The Image-Makers’ Suhoor is an evening designed for image-makers, artists, and anyone curious about creative processes. The night begins with artist talks, where the invited artists will present works in progress and showcase their image-making practices across analog, film-making, and stop-motion, followed by a Q&A.
Following the talks, participants will engage in hands-on sessions guided by each artist:
Boubaker Boukhari will lead a foraging walk for flowers and branches, which will later be used to build stop-motion stills back at 421.
Mivan Makia will guide participants to manipulate rolls of analog film through scratching, painting, and drawing over them, culminating in a projected group masterpiece.
Arnold Barretto will lead a Polaroid lifting exercise.
Participants are encouraged to explore all three sessions, but spaces are limited and RSVP to the event is required to secure your spot.
The evening concludes with a light Suhoor, providing time to reflect, share, and connect over creative practice.
No prior experience is required. Open to all skill levels, ages 18 and above. A light suhoor will be provided.
Artist Bios
Boubaker Boukhari is an Algerian born multidisciplinary artist, director, and animator currently based in Abu Dhabi. With a foundational education in fine arts from Algeria, he further honed his skills in cinema animation through a collaborative initiative between the European Union and the Maghreb region. This experience laid the groundwork for his diverse career, which spans animation, jewelry design, and storytelling. Boukhari's artistic practice is characterized by a fusion of traditional craftsmanship and contemporary media. His recent project, "Ghariba & Ajeeb," exemplifies his interdisciplinary approach, combining shadow sculpture, immersive film, handcrafted jewelry, and live storytelling to create a multifaceted narrative experience. Boukhari has contributed to the arts community as an educator, conducting workshops in cartoon animation and visual effects. His commitment to storytelling and cultural expression continues to inspire audiences and emerging artists alike.
Mivan Makia is a filmmaker, visual artist, and researcher. Interested in self-portraiture and West Asian cultural expression, her practice moves fluidly between disciplines—drawing from anthropology, archival research, and experimental image-making—to delve into the fluctuating perspectives of transient bodies. Often working with collected earth matter and archives, she treats these materials not as fixed records but as living sources open to remediation, reconstruction, intervention, and participation. Her work explores the relationship between these bodies and the landscape through memory work, geopolitical narratives, and speculative fiction.