Diverse Programming at Alserkal Avenue

Dubai, UAE - 18 September, 2016 | Alserkal Avenue has announced a rich variety of programming starting this month until year end, inviting the community to explore the vast world of art, culture, design, food, and other creative outlets through the lens of interactive events and concepts, including artist talks, gallery tours, and fairs. The multi-disciplinary creative destination is committed to employing the transformative capacity of Alserkal Avenue to engage, educate, and inspire the public.

Vilma Jurkute, Director of Alserkal Avenue said: “We’re delighted to introduce the second season of Alserkal Avenue’s programming; it is a comprehensive programme enabling the community to experience Dubai’s artistic and cultural diversity and interact with the Avenue’s growing number of partners. Building on the first season, we are celebrating the forms of work taking place around us, shifting from the creative and conceptual works of artists, to the mechanical, physical and technological work of industry. The series of programmes will take a closer look at the intersections of art, work and technology and how they are impacting our lives.”

September – December Highlights:

Alserkal Lates

At the first Alserkal Late of the new season on 26 September, attendees can check out the latest exhibitions by Alserkal galleries and enjoy music and food in various locations across the Avenue.

Nadi Al Quoz

Inspired by the twin concepts of work and play, Warehouse 90 has been turned into a clubhouse for everyone, creating an oasis designed to evoke the ideas, concepts and feelings that are most important to our community. Wild &The Moon are stationed at Nadi Al Quoz to serve food and drink. Open until 29 October.

Art101

Launching on 15 October, Art101 is a series of talks that goes behind-the-scenes to learn from the people who drive Dubai’s cultural agenda. Each month, a different member of the art community is invited to offer insight into the responsibilities, challenges and opportunities of their role, and offer guidance for people who are interested to take part. From curators to artists, gallerists to collectors, Art101 is designed for people without experience or knowledge of the arts, and for those who are just starting out and wanting to connect.

Assembly: a week of design and making at Alserkal Avenue

A week of events celebrating the design and maker communities in Dubai, presented in conjunction with Dubai Design Week from 23-29 October. The programme culminates with the return of ‘Traffic's Market of Everything’, featuring local makers and independent designers selling and trading their wares; and the ‘Maker Fair,’ a new event that brings design brands together to showcase the craftspeople and makers that bring to life some of the most innovative design objects in the region.

November Art Week

Coinciding with Abu Dhabi Art, November Art Week runs from 13-17 November and will consist of a series of pop-up events alongside new exhibition openings, artist talks and gallery tours across the Avenue. In parallel, Alserkal Avenue Programming will unveil two new public-art commissions that will inspire a two

month series of talks and workshops to examine the creative process and the intersections of art and industry.

New event featuring live music, market, and food (name TBC)

This 16-17 December, the Avenue introduces a new event featuring musicians, vendors, and creatives blending in live acoustic and electronic music by local bands on multiple stages, singing and musical instrument workshops, food trucks, and an urban market featuring dozens of vendors selling unique and distinctive items. The event’s theme is a celebration of individuality.

New Concepts:

Opening in September:

A creative platform hosted in a repurposed warehouse, Inked houses fully-equipped kitchens and versatile seating space. Conceptual dinners, guest-chef pop-ups, inventive cooking workshops and tastings, talks, photo-shoots, brand activations, private events and creative collaborations are among the infinite possibilities at the premises. Though Inked has many facets, they are all intrinsically linked by a common desire to create an engaging, food-led and memorable experience.

CHI-KA will house a kimono gallery-shop, bringing a Japan-meets-Arabia aesthetic to life in the Avenue through Middle East-inspired kimono-abayas and cross-cultural artworks.

A record store that will stock a wide selection of vinyl records, The Flip Side is a hub for music lovers from across the region. The store will air radio shows, in-store DJ sessions, weekly music documentary viewings, as well as music production seminars and host live music events featuring local and regional artists.

Opening in October:

Adding a dash of men’s fashion luxury to the Avenue’s retail selection is Atelier 68, a boutique concept that offers handmade watches, sunglasses and bespoke leather goods. The concept gallery will regularly host exhibits featuring iconic cars from a private collection, including some of the rarest and most expensive cars

An incubator for sharing passions and cultural views, Nightjar features a ‘people’s kitchen’ eating house alongside a highly customised espresso bar that will offer a range of modern techniques to produce exquisite single origin espresso, cold and hot brews. Nightjar will also have a dedicated music programme, bringing new music to a wider audience through artwork, music and events.

Mirzam Chocolate Factory, an artisanal chocolate factory that celebrates Middle Eastern culture, mercantile traditions, and storytelling will also join the Avenue. The bean-to-bar production facility and store front invites visitors to experience the hand-made chocolate production process.

The Jewel Teller is a workshop and design studio with an incorporated gallery. The permanent exhibition space will host jewellery designers and support them in the production of their collections. Additionally, a custom-made jewellery studio will cater for individual tastes.

Since its inception 5 years ago, The SVENM atelier has achieved a significant specialism in the delivery of bespoke design features and master plans for institutional arts clients. Their move to The Avenue will expand their practice through the launch of a private gallery presenting architectural materials, design elements and bespoke products from around the world.

Opening in November:

Nostalgia Classic Cars is a showroom that pays homage to the glory of classics gone by, giving them their rightful place in the spotlight. With a regular change of cars on display, the Nostalgia calendar is marked to commemorate different eras in classic car history.

For more information, please click here.

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About Alserkal Avenue

Alserkal Avenue is a vibrant cultural district in the Al Quoz industrial area of Dubai, and is home to a community of over 70 contemporary art galleries, visual and performing arts organisations, designers, home-grown and entrepreneur-led businesses, and community spaces across 500,000 sqft and 90 warehouses. Alserkal Avenue provides an essential platform for the development of the creative industries in the United Arab Emirates. As one of the region’s foremost destinations for contemporary art, and home to Dubai’s risk-takers, makers and wide-ranging creative communities, Alserkal Avenue provides cultural experiences for local, regional and international audiences through its extensive year-round programming. Alserkal Avenue is home to Concrete, a multi-disciplinary exhibitions space conceptualised and programmed by Alserkal, as well as the artist residency program of Alserkal’s non-profit, Alserkal Arts Foundation. Alserkal Avenue was established in 2008 by Alserkal following the visionary thinking of its founder, Emirati businessman and cultural patron Abdelmonem Bin Eisa Alserkal, who sought to cultivate a vibrant creative community and support cultural production in Dubai.

About Alserkal Avenue Programming

Alserkal Avenue Programming is a platform for exhibitions, public art commissions, performances, films, talks and workshops that critically and creatively investigate themes pertinent to the region's arts community. Together, these programmes provide a platform to support the development of new ideas, open dialogue and collaboration across disciplines. With a view to working mainly with emerging and mid-career artists living and working in the MENASA region, Alserkal Avenue Programming has a mandate to support for artists whose projects are collaborative, participatory and ephemeral. The annual programme is thematically developed to focus on a particular issue, bringing artists and professionals from different fields together to examine a concept through wide-ranging means and perspectives.