Guest Relations: Hotels as Sites of History and Transgression at Jameel Arts Centre
The Jameel Arts Centre in Dubai is hosting a group exhibition titled Guest Relations, curated by Murtaza Vali, which will be open until 28 April 2024. The exhibition showcases works from artists such as Hale Tenger, Pio Abad, Ahmed Mater, Mati Jhurry, Sung Tieu, and Hind Mezaina. Tenger presents the video 'Beirut (2007)', illustrating the St Georges Hotel's destruction in Beirut. Abad's piece, 'Oh! Oh! Oh! (A Universal History of Iniquity)', critiques the allure of tourism, referencing the 1976 IMF Meeting. Mater's work features the Abraaj Al Bait Towers near Mecca's Ka'aba, while Jhurry focuses on hospitality labor. Tieu recreates Havana's Hotel Nacional de Cuba in 'Moving Target Shadow Detection', and Mezaina's 'Good Life' highlights hotels as expat centers through 1970s-80s advertisements. Additionally, the exhibition includes contributions from Sophie Calle and Tali Keren.
Key facts
- Guest Relations runs until 28 April 2024 at Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai
- Curated by Murtaza Vali, who grew up in Sharjah
- Features works by Hale Tenger, Pio Abad, Ahmed Mater, Mati Jhurry, Sung Tieu, Hind Mezaina, Sophie Calle, Tali Keren
- Tenger's 'Beirut (2007)' shows the abandoned St Georges Hotel in Beirut
- Abad's work references the 1976 IMF Meeting in the Philippines
- Mater's photograph shows hotels around Mecca's Ka'aba
- Jhurry worked for Emirates airline for three years to document labor
- Tieu's piece digitally recreates Hotel Nacional de Cuba, site of Havana Syndrome
- Dubai saw $29.4 billion in international traveler spending in 2022
- Exhibition includes themed galleries: hotel building, lobby, corridor, room
Entities
Artists
- Hale Tenger
- Pio Abad
- Ahmed Mater
- Mati Jhurry
- Sung Tieu
- Hind Mezaina
- Sophie Calle
- Tali Keren
- Nabla Yahya
- Murtaza Vali
Institutions
- Jameel Arts Centre
- Emirates
- World Travel and Tourism Council
- International Monetary Fund
- United Nations
- What's On
Locations
- Dubai
- United Arab Emirates
- Sharjah
- Beirut
- Lebanon
- Mecca
- Saudi Arabia
- Havana
- Cuba
- Philippines
- Hotel Nacional de Cuba
- St Georges Hotel
- Burj Al Arab
- Abraaj Al Bait Towers
- Grand Hyatt