Hassan Sharif is a name of wide significance beyond the borders of UAE, going to create an eternally fresh mark on the global art scenario. Enounced as the father of conceptual art in the Gulf he brought innovation in making art and that would change the perceptions of UAE towards contemporary art forever. Sharif’s work has been loaded with a quality of complexity and polity along with humour excised from the traditional methods of art which have welcomed a new wave of experimentalism and conceptualism.

Sharif died in 2016; however, the work lives on. His work is exhibited in most of the world’s leading museums, including Guggenheim New York, Centre Pompidou, Tate Modern, and the Sharjah Art Foundation. In fact, it’s not only his works that he’s created in the process which have left their marks but the very pioneering vision and passion for art education he inspired which now finds its way to new generations of artists across the Middle East and beyond.

Throughout the 1970s, his artistic journey involved work as a political caricaturist, capturing the changing dynamics of the UAE and the larger Middle East. His early cartoons in newspapers depicted the rapid urbanization and commercialization and politically impactful changes that occurred in the region. In fact, by 1979, Sharif saw a need to progress beyond mere caricature art. In rejecting mainstream calligraphy and nationalist art practiced in the Middle East, he left the UAE to formally study at the Byam Shaw School of Art, London, under the tutelage of Tam Giles. In this period, Sharif was introduced to British Constructionism as well as the abstract conceptual practices of Kenneth Martin. He came to refer to what he produced as the “Semi-System,” wherein he would create artworks through repetitive, arbitrary processes. His methodology focused on the process of creation above the end product-an approach that presented a radical departure from traditional forms of art.

Upon returning to the UAE in the 1980s, Sharif set about transforming the local art scene. He began to organize the first modern art exhibitions in the Emirates and, in 1984, founded Al Marijah Art Atelier that became a setting for young artists to experiment and learn. But Sharif was not only an artist; he was also a teacher, publishing hundreds of essays and translating international manifestos of art so that he could reach the audience and explain the message beyond the conceptual action of art. His works often took the form of constructing everyday things like combs, ropes, newspapers, and coir into large-scale assemblages. His pieces showed his scathing attacks on consumerism and speedy industrialization in the UAE. Sharif was inspired by Marcel Duchamp’s philosophy of readymades- the intellectual idea that everyday objects are transformed into art just by changing their context and meaning-Sharif made this mundane object into a leading piece.

While Sharif’s art was no ‘only within the frame,’ he enjoyed equal fame for his performances of absurd acts in public. So, one day, right in one of his first performances, Sharif would be jumping in the desert, tying ropes between rocks, or munching bread while discussing politics and art. His performances were just as much about the process and gesture as was his physical artwork, often working in irony to challenge the seriousness of the political and social discourse of the time. His work within such influence by British Constructivism and absurdity would show how Sharif viewed art: a process-based activity. He focused on the action of making, rather than the meaning of the resulting artifact, often turning mundane processes into acts he ritualized by repetition. His work, therefore, is a simple critique against the consumerist culture, laying bare the overconsumption of modernity.

Hassan Sharif is not only remembered by his vast production, but he has changed the life of the following generations of artists in the UAE. His influence exists throughout the region, from the Flying House-a space founded by Sharif’s brother to showcase Hassan’s work-to the international recognition that Emirati contemporary art has received. Sharif’s works remain visible today in museums like the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Mathaf Arab Museum of Modern Art, and in Sharjah Art Foundation. And so, his art remains available to this world and inspires thinking in its beholders, and starts movements.

In conclusion, Hassan Sharif was not only an artist but also a forerunner who made the most important steps toward the formation of the UAE’s artistic identity. Indeed, his work reminds us how art can be used to challenge the status quo, provoke questions in people, and mirror all the complications of life around us. Today, Sharif’s legacy continues to be alive in the conceptual art scene that continues to boom in the UAE because of the pioneering efforts he put in.

Fathima Mohiuddin is one of the great street artists in public art, powerfully emphasizing her Indian, UAE, and Canadian heritage in powerful street murals. For over a decade now, Fathima, codenamed Fatspatrol, has created public art in more than 10 cities worldwide through using community wall paints. Her unique art offers symbolism combined with comic-book influences intertwined with her traditional Indian patterns on themes of identity, freedom, and resilience. Fathima is a founder of The Domino-an artist-run platform in Dubai, who remains a beacon for emerging artists but has a unifying experience in her art.

Fathima was born to Indian parents and raised in the UAE. Her multicultural upbringing proved to be a key inspiration in her art, and it can indeed be very much perceived through her murals and public works, drawing from personal reflections on belonging and identity. Her work is full of vivid symbolism, captures triumph and freedom, and moves people beyond the confines of language and borders. Fathima loves comic book ilslustrations and Indian block prints, which make up much of her visual vocabulary. This couple with an interest in all forms of existential questions related to life gives her work that edge of boldness and narrative storytelling. She breaks free from traditional conventions and instead creates abstract and subconscious representations. She invites the viewer to interpret the deeper meaning within, making connections across cultures and experiences.

Her street murals find a spread across cities from Toronto to Dubai since they tend to provide stories universally speaking on resilience, hope, and the journey of self-discovery. Themes tend to run through Fathima’s experiences while navigating multiple cultural identities and her desire to challenge societal definitions of self.

