Made in the UAE: Dubai

12 - 30 June 2026

Made in the UAE is a curatorial initiative launched in October 2025 to spotlight and support artistic voices shaping the UAE’s contemporary cultural landscape. Following an open call that attracted more than 300 submissions from artists residing across the Emirates, seven artists selected feature their works at the group exhibition.
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Ahmed Emad, A lady with her balcony open , 2026
SAMO SHALABY, Genesis, 2025, Acrylic on canvas, 120 x 240 x 4 cm, 47.2 x 94.5 x 1.6 in

Identity, Memory and Materiality

Reflecting the multicultural fabric of the UAE’s dynamic creative ecosystem, the open call finalists represent a range of distinct artistic perspectives and practices. Their works span painting, sculpture and mixed-media, exploring themes of identity, memory, materiality and cultural exchange, while offering a snapshot of the evolving contemporary art landscape shaping the region today.

The selected finalists, all residing in the UAE, are Ahmed Emad (UAE/Egypt), Anila Ashraf (Pakistan), Camelia Mohebi (UAE), Elizaveta Pugacheva (Russia), Samo Shalaby (Egypt/Palestine), Sasan Nasernia (Iran) and Yousif Albadi (Sudan).
SASAN NASERNIA, Singularity encoded no4, 2025, Acrylic on canvas, Diameter: 120 cm, Diameter: 47.2 in

Championing Emerging Talent in the UAE

“Made in the UAE was created as a way to engage more directly with the artistic energy emerging from across the Emirates,” said Jean-David Malat, Founder of JD Malat Gallery. “The level of submissions we received was incredibly strong and demonstrated the depth of talent currently shaping the UAE’s cultural landscape. What stood out was not only the quality of the work, but the diversity of perspectives and experiences represented. These artists reflect the international and layered identity that makes Dubai such a compelling creative city today.”
Ahmed Emad, See things others don't, 2026, Oil on wood, 90 x 70 cm, 35.4 x 27.6 in

AHMED EMAD (b. 1993, Dubai, UAE)

is a multidisciplinary artist whose mixed- media practice combines engineering precision with expressive portraiture and material experimentation, investigating identity, transformation, and the emotional narratives embedded within form.
Anila Ashraf, Zakhm-e-Nau, 2025, Two wooden pieces with porcelain pieces mounted on wall, 45 x 80 cm, 17.7 x 31.5 in

Anila Ashraf (b. 1978, Pakistan)

is a Dubai-based ceramic artist and founder of LaTakhaf Ceramics whose experimental wheel-thrown works blur the line between functional design and sculpture, celebrating transformation, material exploration, and the expressive potential of clay.
Camelia Mohebi, Star of Soheil, 2025, Polished Stainless Steel, Mirror Reflective Finish, Glass and Sand, 100 x 100 cm , 39.4 x 39.4 in

Camelia Mohebi

is a multidisciplinary Emirati artist, designer, and art therapist whose richly layered practice spans painting, illustration, and multimedia, exploring healing, spirituality, and self-discovery through symbolic and immersive visual narratives.
Elizaveta Pugacheva, A Pool, 2026, Hand embroidery/textile/collage, 30 x 30 cm , 11.8 x 11.8 in

Elizaveta Pugacheva (b. 1995)

is a Dubai-based interdisciplinary artist whose painting, graphic, and textile works draw on digital culture and personal migration experiences to explore identity, collective memory, and the evolving relationship between technology and belonging.
Sasan Nasernia, Loom No7, 2026, Acrylic on wood canvas and exposed wooden stretcher, 120 x 100 cm , 47.2 x 39.4 in

Sasan Nasernia (b. 1974, Tehran, Iran)

is a multidisciplinary artist living between Dubai and Vancouver whose practice reinterprets Persian and Arabic calligraphic traditions through abstraction, developing his distinctive "Crazy Kufic" visual language to explore the boundaries between text, form, and meaning.
Samo Shalaby, It's All Forgotten Now, 2024, Acrylic on wood panel, 120 x 90 x 4 cm, 47.2 x 35.4 x 1.6 in

Samo Shalaby (b. 1999, Cairo, Egypt)

is an Egyptian-Palestinian multidisciplinary artist and Central Saint Martins graduate whose theatrical paintings and photographic works merge surrealism, fashion, and historical symbolism to examine identity, culture, and reinvention.
Yousif Albadi, Seeking Balance , 2026, Archival pigment print on Fine Art Paper, mounted on Dibond with concealed sub-frame and wooden floating frame, 133 x 200 cm, 52.36 x 78.74 in, Edition of 5 plus 2 AP

Yousif Albadi (b. 1989, Sharjah, UAE)

is a Sudanese multidisciplinary visual artist, photographer, and curator whose contemplative practice transforms architecture, landscape, and light into poetic reflections on memory, space, and the human condition.