Umm Al Emarat Park hosts Art installation and Performance by Rand Abdul Jabbar

In collaboration with Abu Dhabi Art

Titled Act II: The Climbing Vine from series: Every Act of Recognition Alters What Survives

Abu Dhabi, 15 November 2021: Umm Al Emarat Park, in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Art, is hosting a live performance art piece by artist Rand Abdul Jabbar titled Act II: The Climbing Vine, taken from the series Every Act of Recognition Alters What Survives. The installation – which was originally commissioned for the 2021 Shubbak Festival in London and installed in London’s oldest botanic garden - has been re-imagined for Abu Dhabi Art to be displayed within the grounds of Umm Al Emarat Park’s Botanic Garden and Shade House.

The installation, which will be on display from 17 November until 31 December 2021, explores the role of memory in relation to place and history. Three sculptural interventions will be set in dialogue with the Park’s plant and in a way that utilizes the Botanic Garden and Shade House’s sensory and emotional qualities to provide focal points for contemplation and reflection.

A live performative reading of The Climbing Vine, a personal text written by Entissar Hajali, a London-based Syrian writer and performer and one of the original workshop members will also take place on 19 November at 11 am and 11.30 am, 20 November at 11 am, 11.30 am and 4 pm, and 11 December at 4 pm for a duration of 30 minutes. The performative reading will also be recorded and activated through a QR code for visitors to enjoy throughout the month.

Artist Rand Abdul Jabbar said: “I’m thrilled to see the installation come to life in the UAE through this collaboration between Abu Dhabi Art and Umm Al Emarat Park. The art installation and performance that I am presenting emerged from a participatory workshop through which I engaged women of the Iraqi and Arab diaspora in London in conversation around the role of memory in relation to place and history. The work, which features a series of sculptural interventions in dialogue evokes memory’s transformational power to defy boundaries of space and time and their capacity to connect with cherished experiences from distant times and places in the present moment.”

A free workshop by Rand Abdul Jabbar will also take place at the Park on 5 December from 3 to 5pm. Art enthusiasts will have the chance to participate in the workshop and join the artist for a stroll through the Botanical Garden and engage in drawing exercises outdoors in response to a series of sculptural interventions that explore our capacity to connect with cherished experiences from distant times and places in the present moment.

Rasha Kablawi, Head of Umm Al Emarat Park’s Corporate Affairs and Communication Department said: “Curating and creating opportunities to explore, experience, enrich and educate is what drives all our community-focused events and initiatives at Umm Al Emarat Park. We always welcome collaborations that allow us to support artists from the region and promote the local art scene, as we believe in always finding ways to nurture the local community and leave lasting cultural legacies.”

Baghdad-born artist Rand Abdul Jabbar borrows from and reconstructs the ephemera of place, history and memory, employing design, sculpture and installation as primary mediums of operation. Current research pursuits examine historic, cultural and archaeological narratives, interrogating the fragility of tangible heritage to create and compose forms that draw on artefacts, architecture and mythology. Simultaneously, she explores and contests with individual and collective memory to produce fragmentary reconstructions of historic events and past experiences. Her work has appeared regionally and internationally in art exhibitions, galleries, festivals and foundations.

To visit the art installation at the Park, buy your tickets now at : https://www.ummalemaratpark.ae/.

The workshop is open to those 13 years and above. There is no need to register; to participate kindly arrive at the scheduled time and date at the Park’s Botanic Garden.