A landmark exhibition exploring the evolving artistic landscape of the GCC is set to open at the NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Art Gallery on 1st October.

Titled “Between the Tides: A Gulf Quinquennial”, the exhibition will feature 21 artists and collectives from across the region, including the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia.

The quinquennial, which will recur every five years, captures key moments in the GCC’s arts scene since 2019, showcasing works across visual arts, architecture, and design.

The exhibition will present paintings, videos, installations, and sculptures that reflect the region’s unique cultural and environmental landscapes.

Running until 8th December, the launch of this quinquennial also marks the Art Gallery’s 10th anniversary. Since opening in 2014, the gallery has played a key role in establishing NYUAD as a cultural destination on Saadiyat Island. By highlighting both emerging and established voices shaping the region's vibrant arts scene, as well as artists from around the world, the gallery has fostered a rich and diverse cultural dialogue across the Gulf and internationally.

The exhibition is co-curated by Maya Allison, Executive Director of the NYUAD Art Gallery, and Duygu Demir, Curator and Research Assistant Professor at the Art Gallery. Their work evolved through dialogues with artists and curators from across the region, including four curatorial interlocutors: Abdullah Al Mutairi, Ali Ismail Karimi, Aseel AlYaqoub, and Ayman Zedani. Rather than serving as a comprehensive survey, this exhibition reflects significant moments in the region’s visual production over the past five years.

The exhibition will feature works by artists including Alia Ahmad, Abdulrahim Alkendi, Mohammad AlFaraj, Noor Al-Fayez, Afra Al Dhaheri, Mohamed Almubarak, Sophia Al Maria, Mariam M. Alnoaimi, Christopher Joshua Benton, Sarah Brahim, Vikram Divecha, Faissal El-Malak, Hazem Harb, Aziz Motawa, Mohammad Sharaf, Shaima Al Tamimi, and Ayman Zedani, as well as collaborative works by Civil Architecture (Hamed Bukhamseen and Ali Ismail Karimi), Aseel AlYaqoub, Asaiel Al Saeed, Saphiya Abu Al-Maati, Yousef Awaad Hussein, and by Camille Zakharia and Ali Ismail Karimi.

Commenting on the 10-year anniversary and the launch of this quinquennial, Allison said, “In the first decade of the NYUAD Art Gallery and Project Space, alongside our own development as a cultural institution, we have seen a proliferation of artists – thanks in part to new initiatives across the Gulf -- producing complex, nuanced, and provocative work, alongside their more seasoned peers. Expanded beyond a national arts landscape, this exhibition brings together and makes visible a larger shared ecosystem. A distinct chapter has opened in the region, and on the global stage.”

Demir added, “The title of the first iteration, Between the Tides, reflects the Gulf’s deep connection to lunar rhythms and a sense of time shaped by natural patterns. The exhibition showcases a wide variety of artistic styles, from emerging voices to well-known figures, and explores important themes like urban growth, environmental change, heritage, identity, and representation. During the research phase of this show, our conversations with the curatorial interlocutors, as well as exchanges with the artists, were immensely educational.”