More than just a work of art

The art scene in Dubai in the 1980’s and 1990’s was on the verge of taking off.

Perhaps if they had not come to live in the Emirates, Ramni Talwar, Vandana Valrani and Nermeen Norani may never have translated their interest in art into a passion. They were three women with disparate backgrounds who discovered they enjoyed working together. It was luck, fate or just a chance of a lifetime that when the three friends started to look around for something to do beyond their household chores and caring for their children, there was living in Dubai an established painter, Kiran Sethi, who had the time, talent and ability to introduce them to the complexities of oil paintings. Ten years later, when I interviewed them in 1992, they were planning their first exhibition together.

Watercolor painting by Patricia Al Fakhri, 1989

Watercolor painting by Patricia Al Fakhri, 1989

The three artists used to meet at the Majlis art gallery, which opened its doors to the public in 1989. Majlis was developed in an old windtower house in Bastakia, Bur Dubai. It held regular summer art exhibitions. Alison Collins at Majlis explained that she developed the idea from the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in London which displayed works of prominent local artists. In the summer of 1992, paintings of a group of 10 artists hung at the exhibition gallery. These artists too met as a group once a week to paint, talk and compare notes on their successes and setbacks. Many of them taught or attended classes at the Dubai Art Society. Among these artists were Patricia Al Fakhri, a nurse by profession from England who was married to a Syrian architect. The Majlis gallery had a full programme for the 1992-93 season and continues to thrive today. 

In the spring of 1992, Markaz al Jumeirah, one of the prominent shopping malls at the time, was host to craftsman from abroad in its foyer. Ram Kishor Chhipa from Bagru, Rajasthan, demonstrated the 18 different stages of wood block printing on cloth. Next to him was Govind Kumar Soni, an artisan of silver jewellery from Jaipur, who carved intricate designs into silver pieces made into trinket boxes, bangles, rings and a wide selection of earrings. On the first floor, self-taught miniature painter Ghanshyam Mimbark proudly displayed his photograph of receiving the National Award from the President of India. Then there was Mustafa, who created papier-mâché, intricately decorated with gold leaf motifs. Papier-mâché from Kashmir is never fully pulped. In Mustafa’s family, the craft was passed down from father to son.

In the years to come, Dubai would become home in more ways than one to more artists, galleries and international talent.