GATEWAY 2022
Launched in 2016, Gateway is an art exhibition held each November at Manarat Al Saadiyat during the Abu Dhabi Art Fair. Featuring a guest curator, it presents local and international artists through a distinctive curatorial lens. From 2023 onward, Gateway has been sponsored by HSBC, Abu Dhabi Art’s Global Partner.
Title: My Life in the Metaverse
Curator: Dr. Omar Kholeif
In-conversation with Turner-prize nominated artist, Heather Phillipson.
Participating Artists: Andy Warhol | Celia Hempton | Cory Arcangel | Cream Projects | Farhad Moshiri | Haroon Mirza | Heather Phillipson | Nam June Paik | Paul Heyer | Simon Denny | Sophia Al Maria | Trevor Paglen
Premise: My Life in the Metaverse is the first visual arts exhibition in the UAE to explore the historical legacies and evolving influence of Web3 technologies on contemporary art. Centered around the semi-fictional character Dr. O, the exhibition blurs the boundaries between fact and fiction, drawing audiences into a curated digital world that reflects the increasingly immersive and speculative nature of the metaverse. Through new commissions by pioneering international artists, the exhibition traces how ideas, emotions, and aesthetics are shaped by technologies such as NFTs, cryptocurrency, renewable energy, and AI. Offering a critical and creative look at the digital present and its imagined futures, My Life in the Metaverse also features the debut of Dr. O’s Pop Shop: The Blockchain Edition - a concept store and living archive inspired by Keith Haring’s iconic Pop Shops.
