Mehdi Moutashar, early works from the 1960s and 1970s

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Courtesy: DAG

Lawrie Shabibi was founded in 2010 and opened its doors in early 2011 in Alserkal Avenue, located within the light industrial warehouse district of Al Quoz in Dubai. Following the relocation of several renowned galleries, this area quickly became the hub of contemporary art in the region, with Lawrie Shabibi as a forerunner in the development of this contemporary art scene. Initially, the gallery focused on emerging contemporary artists from the Middle East and North Africa (the “Global South”), and in the past five years, it has introduced artists from other regions and generations, maintaining a focus on the “underrepresented.”

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A major focus of Lawrie Shabibi remains the support of diaspora artists working across all media to explore themes such as identity, memory, history, and socio-political issues specific to the diasporic experience. Additionally, the gallery organizes art historical exhibitions, working with an older generation of artists. Notable exhibitions include historic shows for Moroccan pioneer Mohamed Melehi (1936-2020) and, more recently, Iraqi/French artist Mehdi Moutashar (b.1943) and Mona Saudi (1945-2022) at fairs such as Frieze Masters in London, Abu Dhabi Art, and Artissima in Turin, showcasing works from the 1950s to the 1980s.

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The gallery collaborates closely with museums and has successfully placed works in institutions including The Guggenheim, Tate Modern, Centre Pompidou, The British Museum, Dallas Museum of Art, LACMA, and the Cincinnati Art Museum. By integrating older, lesser-known artists with younger talent, Lawrie Shabibi aims to create a rich context and depth in its program, an approach considered essential to its mission of representing artists from underrepresented regions.