Drink up: Dubai’s cafés pop up in Berlin-based Emirati art show

An exhibition at the me Collectors Room Berlin casts a wide net over Modern and contemporary artists born and based in the United Arab Emirates. Today is the last chance to catch Portrait of a Nation (until 29 October), a show of 50 Emirati artists—including Hassan Sharif, Lamya Gargash, Khalid Al Banna, and Omran Al Owais—organised by the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation. Familiar, and not so familiar, aspects of life in the UAE come to the fore—including the cafés that dot the UAE landscape. These ubiquitous eateries have been captured by the Dubai-based graphic designer Khalid Mezaina in a series of engaging, evocative drawings. “His work is important documentation amidst the incessant evolution of the UAE,” the exhibition organisers say. Mezaina meanwhile explains why these eateries matter in an online film. “It is a very different perspective on how to define the portrait of a nation,” he says, adding that cafés are an iconic institution in the ever-changing Emirates. “These cafeterias still have their place and they still exist. When you’re a student and broke, these are always the go-to places to have lunch and dinner.” He has so far made six works depicting the snack bars and diners, and aims to continue the series.