Frieze Sculpture Abu Dhabi opens on Saadiyat Island

Tomorrow, five artists plant their works across Mamsha Beach on Saadiyat Island. Frieze Sculpture Abu Dhabi opens as a series of conversations in stone, steel and canvas, set within the everyday rhythms of a public waterfront where sculpture meets the movement of the sea and the light that defines the Gulf. It is free, open to all, and runs until 16 December.

The artists, Zeinab Alhashemi, Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim, Hoda Tawakol, Imran Qureshi and Kamran Samimi, bring work shaped by material, memory, migration and the patterns of nature. Each has built a practice attentive to form and the forces that shape how we inhabit space. Together they create something the London-based Frieze organisation, which founded this sculpture series to reimagine how contemporary work engages with landscape, has positioned as a democratic vision: art as something integral to daily life rather than set apart behind walls or paywalls.

Frieze, founded in 1991, has long operated as a publisher, gallery and art fair operator. The Sculpture series expands that vision into public space, with editions shaped by geography and local culture. The Abu Dhabi iteration sits on Saadiyat Island, already home to the Louvre Abu Dhabi and other cultural institutions. This location is no accident: the island has become a centre for serious collecting and contemporary practice across the Gulf, and Frieze’s decision to bring this format here acknowledges both the appetite for visual culture and the opportunity to present work at a scale that the landscape permits.

Alhashemi, based in Dubai, works at the intersection of tradition and abstraction through colour and sculptural form. Ibrahim investigates memory and spatial experience, creating installations that reshape how viewers move through and perceive their surroundings. Tawakol, Qureshi and Samimi add further distinct perspectives, each artist’s participation contributing a different voice to the conversation the exhibition makes possible.

What distinguishes this project is its refusal of gatekeeping. Free admission and a public location mean the work unfolds within the ordinary movement of the island: the light across the water at different times of day, the seasonal shifts that mark time in the Gulf, the people who pass through whether they came for art or simply for air. The sculptures exist in dialogue with all of this, claiming space and asking for sustained looking. That democratic vision, in a moment when art institutions worldwide have narrowed their reach, is worth noticing.

Zeinab Alhashemi, a Dubai-based artist whose practice explores the intersection of tradition and abstraction through colour and form, brings sculptural works that respond to the island’s light and terrain. Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim, known for installations that investigate memory and spatial experience, contributes pieces that invite viewers to reconsider how we move through and perceive our surroundings. Their participation alongside Hoda Tawakol, Imran Qureshi and Kamran Samimi creates a dialogue between established and emerging voices, each artist contributing distinct perspectives shaped by their own creative trajectories and engagements with material.

Positioned along Mamsha Beach, a public waterfront promenade that draws residents and visitors throughout the year, the exhibition sits within the rhythms of everyday movement. Rather than contained within gallery walls, the sculptures exist in conversation with the natural elements: the quality of light across the water, the movement of visitors, the seasonal shifts that mark time on the island. This integration reflects a broader shift in how contemporary art institutions conceive of accessibility and the relationship between art and the public realm.

Frieze Sculpture Abu Dhabi opens on 17 November 2024 and continues until 16 December, making it available for the duration of the autumn season when temperatures moderate and outdoor time becomes a more comfortable part of daily life. The free admission reflects a deliberate curatorial philosophy that positions art as something belonging to all who pass through the space, rather than reserved for those who purchase entry. This accessibility extends the conversation about art’s role and presence beyond traditional audiences.

The exhibition sits within a broader moment of international contemporary art’s engagement with the Gulf region, where institutions and private collectors have substantially increased their support for living artists and experimental practice. Frieze’s decision to bring this format to Abu Dhabi acknowledges both the existing appetite for contemporary visual culture on the island and the opportunity to present significant works in a setting where sculpture can unfold at the scale the landscape permits, allowing each piece to claim its own space and invite sustained looking.

On Simply Luxury: Frieze · Louvre Abu Dhabi