ZU students curate Common Grounds show by Dubai Collection @ Art Dubai

Dubai Collection, Dubai emirates's first institutional art collection of Modern and Contemporary art launched in 2021 under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, is presenting a new exhibition at Art Dubai (Apr. 18-20, previews 16, 17).

- Muhammad Yusuf

Titled Common Grounds, the show is curated by three Zayed University (ZU) students, Shamsa Al Qubaisi, Maryam Al Zaabi and Sara Al Sulaimani; they are mentored by curatorial advisors Dr. Nada Shabout and Magali Arriola.The exhibition, on view at Madinat Jumeirah, the traditional home of Art Dubai, invites visitors to engage with the Collection through a curatorial lens shaped by education and cultural dialogue.

The result of an academic collaboration, the exhibition reflects Dubai Collection's long-term vision to serve as a platform for education, research and cultural preservation. The project also highlights the Collection's role as both an archive and tool supporting research, creativity and the preservation of cultural narratives for the next generation. Common Grounds presents a selection of artworks from Dubai Collection made between the years 1949 and 2024, drawing on different geographic and cultural contexts, speaking to a shared human experience.

It brings together a diverse group of artists, including Talal Al Najjar, Lamya Gargash and Juma Al Hajj and welcomes reflection on the role of art in revealing connections across time, place and identity. Presenting the exhibition at Art Dubai connects Dubai's cultural history with global audiences, underlining the Collection's commitment to preserving and narrating the stories of the city's diverse communities. Fol-lowing a semester-long academic exploration, the exhibition was developed as part of the course Communities, Curatorial Practices, and Collections taught by Dr. Moya Goosen, College of Arts and Creative Enterprises, ZU.