Meem Gallery

Meem Gallery's expertise lies in modern and contemporary Arab and Iranian art, with a particular focus on the work of the Middle East's modern masters. The gallery's strength lies in its unparalleled access to both private and public collections of the region's leading artists. Since its 2007 launch by Sultan Sooud Al-Qassemi, Mishal Hamed Kanoo and Charles Pocock in Dubai's Al Quoz, fast becoming the city's arts district, Meem has been the site of numerous carefully curated exhibitions, many of which introduced the work of major regional artists to Gulf audiences. The gallery has focused on the work of individual artists in solo shows, as well as art production from a geographical perspective in the group and joint exhibitions Art in Iraq Today, Art Palestine, Art Sudan, Art Morocco and Art Syria. Modern masters exhibited by Meem include Jewad Selim, Dia Azzawi, Shakir Hassan Al Said, Ismail Fattah, Parviz Tanavoli, Abbas Kiarostami, Ahmed Cherkaoui, Mohamed Melehi, M'hamed Issiakhem, Mahmoud Said, Fateh Moudarres, Louay Kayyali, Ibrahim Salahi, and Ali Omar Ermes, among others. Since 2010, the gallery has also focused on exhibiting the work of innovative contemporary artists such as Jeffar Khaldi, Zhivago Duncan, Steve Sabella and Mahmoud Obaidi.

Many of the artists Meem Gallery works with have art work in leading Middle Eastern and International collections and institutions such as: Ashmolean Museum, Oxford; Barjeel Art Foundation, Sharjah; British Museum, London; Centre Pompidou, Paris; Freer & Sackler Galleries, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; Grey Art Gallery, New York University, New York; Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris; Kinda Foundation, Saudi Arabia; LACMA, Los Angeles; Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Musuem of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas; MoMA, New York; National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; Tate Britain, London; Tate Modern, London; Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art; Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

In addition to exhibiting important modern and contemporary works, Meem encourages a greater understanding of Middle Eastern art through its publications and the Noor Library. In conjunction with every exhibition held at Meem a catalogue is produced, providing viewers with valuable resources on the artists and works displayed at the gallery. The Noor Library of Middle Eastern Art, held at Meem Gallery, is recognized as one of the largest international resource centres for the arts of the Middle East. While the focus of the library is on modern and contemporary Middle Eastern art, the holdings are equally strong in medieval and ancient art of the region. To date, the library houses a collection of 16,000 books, journals and auction catalogues relating to modern and contemporary Middle Eastern and Islamic art.