Manarat Al Saadiyat’s new exhibition explores Khaleejiness

From August 31 until February 10, Abu Dhabi’s Photography Studio at Manarat Al Saadiyat will exhibit the work of several talented artists who will be exploring the idea of Khaleejiness. The exhibition is based on Encapsulated Volume 1: Photo-Essays on Khaleejiness — a book by SWALIF Publishing House.

What does it mean to be Khaleeji?

The word khaleeji (meaning “of the Gulf”) is used to refer to the identity of citizens of the six Gulf Cooperation Council states. These GCC states are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Of course, using one word to denote a regional identity can pose several issues. Taking this further, identity is multi-faceted and a single word (i.e. Khaleeji) cannot be used to denote the identities of people from 6 distinct nations.

For this reason, the photography exhibition at Manarat Al Saadiyat seeks to explore the Khaleeji identity and question the legitimacy of attempting to identify identity as a whole. What is more, it aims to coin a new term and replace the idea of Khaleeji identity with “Khaleejiness”.

12 artists will showcase their work

12 artists from the GCC states will showcase their work and tackle the overwhelming question of what it means to be Khaleeji. The names of the artists and examples of their work can be seen below: