summer season at the third line…
The Third Line will showcase an impressive line-up of artists, including work by Arwa Abouon, Sarah Strang, Golnaz Fathi and Ala Ebtekar, amongst many others.
Originally from Lybia, Arwa Abouon grew up in Canada. Her playful photographs question her own place within a so-called Western culture on the one hand, and her upbringing in a Muslim household on the other. Abouon also explores diasporic longing for home, as homage to the trans-generational transmission of ‘traditional’ values.
Sarah Strang’s work investigates civil liberties, social hierarchies and the mechanisms of capitalism. Strang’s work Made in Dubai will be on display, an 18 ct gold postcard, produced by local craftsman. This work was produced as part of a commission for the Gulf Art Fair which took place in March this year. A graduate of Central St. Martin’s College of Art and Design, Strang lives and works in London.
The first woman to win an award for ketabat (a genre of calligraphy), Golnaz Fathi’s work transfers known language into form and composition. Fathi’s paintings create a sense of Persian tradition, while at the same time hint towards a new beginning.
Through delicate, minimal pencil drawings, Ala’ Ebtekar bridges historical and geographical spaces by reconciling B-boy posturing with old Kushti wrestler and warrior photographs offering fragments of multi-faceted male identity.
These are just four of the artists who will be on display in the gallery this summer – many more of The Third Line’s artists will also be included.
If reading is more your style, there is always Kutub - The Third Line’s Arabic literary group that meets on the first Monday of every month at 7.45pm (no August meeting, regrouping in September). Kutub, which means books in Arabic, was formed by The Third Line to support Middle Eastern authors and encourage dialogue between the artists and the public. There is no one set characteristic of Arabic literature. From Egyptian satire to novels pointedly challenging imperialism, the literature is as wide ranging as the region itself.
The Third Line library also offers a cool, quiet place to flick through its growing magazine collection – Bidoun, Canvas, A+, Soura, and soon, Banipal, an independent magazine that specializes in contemporary Arab authors in English translation. Come to sample some of the young locally produced mags, such as Desert Fish, Alef or Brown Book, as well as Middle Eastern literature published in both Arabic and English.
