Dubai will witness on November 11 the inauguration of an art center that will boost the citys status as a hub for international events and institutions. Art Jameel, an independent organization that supports arts, education and heritage in the Middle East, announced Thursday the opening programs of the Jameel Arts Center, an innovative cultural destination. The Center is the first non-governmental contemporary arts institution of its kind in the Gulf in general, and UAE in particular. The inauguration event will take place with a series of four solo shows, first of which is the Artist’s Rooms – by eminent artists from the Middle East and Asia, drawn in part from the Art Jameel Collection. The second show is a curated group exhibition, ‘Crude’, which considers the complex theme of oil within both historic and contemporary contexts and a selection of large-scale installations and sculptural works, several newly commissioned for the Center’s roof terrace and gardens. “After years of engaging with communities in the region and globally through heritage, educational and arts-related programming, we are excited to launch our first dedicated space, here in the United Arab Emirates,” Antonia Carver, Director of Art Jameel, said. “Jameel Arts Center is set to not only expand the public’s engagement with our extensive collection and library but also present museum-quality exhibitions in partnership with local, regional and global collaborators.” “Through new commissions of immersive works, a dedicated research space and ongoing public programming for many communities of all ages, Jameel Arts Center aims to be a truly innovative new cultural hub,” Carver explained. Spread across five galleries and 500 sqm, the inaugural group exhibition – ‘Crude’ – brings together 17 artists and collectives from the region and beyond to explore oil as an agent of social, cultural and economic transformation across the region, as well as a driver of geopolitical upheaval. Developed by Sharjah- and New York-based curator Murtaza Vali, ‘Crude’ considers some of the complex histories of oil as a catalyst of modernity across the Middle East, tracing its effects through the archives, infrastructures, and technologies it has produced.