An Incomplete History of UAE Cinemas

Following the screening of We Are From There, join Cinema Akil for a panel discussion around artist/writer Hind Mezaina’s research and essay ‘An Incomplete History of UAE Cinemas’ a three part series for alserkal.online.

Hind Mezaina will be joined on the panel by Ammar Al Attar, mixed media artist and photographer who has personally extensively researched and documented part of the history of UAE cinemas, and photographer Mohamed Somji, co-founder of Gulf Photo Plus.

The panel will be moderated by independent arts writer and educator Kevin Jones.

About the Panelists:

Hind Mezaina is an artist, writer, founder of theculturist.com, and co-founder of Tea with Culture podcast. She curates film screenings across the UAE.

Ammar Al Attar is a self-taught photographer and mixed media artist. Through exhibitions across the UAE, Ammar has focused part of his practice to rescue and record the contents of decommissioned movie-houses in the UAE, exploring cultural practices around film. Al Attar’s work has been increasingly shown within the UAE and Gulf, and is held in prestigious public and private collections including Sharjah Art Foundation, Barjeel Art Foundation, and Maraya Art Centre, the forthcoming Zayed National Museum, and others. He is represented by Cuadro Gallery in Dubai.

Mohamed Somji, from Tanzania has lived in Dubai his whole life. He is a photographer, curator and director at Gulf Photo Plus, a Dubai based center for photography offers an education and artistic platform for emerging and established photographers in the region. His personal work focuses on lived experiences of the UAE’s migrant population and issues.

Part of #ThisIsNotaBuffet, Alserkal’s Ramadan programme, embodying the Ramadan spirit of taking it slow, being grounded, and being kinder to ourselves and each other.