The Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation (ADMAF), partnering with the Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA), has wrapped up Proximities, a groundbreaking exhibition that highlighted contemporary art from the UAE in South Korea.
Running from December 15, 2025, to March 29, 2026, over 75,000 art lovers visited the exhibit, making it the largest display of UAE contemporary visual art ever held in Korea and East Asia.
A Significant Cultural Achievement
Part of the Abu Dhabi Festival’s Abroad Programme, Proximities showcased more than 110 artworks from 47 artists based in the UAE, including 33 Emirati creators. This exhibition illustrated five decades of artistic development, revealing diverse narratives that fuse tradition with modernity.
This event marks the second phase in a strategic collaboration between ADMAF and SeMA. Their first joint exhibition, Layered Medium: We Are in Open Circuits, took place in Abu Dhabi in 2025, exploring Korean media-based art practices.
Enhancing UAE and Korea Artistic Relations
Both exhibitions and their associated programmes attracted audiences worldwide, strengthening cultural exchanges and promoting deeper interactions between art communities in the UAE and South Korea.
Her Excellency Huda Al Khamis-Kanoo, ADMAF Founder and Artistic Director of Abu Dhabi Festival, referred to Proximities as a crucial step in fostering cultural discourse, noting that it offered a platform for significant artistic exchanges that connect heritage with forward-thinking visions.
Joint Publications Foster Ongoing Collaboration
To commemorate the partnership, two collaborative publications were launched in March 2026:
Layered Dialogues: We Are in Open Circuits
Layered Dialogues: Proximities
Curated by Maya El Khalil and Eunju Kim, these catalogs serve as documentation for both exhibitions, including essays, visual records, and critical interpretations from artists and scholars from both cultures.
These publications act as a permanent record of this collaboration, encapsulating the exchange of ideas while offering readers various interpretive viewpoints.
A Dynamic Space for Dialogue
Curators underscored that the project was fueled by curiosity and openness, inviting cultural dialogue without predetermined narratives. Together, the exhibitions and catalogs formed a lively platform for mutual understanding and artistic discovery.
Through its partnership with SeMA, ADMAF reaffirms its dedication to global cultural engagement, showcasing Emirati artistic talent while nurturing connections through creativity, knowledge, and shared cultural ideals.
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