Unverified listing
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Curatorial Ethos
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Foundry is a hybrid progressive art space in Downtown Dubai's Boulevard Crescent, developed by Emaar Properties and opened in December 2020. Spanning 20,000 square feet across six interconnected galleries designed in exposed concrete and brutalist detail, the space runs a comprehensive programme of exhibitions, commissions, workshops, artist talks and film screenings, alongside a co-working area, podcast studio, micro library and café — all free to enter. The programme has included solo presentations by Emirati artists Alia Zaal and Mohammed Al Qassab, group exhibitions bringing together artists from across the MENA region and beyond, and Art Dubai week programming. Part of Emaar's broader commitment to integrating cultural life into its Downtown development, Foundry has become one of the Opera District's most active and accessible cultural spaces.
Why this gallery matters
Exhibo editorial
Foundry opened in December 2020 in Boulevard Crescent — the same stretch of boulevard where Dubai Opera sits at one end and the fountain at the other — and immediately refused to be one thing. Six interconnected gallery spaces designed in exposed concrete and brutalist geometry. A podcast studio. A micro library. A café. A co-working space with free wifi where you don't have to buy a coffee. All of it free to enter. The programming is the kind that doesn't happen in commercial galleries: group shows of Iranian artists, solo exhibitions by Emirati painters, 28 women artists from South Asia and the post-Soviet world exploring migration and identity through textiles and video. Foundry was founded as "a response to the evolving cultural scene in the UAE" — which is an understated way of saying that someone at Emaar looked at Downtown Dubai and decided it needed a cultural commons. A place where the community comes not to buy but to look, think, work and talk. In a neighbourhood of luxury towers and five-star hotels, that is a particular kind of ambition.
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Address
Boulevard Crescent, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Blvd, Downtown Dubai
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