Rahel Aima

Dubai

Journalist at Freelance

Freelance Associate Editor at Momus

writer, editor, critic; art, tech, gulf. she/her

Articles

Why the inaugural Art Week Riyadh was a fair in everything but name

3 weeks ago | theartnewspaper.com | Rahel Aima

The inaugural Art Week Riyadh (AWR), organised by Saudi Arabia's Visual Arts Commission (VAC) and held between 6-13 April, was, according to its website, "a non-commercial" curated exhibition of galleries; explicitly not a fair. And yet, from its feel to its physical layout—its central exhibition saw 32 galleries take stands inside a central hall in the Jax district, a creative hub in Diriyah, northwest of the city—the event not only resembled an art fair, but largely functioned like one too.
UAE launches fund to help local artists participate in global art fairs

4 weeks ago | theartnewspaper.com | Gareth Harris |Georgina Adam |Rahel Aima |Anna Brady

A new fund managed by Art Dubai and overseen by the UAE government aims to boost the Emirate’s presence in the global art market by offering homegrown galleries a cash incentive to participate in international art fairs. The new International Art Fairs Grant was launched earlier this year by the government’s Dubai Culture and Arts Authority. Under the scheme, eligible galleries in Dubai can apply for the grant to support up to 50% of stand costs at an international art fair.
Spiritual Resonance: Islamic Arts Biennale 2025

1 month ago | canvasonline.com | Rahel Aima

The second edition of the Islamic Arts Biennale takes place in Jeddah and offers deep layers of history and heritage with a lighter twist of the contemporary.
Portfolio: Sara Alissa and Nojoud Alsudairi, Syn Architects

1 month ago | architectural-review.com | Rahel Aima

Spanning both research and design, this practice documents the layers of Saudi Arabia’s architectural heritage and breathes new life into historic sitesSara Alissa and Nojoud Alsudairi are shortlisted in the 2025 Moira Gemmill Prize for Emerging Architecture, part of the W Awards. Read the full announcementAmong the most beautiful installations at the 2024 Desert X AlUla biennial in north-western Saudi Arabia was a jagged cut zigzagging into the desert landscape.
Wael Shawky Aims to Kill Drama in His Art

Feb 14, 2025 | frieze.com | Rahel Aima

In one of the eeriest works at Jeddah’s inaugural Islamic Arts Biennale in 2023, a trio of giant streetlights tilted slowly from side to side, soundtracked by the otherworldly hum of locusts. This kinetic sculpture was In the Sound of Muzdalifah (2023) by Egyptian artist Wael Shawky, known for his richly textured filmic trilogies that challenge the hagiographic construction of history.
Home-grown: Group show at Misk Art Institute

Jan 23, 2025 | canvasonline.com | Rahel Aima

Nobody quite agrees what post-internet art was, only that it’s already over. Coined in 2006 by artist and curator Marisa Olson, the term describes a short-lived yet influential grouping that peaked in the early 2010s and was effectively killed by the disastrous DIS-curated 9th Berlin Biennale in 2016. Unlike progenitors such as the net art of the 1990s, post-internet artists took the internet not as their medium but rather as their toolkit.
Emily Karaka Champions Indigenous Justice Through Painting

Oct 27, 2024 | frieze.com | Rahel Aima

Central to Emily Karaka’s expressive practice is the Treaty of Waitangi, the founding document of Aotearoa New Zealand. Signed in 1840, the treaty was an agreement between the British Crown and more than 500 Māori chiefs. Its quasi-legal status, not to mention the differences between the English and Māori versions, would lead to the New Zealand Wars (1845–72), and a subsequent loss of ancestral land through confiscation and settler occupation.
On the Horizon: 19th Contemporary Istanbul

Oct 24, 2024 | canvasonline.com | Rahel Aima

Despite economic challenges, this year’s Contemporary Istanbul highlights the city’s dynamic art scene, blending established and emerging talent and setting a hopeful tone for its upcoming 20th edition next September.
‘Backbone’ Teams the Futuristic with the Handmade and Historical

Jul 11, 2024 | frieze.com | Rahel Aima

Flesh, wool, bone, iridescent metals: ‘Backbone’ feels like walking into an abattoir aboard a spaceship. Organized by curatorial duo Salasil, aka Sara bin Safwan and Zainab Hasoon, the group exhibition brings together six artists and collectives across multiple media to consider the spinal cord as a metaphor for the invisible ties – or, perhaps, sinews – that bind.
Nabla Yahya - Canvas

Apr 2, 2024 | canvasonline.com | Rahel Aima

Winner of the latest Richard Mille Art Prize, the artist unearths and dissects myriad layers in a quest for clarity and understanding.