Issam Kourbaj comes from a background of fine art, architecture and theatre design. He was born in Syria and trained at the Institute of Fine Arts in Damascus, the Repin Institute of Fine Arts & Architecture in Leningrad (St Petersburg) and at Wimbledon School of Art (London). Since 1990, he has lived and worked in Cambridge, eventually becoming an Artist in Residence at Christ’s College, a Bye-Fellow (2007-2011) and a Lector in Art.

In 2009, as part of Cambridge University’s celebration of its 800th anniversary, Issam was invited to design the sets for the play Let Newton Be! and for a contemporary dance piece Light Matters, which was presented in the University Senate House. His Cambridge Palimpsest, a puzzle box linking time and archaeology, was also published by Cambridge University Press as part of the celebrations and was presented to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge during their first official visit to Cambridge.

He is interested in collaborating with other creative science and humanity disciplines and has produced work using different forms of Camerae obscurae, inspired by Ibn Al-Haytham’s work on optics.

His work has been widely exhibited, collected, and exhibited in several museums around the world: Fitzwilliam Museum, Classical Archaeology Museum and Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge; the British Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Henry Moore Institute, Leeds; Wereldmuseum (formerly Tropenmuseum), Amsterdam; Penn Museum, Philadelphia; Brooklyn Museum, New York, among others. 

Image is courtesy Kettle’s Yard, University of Cambridge

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“It was challenging to select three artists from the large number of artists I was presented with. Like many creatives around the world, the young artists in the region are investing their efforts and turning their gaze on excavating their present, dealing with urgent matters of our time, be they environmental, social and/or historical issues. I very much look forward to working with the three selected artists, Alla Abdunabi, Maktoum Al Maktoum and Salmah Almansoori, and to guiding their visual voices, as well as developing a body of work in response to and inspired by Al-Ain as a source and as a canvas for new ideas.”

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This page was last updated in November 2025.

Alla Abdunabi (b. 2001, Freiburg) is a visual artist working in sculpture and installation. Her practice explores the material afterlives of objects, presented through a mode of storytelling that merges the auto-ethnographical, historical, and fictional. Informed by research, conceptual excavation, and personal encounters, her work layers material and meaning. What begins as a tactile engagement with an object evolves, inevitably, into an intangible negotiation with its narrative construction. Moving between the roles of caretaker and aggressor, Abdunabi reorganises the form of a thing, inducing it to speak across time, to the needs of the present. Naturally, her position within the Libyan diaspora and her movements between the global north and south often surface in her work, mirroring the shifting trajectories of the objects and histories she engages. 

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“I’m honoured to be part of Beyond Emerging Artists this year, With the support of Abu Dhabi Art and curated by Issam Kourbaj, I’ll be exploring object histories in my presentation at the fair. In addition, through the Al Ain commission, I look forward to creating a site-specific work that listens to the buried histories of the land.”

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This page was last updated in November 2025.

Maktoum Al Maktoum (b. 1995) is a Dubai-based multidisciplinary artist and curator whose practice explores the complexities of the human condition. Drawing on themes such as value, time, space, belief systems, and the human psyche, his work takes a narrative-driven, world-building approach to uncover meaning and association. He holds a BSc in Psychology from Goldsmiths, University of London, and an MSc in International Real Estate and Planning from University College London (UCL). His background informs a cross-disciplinary lens that bridges emotional, spatial, and conceptual dimensions in both his artistic and curatorial work. His artwork has been exhibited at The Nest Festival in Bahrain (2024) and the Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival (2023). As a curator, he has contributed to major cultural platforms including the Dubai Calligraphy Biennale (2023) and leading the curation of the Sikka Art & Design Festival (2025).

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“I am honored to have been selected as part of the Beyond Emerging Artists program for this year. I especially look forward to the mentorship of Issam Kourbaj and continuing the world-building approach of my work within the context of an art fair, as well as investigating the archaeological histories of our country in sites such as the ones found in Al Ain.”

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This page was last updated in November 2025.

Salmah Almansoori (b. 2001, Ghayathi, Aldhafra) is an Abu Dhabi-based multidisciplinary artist whose practice explores the intersections of place, memory, and identity. A graduate of Zayed University with a BFA in Visual Art (2023), she works across painting, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, and site-specific installations. Almansoori’s work is deeply rooted in her hometown and the UAE’s landscapes, often incorporating found objects and materials to evoke personal and collective histories. Her notable series, such as “Demolished” and “Who I Became,” document the transformation of spaces and the emotions tied to them. She has exhibited internationally, including a solo show, “Memories Are Home,” in Italy, and has participated in residencies in Iceland, New York, and Argentina. Through her art, Almansoori invites viewers to reflect on how environments shape our identities and memories.

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“I’m grateful to be part of Beyond Emerging Artists this year. This opportunity allows me to deepen my exploration of memory and place, and to share stories from my hometown that are often overlooked. With the guidance of Issam Kourbaj, I look forward to developing a new body of work that reflects on transformation, loss, and belonging.”

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This page was last updated in November 2025.