It opened in 1989 with the mission of promoting international artists and becoming "a meeting place for creative minds." The gallery is now one of Dubai’s best fine art galleries.
I stumbled upon it while making my way over to the Bastakiya district of the city. I'm not much of an art guy - but this place was pretty cool.
Perhaps the most interesting part was the history of the gallery. These beginnings are described for you as you walk in through the front door...
From the Majlis Gallery website:
The Majlis Gallery grew out of a love affair between an expatriate lady and a very special house. Alison Collins came to Dubai in 1976 to work as an interior designer. She fell in love with the country, especially with the architecture and the ambiance of the old windtower houses in the Bastakia. In 1978, with the help of two Iranian tea importers and an Egyptian curtain maker, Alison and her husband secured the lease on villa number 19, Bastakia, Bur Dubai. Here, over the next ten years, they raised their three young children and played host to many informal soirees in their ‘majlis’, hence the name, introducing artists both professional and amateur to a somewhat culturally bereft community.
After passing through the entrance, you arrive at the cute little courtyard (Yeah, I said "cute"). Surrounding the courtyard are doors to the different galleries, which I'm assuming used to be the rooms of the house.
I was asked not to take pictures in the galleries, so the ones below are limited to outside and to the courtyard.
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| One end of the courtyard... |
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| ...the tree in the middle... |
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| ...and the other end. |
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| LOVE this. |