Ancestral Futures: On Memory

Friday, June 27

7:00pm – 9:00pm

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RSVPs closed Fri, Jun 27th

Friday Gallery is delighted to present our Summer 2025 season, 𝘈𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘍𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴: 𝘖𝘯 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘺. 𝘈𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘍𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 explores how materiality, memory, and ritual are infusing contemporary Arabic design practices, weaving ideas across worlds and time. These are objects of enchantment. Shaped in collaboration with Emirati curator Fatma Al Mahmoud, the exhibition brings together leading voices in Middle Eastern art and design from Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and the UAE. Featuring work by Sara Aahli, Abdulla Buhijji, Tamara Barrage, Sultan Bin Fahad, Wafa Al Falahi, Omar Al Gurg, Areen Hassan, Talin Hazbar, Layth Mahdi, Maktoum Al Maktoum, Pots & Pines, Kawther Al Saffar, Neda Salamanpour, and Nuhayr Zein. Across the Middle East, reverence for materiality has long been rooted in a direct relationship with the land, with aesthetics grounded in sensorial experiences of light, shadow, scent, sand, and other elemental forces. Today, in an age of technological evolution and cultural displacement, the language of ancestral materiality seduces us back to play, reimagined in ways that bridge cultural memories with contemporary curiosities. 𝘈𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘍𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 invites us to mine memory as material, creating tomorrows that honor yesterday in every step. The exhibition is built around three curatorial clusters, grouped to dialogue across shared material or conceptual terrain: 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘔𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘺 Where sand, stone, metal, and glass become storytellers. 𝘙𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 & 𝘙𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 Objects become vessels of belief, care, and continuity. 𝘕𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘤 𝘈𝘥𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 Design as adaptation: scalable, modular, in motion. 𝘈𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘍𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 is paired with a curated selection of fashion and objects that extend the show’s spirit: Iranian jeweler Lina Jahanpanah’s silver brooches for living flowers; antique textile jackets by Moroccan artisan brand Zoubida; and modular fashion by QASIMI, where Hoor Al Qasimi and Māori artist Emily Karaka joined forces to create a collection exploring Indigenous connection, political oppression, and land loss. ___ Friday Gallery will host an opening reception Friday June 27th from 7-9pm during the LA Design Festival, with a curator-led tour of the work alongside key artists and designers from the exhibition.

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