ABOUT 421

421 is an independent, anti-disciplinary platform dedicated to emerging artists and creative practitioners in the UAE and across the region. A site for research, learning and experimentation, 421 provides a nurturing environment for emergent creative practices and those who want to harness the arts as an agent for social inquiry and transformation. 421 encourages practitioners to explore the potential of public spaces as a means for progress and community engagement through a wide-ranging programmatic model that facilitates artistic exchange and critical dialogue.

Located in Abu Dhabi’s Mina Zayed, 421 presents a year-round program of exhibitions, talks, workshops, special events and educational initiatives that offer accessible learning opportunities to the wider community and the general public. Many of the 421 programs are organized in collaboration with local, regional and international partners, engaging children, students, educators, and creative professionals in a participatory approach to artistic and creative practice. These programs are designed to develop artistic and creative skills, supporting the growth of the UAE’s creative ecosystem.

HISTORY

Previously known as Warehouse421, 421 was established in 2015 inside a renovated warehouse that was repurposed as an exhibition and community space featuring galleries, studios, courtyards, co-working spaces, a library and cafe, and a public, outdoor plaza that serves as a multipurpose venue for film screenings, symposia, performances, art installations, and other special programs. The 421 campus is also home to several permanent art installations commissioned for major exhibitions that were previously presented inside the 421 galleries. Since its establishment, 421 has organized over forty solo and group exhibitions, and more than 1000 public programs across a range of artistic and creative disciplines.

In 2020, the team at 421 began the roll out of an extensive strategic framework (2020-25), that set an ambitious plan to provide the creative community and the wider public with engagement opportunities that break down the rigid categories of creative disciplines, encouraging inter-disciplinary, or anti-disciplinary, engagement. The strategic framework focuses on capacity-building and educational initiatives that give artists and creative practitioners the tools needed to push their practices into deeper realms of critical questioning, confronting new perspectives that expand the boundaries of their work.

PUBLIC PROGRAMS

Every season, the 421 public program presents an extensive calendar of workshops, courses, talks, film screenings, excursions, and special events that are designed to immerse audiences in hands-on experiences that develop artistic and creative skills and encourage cultural exchange. Responding to themes and topics addressed in the exhibitions on view, the 421 public programs promote deeper interaction and engagement with the arts.

CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAMS

The 421 capacity building programs support artists and creative practitioners who have a sustained artistic practice or interest in creative disciplines. Often involving juries made up of locally and regionally based arts professionals, as well as pedagogical partners that contribute to the curricula, the capacity building programs function as a launching pad for the career development of young and emerging practitioners. Those programs are open to participation of students, recent graduates and early-career practitioners interested in visual arts, design and architecture, film, new media, literary arts and performance.

HOMEBOUND RESIDENCY

The 421 Homebound residency program aims to support creative practitioners in the region in producing new work and exploring community engagement in their practices while working remotely. The 6-month-long online program will offer residents curatorial support as well as a production budget up to AED 20,000, which can be used for any equipment and materials required for the realization of their projects.

The program is open to all creative practitioners, including but not limited to visual arts and curation, design and technology, literary arts, music, culinary arts, theater, and performance, who are based in the West Asia, North Africa and South Asia region.

Visit our opportunities page for more information on how to get involved in the Homebound Residency.

ARTISTIC RESEARCH GRANT

The 421 Artistic Research Grant supports practice-based research investigating contemporary social questions through interdisciplinary methodologies and active engagement with the researcher’s community. While this is not an academic grant, a strong interaction with the historical, geographical, and intellectual context of a grantee’s topic and medium is expected.

Grantees are required to produce a textual outcome detailing the research process and are encouraged to conceive of other formats of research expression as part of 421’s effort to promote a wider dissemination of knowledge. This can include, but is not limited to performances, school or public programming, symposia, or exhibitions.

Visit our opportunities page for more information about the Artistic Research Grant.

ARTISTIC DEVELOPMENT EXHIBITION PROGRAM

The 421 Artistic Development Exhibition Program is an exhibition process that emphasizes the professional and creative development of its participating artists. Conceived as a commissioning exhibition, participating artists are supported by experienced art educators and/or a senior curator from the region, along with the 421 team, through a structured educational model of production, towards a polished exhibition of high caliber.

This program opens opportunities to UAE-based artists with rigorous and sustained practices and allows them space to continue to experiment. It also encourages artists to think deeply about the reception of their work in a public institution and the connection, communication, and multidimensional interaction with their communities and the ways different communities interact with their exhibition.

CURATORIAL DEVELOPMENT EXHIBITION PROGRAM

The 421 Curatorial Development Exhibition Program is an exhibition process that emphasizes the professional and creative development of its curators. Supported by the 421 team and an expert pedagogical partner, the program aims to support emerging local and regional curators who are pushed here to hone their practice holistically and to build a well-rounded skill set that aids them in crafting each facet of a successful exhibition.

The program features a hybrid of practical and theoretical pedagogical structure that pushes for the understanding of spatial and operational decisions not as secondary to the exhibition’s curatorial concepts, but rather as equally essential to the exhibition’s content, a reflection of and a tool for the curatorial premise to be further explored. The program aims to create a community of young and emerging curators who can contribute to the UAE’s cultural ecosystem in meaningful ways.

EDUCATION PROGRAMS

The education programs at 421 promote access, learning and engagement with creative disciplines among children, students and youth of all skill levels and backgrounds. The programs include interpretive and interactive tools that make exhibitions more accessible to children and audiences of determination, such as tactile experiences, audio guides and in-gallery activity guides. Educational programs at 421 also include special workshops and courses designed for youth, teens, and university students, as well as the annual internship and mentorship program, preparing young art professionals for a career in the arts. The annual docents’ program trains young creative practitioners to give exhibition tours to children, families, schools, and visitors, developing their interpersonal skills and knowledge around contemporary art history. Other initiatives led include the 421 reading room program, which encourages young researchers and academics to participate in discussions about their in-process projects with wider audiences. 

These initiatives are developed in partnership with Abu Dhabi Department for Education and Knowledge, SEDRA Foundation for Inclusion, New York University Abu Dhabi, and Zayed University, to ensure that the programs meet the specific learning needs among youth.