig.4) is shot near the waterway with traditional boats and Dubai’s cityscape in the background.


Raghda Bukhash’s work was included in the Hyper-Real exhibition at The Third Line Gallery, Dubai, with that of Amna Alzaabi, graduate of Zayed University, and Lamya Gargash. 

Trained in mathematics and science Ebtisam Abdul Aziz is a multi-faceted artist. She has exhibited in many local and international exhibitions including ones held in Germany, New York, and Qatar.  Her work has also been included in two biennales, one in Sharjah the other in Singapore.  She is a writer, translator of theoretical works, and an artist.  Her Autobiography Part 2 series of photographs (2007), document numbers derived from ATM transactions, and the reaction of individuals who see her in her strange garb lying on the streets of Sharjah (Fig. 5), near the waterway (Fig. 6), and actually taking money from ATM machines (image not included). 


Sarah Ayoub Agha describes her work as grounded in her response to the continued objectification of women particularly in the media. According to Agha

The objectification of women as media's delicious appetisers (sic) to increase sales disturbs me as a woman. being a female living in a society that is saturated with images of the perfect woman, i am seriously concerned and continuously dissatisfied because i am coerced to compare myself perfect objects of beauty. i (sic) no longer have enough confidence to look in the mirror and be satisfied, because i always compare myself to those beauties in the magazines **

Fat (Fig.7) is one of a body of works produced by Agha specifically addressing the issue. Others in this series portray anorexic women, distorted body images, and loneliness. One that is directly related to objectification was titled Red in her BFA thesis exhibition but now is listed as Yogurt Is Green on the Saatchi-Gallery on line web site (http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/yourgallery/artist_profile/Sarah+Ayoub%20Agha/32499.html)

Fig. 7 Fat, 2004, acrylic on wood, 170x124cm

. . . an interesting (sic) conversation between a couple. i (sic) recall him being upset with her trying to have an intelligent conversation with him. he (sic) said he did not expect her to express her thoughts and ideas to him ***

Clearly, the woman portrayed in Agha’s painting is not going to engage in conversation with him when he returns home as she does not have the ability to speak. Her mouth is absent from her face. 

According to Dr. Kimberley Lund, who was formerly the Coordinator of Foundation and Core Fine Arts Studies, College of Fine Art, University of Sharjah, and with whom Agha studied

[A] recurrent theme in Agha’s work addresses the male domination of women’s lives, depicting how male expectations and demands shape female behavior, appearance and self-image making women mere reflections of, and sites for male desire.  She isolates that touch of horror in all beauty by confronting the viewer with her realizations ****

In contrast to disturbing depictions of subjugated females the artwork created by Maryam Al Ghurair explores the iconic symbol of the burqa – the small mask that frames a woman’s eyes and partially conceals her nose and mouth.  Once made out of plant parts more frequently now these are made from leather.  However, in both instances the inside is lined with indigo dye.  This dye may have been previously thought to have some medicinal use for the woman wearing the burqa. But this is no longer the case.

In Peacock Desired (Fig. 9) the woman’s eyes are framed by the burqa and the peacock feathers underneath the portion crossing her nose. This image conjures up other orientalized portrayals of women in the region created by a much earlier generation of artists.

Fig. 9 Peacock Desired

Using the familiar icon of the burqa to make social comment on daily life in the United Arab Emirates, and both photography and sculptural installation as media, Maryam deconstructs its form and attendant ideologies in her work. Her visual imagery confronts the domestic, social, cultural, economic, emotional and transcendent situation of Dubai’s evolution.

        The misinterpretation of the burqa by Western culture—that it is an oppressive accessory representing the subjugation of Emirati women—is a fallacy that Maryam works to expose. The daughter of an old and established Dubai family, she is firmly rooted in both the traditional and contemporary local culture. As such, her understanding and insights are specifically informed, insightfully critical, culturally prescient and aesthetically innovative.  *****

Maryam Al Ghurair’s Light Burqa (Fig. 10), which constituted a portion of her BFA work, was subsequently featured in another exhibition.  This extremely large installation, with the vertical lights in the center, makes subtle reference to the lights that cascade down the front of Emirati houses when a wedding is in preparation and left up till after the wedding has occurred. These small white streams of light are the visible announcement to the external community of the private ceremony occurring within the confines of the villa.  Males and females are separated in two different sites for their respective wedding feasts; the groom only appears at the end of the long evening to collect his bride – and, depending upon the particular family – to possibly sit for a brief time with the bride’s female family members and friends.

Fig. 10 Light Burqa aka Wedding Burqa Installation , photograph

Fig. 11 Desire Scissors, photograph

The young female artists discussed here are but a small sample of those in the region who are in the process of developing their artistic skills, while creating bodies of works that are on display in various venues.  They have drive and ambition and the desire to succeed in their chosen fields.  They may begin their training in the art programs in the various universities in the Emirates and then go on to programs outside.  Or they may elect to stay rather than travel outside. The direction they go is largely determined on family and community concerns. But the establishment of art galleries, and the availability of art events to submit work to, means that they have opportunities that are afforded to few in other places

Dr. Sharon LaVon Parker is currently a faculty member in the Department of Art and Design, at Kuwait University College for Women, Kuwait where she teaches courses in art and architectural history and contemporary art theory.  In January 2009 she will return to teaching in the Department of Art and Design at Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. Her interest in contemporary Iranian women artists and their artwork developed during the years she spent living in Iran, and her training in art history, theory, and painting.  She has presented numerous papers about contemporary Iranian and Emirati women artists at conferences in the United States, the United Arab Emirates and Great Britain, and written many exhibition catalogue essays on their works.  Dr. Parker is currently working on a manuscript about a selection of contemporary Iranian women artists and their works.  She is the recipient of the Best Theses Award (April 2006) from the Iranian Studies Group - Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Sharif University of Technology Alumni Association.

* Q & A with Lamya Hussain Gargash. Hyper-Real Exhibition Catalogue. Dubai: The Third Line Gallery,2005.
** http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/yourgallery/artist_profile/Sarah+Ayoub%20Agha/32499.html
*** http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/yourgallery/artist_profile/Sarah+Ayoub%20Agha/32499.html
****Dr. Kimberley Lund. “Educating Visual Communities:  Iconic Evolutions” 2005 Women as Global Leaders Conference paper. Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.
***** Lund. “Educating Visual Communities:  Iconic Evolutions”
******Dr .Kimberley Lund – Discussion January 2006.