Within Dubai’s dynamic contemporary art ecosystem, proposals often vie for attention through sheer scale and visual spectacle. Today, however, the true avant-garde is finding its refuge in stillness.
High above the city, at Hyatt Centric Jumeirah, one venue is disrupting the traditional hierarchy of the art market. IKKA, a Peruvian-Japanese restaurant, has become a launching point for the gallery circuit rather than a mere extension of it.
From February 4 to February 28, 2026, the venue hosts On Practicing Recovery. The show marks Saudi visual artist Reem Ali’s first exhibition in the United Arab Emirates.
After circulating through Parisian art circles, Ali’s work arrives in an unconventional setting. A permanent gallery is woven into the flow of a dinner service. This allows visitors to encounter the work in a living environment before it enters the formal gallery system.
Ali, whose academic background is in biology, channels scientific rigor into explorations of memory’s fragility. Her work does not aim to resolve trauma, but rather treats recovery as a nonlinear process.
Through photography and video, Ali documents domestic spaces and women’s inner lives. Her work explores how time and surroundings shape the inner self.
Her restrained, contemplative pieces embrace a minimalist aesthetic. This approach contrasts with the Jumeirah skyline visible through the windows. A dialogue emerges between the intimate — a corner of a home, the texture of skin, the silence of a room — and the sweeping scale of a metropolis that never slows down.
What makes this initiative especially compelling is how it opens up that first encounter with art. By establishing a monthly rotating gallery, works debut here before reaching the traditional market. The venue becomes a place of first discovery.
At IKKA, art isn’t encountered in the hush of a museum. Instead, it unfolds within a multisensory experience. Reem Ali’s works coexist with the culinary vision of chef Jose Luis and the pulse of a live DJ. Art unfolds organically through conversation and the pace of the evening.
Here, visual culture merges with the fabric of everyday social life, reminding us that art, like a good meal, demands presence and time.
Exhibition Details
- Artist: Reem Ali
- Exhibition: On Practicing Recovery
- Dates and times: February 4–28, 2026, from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 a.m.
- Venue: IKKA, Hyatt Centric Jumeirah, Dubai
- Reservations: +971 43 021 275
