Warehouse421, the home-grown arts and design centre based out of Mina Zayed, has launched its virtual experience and online programmes featuring a series of video lessons, podcasts, book readings, community talks, and curatorial tours, enabling audiences to remotely engage with regional narratives in art and design.
Starting on 25 March, Warehouse421 conversations launched its first episode ‘Art and Artists in Times of Disruption’, tackling the current interruptions in the local art ecosystem and the various ways that livelihood in the arts can continue during times of disruption. The podcast is available through Warehouse421 website, YouTube channel, and Spotify, and will soon be accessible through all podcast platforms.
Commenting on taking Warehouse421 online, Faisal Al Hassan, manager of Warehouse421 said: “Learning and artistic experiment is at the heart of Warehouse421’s mission, and we wanted to provide an avenue for the creative community, be they practitioners or audiences, to engage with art and design digitally while they are safe and social-distancing.
“Through this virtual experience, we hope that regional creatives can continue to develop their artistic practices, connect with one another, and engage with art and design in new ways.”
In April 2020, the digital program will continue to engage with members of the Warehouse421 community, sharing their tips on staying well, connected, and productive when social-distancing. April will give creative practitioners the chance to watch video workshops on pattern-making, sewing, and jewellery making and designing, and the public can watch curatorial overviews of the space’s current exhibitions.
On April 1, audiences will be able to tune into Munira AlSayegh and Hashel Al Lamki discussing the curatorial themes spanning The Cup and The Saucer, whereas on April 5, curator Murtaza Vali will speak about The Stonebreakers, the show inspired by the historical and ongoing importance of maritime trade to the development of the port cities of the Arabian Gulf.
Warehouse421’s digital initiative will continue with an April podcast episode featuring Artist Hashel Al Lamki and Curator Munira Al Sayegh, moderated by Sara Bin Safwan, as they hold a Monday Meeting, a cornerstone of their process of developing the center’s current exhibition, The Cup and The Saucer.
