A new exhibition at the Etihad Museum offers visitors a rare chance to explore the evolution of visual art in the UAE through works spanning nearly five decades.

Titled Observers of Change and running until June 30, the exhibition brings together around 60 artworks from the Barjeel Art Foundation’s collection, tracing how artists have documented the country’s social, cultural and urban transformation over the years.

Organised by Dubai Culture & Arts Authority, the exhibition highlights the journey of Emirati art from its early beginnings to contemporary creative practices that engage with themes of identity, memory, place and modern life.

The exhibition takes its title from a photography series by Sheikha Lateefa bint Maktoum, first presented at the UAE Pavilion during the Venice Biennale in 2011.

Visitors can explore works ranging from early landscape paintings and abstract experiments to calligraphic art, urban documentation and contemporary visual interpretations. The collection features works of talent from Syria, Iraq, Palestine, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, and Bahrain, comprising photography, sculpture, installation and mixed media, each making a statement on the evolution of the local artistic scene.

Through its different sections, the exhibition examines how artistic expression in the UAE evolved alongside the country itself. Themes include the rise of the nation, the search for abstraction, urban transformation and the relationship between personal memory and collective identity.

Alongside the exhibition, the museum also hosted a dialogue session featuring artists and cultural figures, including Najat Makki, Nujoom Alghanem, Khalil Abdulwahid and Ismail Al Rifai, who reflected on the early days of the UAE art scene and the challenges artists once faced.

The exhibition also highlights how the UAE’s cultural landscape has expanded over time, with the growth of museums, artist residencies, international exhibitions and public art initiatives helping local artists gain wider global visibility.

Observers of Change offers residents and visitors an opportunity to revisit the story of the UAE through art, memory and creative expression.