Ishara Art Foundation

Set in the creative hub of Alserkal Avenue in Dubai, Ishara Art Foundation is a non-profit organization that presents contemporary art of South Asia. “Ishara” is a word common to several languages, including Arabic, Persian, Hindi, Swahili and Urdu and means a gesture, a signal or a hint. Like its name, the space draws connections between the Gulf and South Asia, which have been historically connected through trade for centuries. Today, around 60% of the population of the United Arab Emirates is from South Asia. The Ishara Art Foundation and the Prabhakar Collection focuses on South Asian contemporary artworks that reflect diverse voices and shared histories from across the subcontinent. Representing artists such as Zarina, Lala Rukh, Dayanita Singh, Amar Kanwar, Haroon Mirza and Hamra Abbas, among others, the collection regularly lends artworks for international museum exhibitions. Ishara also mounts research-led exhibitions by internationally renowned artists, including Shilpa Gupta, Amar Kanwar and Jitish Kallat, on themes such as identity, culture, territories and politics. Ishara Art Foundation is presented in partnership with Alserkal.

^{Photo: Installation view of "Ayesha Sultana: Fragility and Resilience," at Ishara Art Foundation, 2024. Image courtesy of Ishara Art Foundation and the artist. Photograph by Ismail Noor/Seeing Things.}