emirates7 - The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) hosted an exhibition in the United States in continued partnership with NOMAD.
Presented at The Watermill Centre during NOMAD The Hamptons 2026, "Rooted Movements" brought together three leading Emirati artists – Afra Al Dhaheri, Zuhoor Al Sayegh, and Azza Al Qubaisi – in a dialogue exploring connection, inheritance, and transformation.
The exhibition introduced audiences in the Hamptons to a new generation of Emirati artistic practices that engaged deeply with materiality, memory, and place.
Rooted Movements unfolded across the grounds of The Watermill Centre, examining the connections between two coastal landscapes – Abu Dhabi and The Hamptons – and exploring how stories, materials, identities, and cultural knowledge travel across distance while remaining connected to their origins.
Though working through distinct material languages, Afra Al Dhaheri, Zuhoor Al Sayegh, and Azza Al Qubaisi each engaged with forms shaped by growth, transformation, and inheritance.
Al Dhaheri's suspended rope installations drew from the physical and symbolic qualities of hair: a material intimately connected to the body yet capable of being detached, transformed, and reconfigured. Al Sayegh's ceramic sculptures took inspiration from the life cycle of the date palm, focusing on the offshoot that separates from the mother tree in order to establish roots of its own.
Through her Metaphor series, Al Qubaisi abstracted forms found in the natural world, translating processes of layering, growth, and evolution into sculptural compositions that reflect on identity, memory, and place.
The presentation of Rooted Movements at NOMAD The Hamptons reflected the continued growth of the strategic partnership between DCT Abu Dhabi and NOMAD, building cultural connections between the UAE and international audiences through contemporary art and design.
The DCT Abu Dhabi now looks ahead to welcoming visitors back to NOMAD Abu Dhabi in November 2026 for the next chapter of this ongoing dialogue between cultures, places, and creative communities.
Presented at The Watermill Centre during NOMAD The Hamptons 2026, "Rooted Movements" brought together three leading Emirati artists – Afra Al Dhaheri, Zuhoor Al Sayegh, and Azza Al Qubaisi – in a dialogue exploring connection, inheritance, and transformation.
The exhibition introduced audiences in the Hamptons to a new generation of Emirati artistic practices that engaged deeply with materiality, memory, and place.
Rooted Movements unfolded across the grounds of The Watermill Centre, examining the connections between two coastal landscapes – Abu Dhabi and The Hamptons – and exploring how stories, materials, identities, and cultural knowledge travel across distance while remaining connected to their origins.
Though working through distinct material languages, Afra Al Dhaheri, Zuhoor Al Sayegh, and Azza Al Qubaisi each engaged with forms shaped by growth, transformation, and inheritance.
Al Dhaheri's suspended rope installations drew from the physical and symbolic qualities of hair: a material intimately connected to the body yet capable of being detached, transformed, and reconfigured. Al Sayegh's ceramic sculptures took inspiration from the life cycle of the date palm, focusing on the offshoot that separates from the mother tree in order to establish roots of its own.
Through her Metaphor series, Al Qubaisi abstracted forms found in the natural world, translating processes of layering, growth, and evolution into sculptural compositions that reflect on identity, memory, and place.
The presentation of Rooted Movements at NOMAD The Hamptons reflected the continued growth of the strategic partnership between DCT Abu Dhabi and NOMAD, building cultural connections between the UAE and international audiences through contemporary art and design.
The DCT Abu Dhabi now looks ahead to welcoming visitors back to NOMAD Abu Dhabi in November 2026 for the next chapter of this ongoing dialogue between cultures, places, and creative communities.
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