Opening September 7 at The Ara Gallery

The Ara Gallery will open “Expressions of India”, presented by the Dubai Photo Workshop, on September 7. This photo exhibition will feature seven diverse photographers from the Arab world and beyond, who took part in a photographic expedition to India earlier this year.
(photograph by Nihal Akma)

“Expressions of India” is a reflection of each individual photographer’s unique feelings while being fascinated by India and capturing all that the incredible country has to offer. Indian street life, nature, history, culture and traditions are just a few things that the photographers’ lenses have captured. The photographers traveled through four of India’s cities – Jaipur, Agra, Varanasi and Delhi – to capture these expressions.

Ivana Maglione and Gary Schmid, two UAE-based photographers, organized the photography expedition to help promote the concept of travel and street photography and hope that the workshop/expedition help further the photographers’ skills while providing them with a better understanding of India’s culture.

The exhibition features seven photographers, both amateur and professional, who hail from not only the Arab world but around the globe. The exhibiting photographers are: Gary Schmid (Austria), Habeeb Al Aswad (Saudi Arabia), Ivana Maglione (Italy), Lana Vshivkoff (Australia), Nihal Akmal (Egypt), Noel Miller (UK) and Sue Krimeed (Lebanon).

One of the exhibiting photographers, Sue Krimeed, comments that “perhaps my travel photography cannot prevent poverty or wars, but by reflecting what my lenses captures I can demonstrate that in any part of the world all peoples experience the same emotions.”

The exhibiting artists have also pledged to donate a portion of their proceeds from the photograph sales to Harmony House, a non-profit organization near Delhi, India that is a community center providing education, food, medication, hygiene facilities and social services to women and children living in the slums of Gurgaon.

Lucy Bruce, founder of Harmony House says “we are really touched and honored that this amazing group of photographers have selected Harmony House to donate some of their proceeds from the sale of their prints. It is truly inspiring that they have made the collective decision to give back to the society where these beautiful and uplifting images were taken.” Lucy continues that Harmony House relies “100% on donations so the support that Ivana, Gary and the team have given us will be of huge benefit to us and allow us to continue to give our children the hope of a brighter future.” The proceeds will go towards the services that the organization provides for 170 slum children in Gurgaon.

The opening night event for “Expressions of India” will take place at The Ara Gallery on September 7 from 7 – 9 pm and is open to the public. The exhibition will run through the rest of September and close on October 1. The Ara Gallery will follow this exhibition with their next ‘concept’ exhibition, “Raising the Stereotype” on October 4.

About The Ara Gallery
The Ara Gallery is a ‘concept’ art gallery located in Downtown Dubai. The gallery is dedicated to exposing the emerging artists from around the Arab world, while providing a place for art-related dialogue and inspiration to young and aspiring artists. Moza Mohamed Al Abbar founded The Ara Gallery in April, 2011.

The Ara Gallery
Burj Plaza, Emaar Boulevard
Downtown Dubai
T: +971 4 454 2784
W: www.thearagallery.ae
Open Saturday – Thursday 10am-10pm and Friday 3pm-10pm