The three UAE based artists that have been selected for this year’s Beyond Emerging Artists programme by Abu Dhabi Art have been announced.
Curated this year by the internationally recognised Syrian artist Issam Kourbaj, the selected artists are: Alla Abdunabi, Salmah Almansoori, and Maktoum Marwan Al Maktoum.
Each artist will create a new site-specific work inspired by the city of Al Ain, with the support of mentorship and funding from the programme. Following the fair, the commissions will be exhibited internationally.
“It was challenging to select just three participants for the programme, from amongst so many exciting emerging artists put forward,” Kourbaj said in a statement.
“Like many creatives around the world, young artists in the region are directing their gaze toward excavating the present and engaging with urgent matters of our time, whether environmental, social, or historical.”
“I very much look forward to working with the three selected artists and guiding their visual voices as they develop a body of work inspired by Al Ain, both as a source and a canvas for new ideas,” he also added.
The Beyond Emerging Artists programme is an annual initiative that supports the development of new work by up-and-coming talent based in the UAE. Now in its 17th year, Abu Dhabi Art will return to Manarat Al Saadiyat from 19 to 23 November 2025.
Here’s a closer look at the selected artists and their practices.
Alla Abdunabi
“With the support of Abu Dhabi Art and curated by Issam Kourbaj, I’ll be exploring object histories in my presentation at the fair. In addition, through the Al Ain commission, I look forward to creating a site-specific work that listens to the buried histories of the land.”
A sculptor and installation artist, Abdunabi's work explores how objects carry layered stories across time.
She blends historical, personal, and imagined narratives to uncover the material memory of place, focusing on overlooked or fragmented histories.
Abdunabi's new project will deepen this exploration by responding to the specific landscape and buried stories of Al Ain.
Maktoum Marwan Al Maktoum
“I look forward to the mentorship of Issam Kourbaj and continuing the world building approach of my work within the context of an art fair, as well as investigating the archaeological histories of our country in sites such as the ones found in Al Ain.”
Al Maktoum’s multidisciplinary practice draws from folklore, metaphor, and lived experience to examine themes like belief systems, cultural memory, and the psyche.
His approach is rooted in narrative and world-building, often reconstructing meaning through surreal or symbolic language.
For Beyond Emerging Artists, he will delve into the archaeological richness of Al Ain to extend his exploration of time and place.
Salmah Almansoori
“This opportunity allows me to deepen my exploration of memory and place, and to share stories from my hometown that are often overlooked. With the guidance of Issam Kourbaj, I look forward to developing a new body of work that reflects on transformation, loss, and belonging.”
Almansoori’s practice spans painting, sculpture, and installation, drawing from personal memory and the quiet erosion of her hometown.
Her work preserves fragments from abandoned buildings to discarded objects and fading traditions, reassembling them into abstract compositions that speak to themes of displacement and emotional inheritance.
Almansoori’s commission will continue this investigation of place through a lens of transformation and remembrance.