In 2010, Fathima founded The Domino, an artist-run platform in Dubai. The space creates rooms for public art and has, by default, been using the rallying voice for the region’s emerging artists. Fathima seeks to provide accessibility to art through all means while addressing the issues of high art versus the people. She also works towards the inspiration of young creatives to express themselves on canvases across the urban landscape. The platform has emerged as an interactive and dynamic space for creative communities. Here, arts are not just regarded as mere elements of expression but as a tool that can affect the social structure. In this way, Fathima helped redefine what public spaces in Dubai should be – interactive places that provoke thought.

In an international career spanning success, Fathima never loses touch with her roots. She graduated in the Arts & Culture department from the University of Toronto and earned an MA in Sociology from Goldsmiths, University of London. These educational experiences further kindled interest in exploration of all dimensions of cultural identity, social norms, and the role of art in inquiry on existential questions. She has always enjoyed many accolades through her work, including the Sheikha Manal Young Artist Award in 2010. She continues to split her time between Toronto and Dubai, tearing apart the cultural and artistic borders of the East and West worlds.

Fathima’s work has been noticed for her typical qualities of art merged with social comment. Her murals often portray issues of liberty, identity, and resilience, thus serving as visual narratives explaining to the collective human experience that reflects part of her journey from doing art in makeshift studios and becoming one of the country’s most recognized street artists.

Fathima Mohiuddin is an artist whose work is much more than just being an urban artist; she is a tale teller whose work transcends boundaries. Most people inspired by her striking murals, full of symbolism, will begin to think about their existence in the world, since all the forced identities are but a material path toward self-discovery.

Paris-based French artist Calixte channels her vibrant personality and love for freedom into her art as she abandoned her career in architecture for her true passion. Born in 1995, Calixte has carved out a niche in the contemporary art world by marrying the worlds of photography, urban culture, and cinematic storytelling together with bold, saturated colours. Her works are more than aesthetic pieces but social commentaries about the youth culture, urban lifestyle, painting a bright picture of present time while celebrating individuality and freedom.

Actually, for Calixte, moving from architecture to the world of art was not a change in career as much as taking a leap into a world where her true creative spirit would shine. A trained architect, it is Calixte’s background that brings structure and form to her vibrant emotionally charged works. Architecture is about precision, symmetry, and planning; art allows for complete freedom of expression-a juxtaposition well encapsulated in the unique style that is Calixte. Calixte grew up in France amidst a culture that created creativity and inspiration. As her architectural career developed, her attention turned to a far more freeing form of creativity-art. The world of architecture was filled with rules and regulations; it is in this world of art that Calixte found a feeling of freedom. With her mastery of oil paint, dynamic pieces burst with saturated colours leaping from the canvas as a clear means of voicing emotion and personality.

The root of Calixte’s work is in bold, vibrant colours-so vibrant, because she tries to portray freedom and authenticity. She has used saturated colours consciously, the way she broke herself free from the rigid controls of her previous profession, each stroke with a sense of release, enabling her to push through the conventional boundaries of the art techniques. Though impulsive, her style balances on the firm foundation of her architectural training, therefore presenting a fascinating balance between structure and abstraction. Her colours tend to be bright and very saturated, speaking to a sense of energy and vitality. For Calixte, colours speak so much louder than words and speak to a feeling that transcends language barriers. This is most apparent in her portraits of urban youth-the intensity of the colour palette reflecting the dynamic nature of street wear culture, which is a major influence on her work.

Much of the inspiration in Calixte’s work emanates from her eclectic influences that range from a love of cinema and photography, both elements that notably influence her artistic narratives. She is very fascinated by the way films record human stories, and for that reason, her paintings seem to be like a movie. The compositions of her works are film stills moments recording emotions and subtle expressions from real-life life experiences. Calixte’s work is informed by her being bathed in urban culture and street wear. For her, street fashion is not a fad; it’s a medium and expression of raw energy that characterizes the youth of today. She does this by infusing these influences into her art to form visual stories that really strike a chord with the modern audience. Combining her urban aesthetic with architectural precision makes her works raw, unfiltered, and appealing to lovers of art and generally anyone with feelings for modern street culture.

One of the most defining themes in Calixte’s work is how she is able to portray youth in its true form: raw, unfiltered, and full of life. Her portraits reach past the façade and into the emotional terrain of the individual being captured. From carefree and playful in street wear to contemplative when caught in reflective moments, creation from Calixte often feels like a form of social reporting-visuals of the youths of today sans embellishment. More than the aesthetic of the visuals, her work is about capturing the very essence of the people she shoots. It is through this that the relationship of her art with youth and urban life lets her work be so relatable, most especially to a younger audience who trace bits of themselves through the narratives she creates.

The ease with which Calixte takes herself from the graphic tablet to oil paints reflects the versatility of the artist. From traditional to digital mediums, she continues to embrace these for her unique texturing, techniques, and forms of expression. She does this with a depth and complexity brought about by digital precision interacting with the tactility of painting. Most often, her works border on true social reporting. It is in this duality that Calixte fits into both the world of traditional art and modern, contemporary spaces.