Asma Belhamar’s interdisciplinary practice explores the phenomenon of the megastructure in the Emirates and its impact on the topographical memory of local landscapes. Through installation, experimental print, video and three-dimensional modelling, she synthesises the architectural and the organic to construct hybrid spaces that engage with notions of temporality and spatial memory. Her practice is driven by a desire to illustrate the effect that various architectural trends have had on perceptions of the Emirates both locally and globally. Born in 1988 in Dubai, UAE, Belhamar graduated with a BA in Visual Arts from Zayed University, Dubai, UAE (2012) and MFA in Textile Design at Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI (2017). She completed the Salama bint Hamdan Emerging Artists Fellowship in partnership with the Rhode Island School of Design, Abu Dhabi in 2014, and was an Artist-in-Residence at March Project, Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah, UAE and Porthmeor Studio, St Ives, UK both in 2019. Belhamar among the five artists shorlisted for the first Dubai Public Art Commission (by Dubai Culture and Art Dubai), Dubai, UAE (2023).

Florencia S.M. Brück, renowned for her generative art and data visualization, has exhibited at prestigious venues worldwide, including the Venice Art Biennale and Art Dubai. A pioneer in the Metaverse since 2007, she explores themes of time, perception, and parallel universes. As the founder of 9th Insight and Decentral Art Pavilion, Brück has led innovative projects blending art with technology for notable brands and institutions.

Maxi Cohen, is an award-winning artist, filmmaker, media activist and alchemist, whose work has helped to create visible social change. Her films play in theaters and on televisions internationally. Her works are in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, National Gallery of Canada and other museums.

Chafa Ghaddar (b. 1986, Lebanon) is an artist, painter and a teaching artist. She explores the use of the historical fresco technique in contemporary practices, and works equally with murals, painting, drawing, photography and mixed media. She executes site-specific and public art works and has participated in several exhibitions between Beirut, Dubai, New York, Brussels and Verona, Italy.

Amanda Abi Khalil is an independent curator based between Beirut, Paris and Rio de Janeiro. She has been focusing her curatorial projects on socially engaged art practices. She is the founder of TAP (Temporary Art Platform) a nonprofit organization committed to making another world possible, by affecting social change through public art. Founded in a region of unrelenting volatility and absent cultural policies, TAP curates the conditions for communities, private bodies and governmental institutions to recognize that contemporary artists can be allies in driving enduring social change amidst precarious contexts. In the process, TAP creates accessible tools and production opportunities for contemporary artists, whilst rendering their practice porous and participatory, within and beyond the field of art.

William Mullally is Arts & Culture Editor at The National. An award-winning culture writer, he’s lived in the UAE since 2009 and has long been a leading voice chronicling the rise of the region’s diverse creative scenes. He’s served as Dubai Eye 103.8’s film critic since 2013, and has contributed to Arab News, ET Bil Arabi, The Insider Arabia, GQ Middle East, Esquire Middle East, Al Arabiya, Savoir Flair and Harper’s Bazaar Arabia. His long-running celebrity interview series has achieved more than 50 million views across his YouTube and TikTok channels.

Sara Naim (b. 1987, London) is a multidisciplinary Syrian visual artist. She received her MFA Fine Art Media from The Slade School of Fine Art, London (2014) after receiving her BA (Hons) Photography degree from London College of Communication. She currently lives and works in London.

Moataz Nasr (b. Alexandria, 1961) is one of the most interesting figures to emerge from the context of contemporary Egyptian art. Nasr’s works explore the intersection of tradition and globalization, questioning the impact of political and economic development within their context. His art seeks to encourage dialogue and overcome cultural and geographical boundaries by using artistic practice as a tool and language. Nasr’s work brings together different languages to explore the contradictions of globalization, past and present, East and West, and the impact of political and economic choices on people.

Christiane Pyka is a spokesperson for the cultural engagement of the BMW Group. She oversees the company’s BMW Art Car collection and has spearheaded the development of various global art initiatives of the brand BMW. Previous roles include advisor to the president of the Goethe-Institut, the globally active cultural institution of the Federal Republic of Germany, as well as head of communication of its branch in Jakarta, Indonesia. Christiane holds a MA in Art History specializing in institutional critique.

Dr. Stephanie Rosenthal serves as Director of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Project, appointed by Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. From 2018 to 2022, she was Director at the Gropius Bau in Berlin, notably the first woman to direct the institution. Throughout her career Rosenthal held key roles, such as Chief Curator at the Hayward Gallery in London and Curator at the Haus der Kunst in Munich. With a specific interest on performative practices, she organized influential exhibitions like Move: Choreographing You (2010), Art of Change: New Directions from China (2012), and Garden of Earthly Delights (2019).

Auronda Scalera and Alfredo Cramerotti, a curatorial duo, champion diversity in art and advanced technologies, cultivating a space where artists with multiple backgrounds and forms of identity can thrive in the ever-evolving world of Web3. Auronda Scalera is an expert in fostering inclusive artistic communities, with a background in media and technology-based art projects and creating impactful dialogues. Based in London, Dubai, and the metaverse, she possesses an extensive understanding of the global art market. Alfredo Cramerotti is a curator and cultural theorist, who specialises in exploring the intersection of art and advanced technologies. Cramerotti is currently the director of Mosyn, Wales’ leading contemporary art institution. They are co-directors of Multiplicity-XXNFT, a platform that curates, publishes, and promotes art with a focus on diversity, and IAM–Infinity Art Museum – the first ever-evolving art museum in the metaverse.

Isaac Sullivan’s research interests include artificial intelligence, sound art, and the problematics of space and place. Exploring ecological thought and emerging technologies, his work revisits cybernetics and engages AI’s impact on images, data, territory, and observation through video, performance, and installation. He is co-founder of the artist collective, Cybernetic Listening.

William Wong, founder of dArt. DArt curates Spatial Art experiences engaging sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste. DArt is the first to enable Spatial Art experiences to be collected on the Blockchain. DArt’s curations have been exhibited in New York City and the Leila Heller Gallery in Dubai.