Dubai gallery brings African art to the Gulf

Alserkal Avenue in Dubai, the art district home to over 70 contemporary art galleries, in April saw the opening of its first dedicated African space.

The Efie Gallery’s new Africa-focused space made its debut with an exhibition featuring Afro-Cuban artist María Magdalena Campos-Pons and her work exploring the theme of land and belonging.

The Efie team have been present in Dubai since 2021 working in temporary spaces, but the new 4,400 sq ft. space allows for the display of more works. 

On entering, its high ceiling puts into sharp relief the sugar cane-inspired sculptures transporting us to Cuba’s sugar plantations, where thousands of African workers, including María Magdalena Campos-Pons’ distant relatives, were enslaved.

Upstairs, smaller rooms show the famous aluminium bottle cap works of Ghanaian master El Anatsui, Ethiopian Aïda Muluneh’s painting-like photography, and a colourful mural by Mali’s Abdoulaye Konaté.

“We thought we should have a roster so diverse that one day you can come to an exhibition and absolutely hate it, say this is ridiculous; and the next month you can come and say oh this is the greatest exhibition ever,” says Kwame Mintah, one of the founders.  “At that moment you cannot say if you hate or love African art, because you realise that African art is just that, art.”

His brother Kobe and mother Valentina decided to embark on the journey without a specific art background, but rather, a passion for elevating their continent’s image after years of living outside their home country Ghana in the UK and UAE. 

“We didn’t grow up wanting to become artists, we just grew up knowing who we are and wanting to portray it,” Kwame tells African Business.

“We looked at England and when it came to African art we noticed that it was seen as second tier – you will see arts and crafts or images of wildlife.”

While the West’s art scene reduced Africa to a concrete set of themes, the Middle East, and especially the Gulf, was a blank canvas, Kwame says. The Mintah family decided to establish their gallery in Dubai.

“Where in the West everything was focused on the structure of the narrative, here it was like you were given a blank canvas to construct the narrative. We were going to be the ones to define African art.”

The venture started with their participation in the All Africa Festival – an annual event celebrating African culture in the UAE – with a visual art exhibition in a pavilion at the Burj Plaza designed by Ghanaian architect Alice Asafu-Adjaye.

One of the artists whose pieces of art were exhibited was Ghana’s Yaw Owusu, known for his sculptural works incorporating coins to explore the shifting and transient nature of value across different economic and cultural contexts.

“[Efie’s] presence in the UAE has not only provided visibility for my work but, more importantly, has deepened and expanded the context in which it is received,” Yaw tells African Business, who after his appearance in Efie’s pavilion, undertook a residency with the gallery in collaboration with Dubai Culture to develop a body of work resulting in a debut solo exhibition in the UAE in 2022.

“By situating my practice within a broader framework, it has opened up new avenues for engaging with global conversations, particularly around the notion of value, which remains a central concern in my research and creative process.”

Cross-cultural exchange

The United Arab Emirates hosts more than 200 nationalities living and working across its different cities; in Dubai, foreigners make up around 92% of the population. 

Visibility and outreach were also important elements the Mintah family considered when choosing a location for Efie. The gallery not only provides exhibitions, but it organises auctions and sales that help support artists  – one of the pieces was sold to the Louvre in Paris –  as well as artistic residencies aimed at exploring the connections between the Middle East and Africa.

“We really wanted to make sure there is a cross-cultural exchange between the two regions, that we are not just here but also engaged with the people here,” says Kwame. “When artists come, they first engage with the local artist, local farmers, local institutions to understand where they are…and then they create based on this exchange.”

Next, they are planning to open a bilateral program that will take Middle Eastern artists into Africa to learn and collaborate. 

If the pieces at the gallery are constantly changing to show new exhibitions and artists, there is something that never moves: a cozy listening room showcasing a collection of over 2,000 original vinyl and shellac music records from the 1940s to today. Nigeria’s Fela Kuti, Algeria’s Warda, and Jamaica’s African Brothers Band are some of the names on display. 

“At most galleries worldwide, you feel like you cannot talk, like you are not allowed to be there. As Africans, we are all about community, we are all about inviting, all about being accommodating; and by adding this musical element, now when any gallery comes to Dubai and they see our space, then they feel like they have to catch up.”

So far, art curators and enthusiasts in Dubai have embraced Efie’s new opening. After María Magdalena Campos-Pons’ I am soil, my tears are water, Efie is planning a film and photographic exhibition curated by Nigeria’s Ose Ekore and featuring the works of artists Samuel Fosso, Aïda Muluneh, Kelani Abass, Abeer Sultan and Sumaya Fallatah. The work, to be displayed in June and July, will offer visual narratives that encourage reflection on healing, growth and understanding through the passage of time.

Saudi Arabians Sultan and Fallatah will be some of the first Middle Eastern artists to be exhibited at Efie – their ancestors arrived to the Arabian Peninsula after departing from Africa. It is estimated that around 10% of Saudi Arabia’s population can trace their origins from regions home to the modern countries of Nigeria, Chad, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Mali and Senegal. 

“When it comes to the representation of Africans and the African diaspora, art can challenge stereotypes, reclaim histories, and affirm identities that have long been misrepresented or erased. Through visual language, storytelling, and symbolism, African and African diaspora artists can address historical systems and legacies in a way that’s both visceral and intellectually engaging,” says Yaw Owusu.

Kwame argues that not only it is important to see more diversity and visibility around African art, but that Africans themselves must start owning creative spaces such as galleries and academies.

“From being an African that exhibits African work: there are some references where unless you are from the continent, you will not even understand (them). I just encourage more Africans to do it because we have to own our own narrative. I think art is like the fabric of all society.”