exhibition"Tributaries and visions" It brings together three generations of Emirati artists in Seoul
Seoul, 21 December / WAM / Artists participating in the “Trivories and Visions” exhibition, currently held at the Seoul Museum of Art, unanimously agreed that the event constitutes a turning point in the path of the presence of contemporary art from the United Arab Emirates on the international scene, because of the space it provides for dialogue with a new Asian audience, and its ability to convey human narratives that start from the local experience and address global questions about identity, belonging, memory, and social transformations, stressing that the exhibition reflects the diversity, richness, and pluralism of the Emirati art scene. His approaches.
The exhibition is jointly organized by the Seoul Museum of Art and the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation, from December 16 to March 29, 2026, and is considered the largest of its kind in the Republic of South Korea dedicated to contemporary art from the UAE.
Christiana De Marchi, the artist and curator participating in the exhibition, confirmed that “Trivories and Visions” provides a broad representation of the artistic scene in the Emirates, noting that the section she supervises is titled “Recording Distance, Not Topography,” and examines the concepts of belonging, uprooting, and invisible borders, and how art can document the human experience away from traditional geographical approaches. She said that for the first time, this exhibition of Emirati works is presented in South Korea, which reflects the importance of long-term cultural partnerships between the two sides.
The Lebanese artist residing in the UAE, Tarek Mofuf, said that participating in the exhibition represents an opportunity to restore the narratives of the region and re-present them to a global audience, explaining that his work “Where Are You From?” It raises questions about the concept of homeland and the meaning of security, which are common human questions that transcend cultural borders, stressing that the presence of these works in Seoul opens a wide scope for dialogue with a new audience.
Emirati artist Mohammed Kazim, participant and curator of one of the exhibition’s sections, said that “Trifoods and Visions” brings together three generations of Emirati artists alongside resident artists who contributed to shaping visual culture in the country, noting that the exhibition reflects the accumulation of artistic experience in the Emirates over decades, and presents it in an international context that allows a deeper reading of the transformations of place, memory, and the relationship with the environment.
Emirati artist Sheikha Al Ketbi said that the exhibition constitutes an important platform for introducing the various stories and narratives that contemporary art carries in the UAE, and that displaying this amount of works in Asia contributes to introducing the Korean public to the Emirati identity through art, and helps to overcome stereotypes and build new bridges of cultural communication.
In the same context, Emirati artist Moza Al Matroushi said that her participation in the exhibition represents a profound personal and human experience, noting that the work she presents is based on a self-narration that reflects an internal tension between social roles and daily relationships. She explained that the work moves from talking about others to expressing from within the experience itself. She added that presenting this experience in Seoul gives the work new dimensions, as it opens the way for multiple readings outside the local context, and allows the audience to interact with a human narrative that emanates from the Emirates and intersects with shared global experiences.
The exhibition includes more than 110 artworks by 47 male and female artists from three generations, covering their artistic experiences from the 1980s until today, and includes installation and sculptural works, video works, photography, digital prints, and multimedia works, dealing with themes of identity, memory, social transformations, and daily spaces.
The organization of the exhibition comes within a joint vision of the Seoul Museum of Art and the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation, which aims to enhance cultural and artistic exchange between the United Arab Emirates and the Republic of South Korea, and to present contemporary Emirati art to a wide Asian audience, reflecting the UAE’s position as a global center for cultural dialogue and artistic creativity.
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