Artist Statement 
My steps become heavy as I maneuver through my circles engaging in realties around me. I take note of words in my periphery. They stay in my mouth, swishing around my tongue. I spit some and sallow others. I am told I am bold for adorning myself with color. I contemplate this—it is an essence of my lightness countering the day. My work is an extension of this notetaking. Ideas that stay in my mouth find a way out through a pen, a brush, a movement.
Biography
Fatema Al Fardan is an artist committed to seeing the world with curiosity and care. Driven by inquiries, her art practice is facilitated through research. Al Fardan is currently a Resident Artist at the Cultural Foundation Abu Dhabi and a Kawader Research Fellow at NYU Abu Dhabi. She was granted the Salama bint Hamdan Emerging Artists Fellowship (2021-22) and was selected for the 421 x Gulf Photo Plus Artistic Development Program (2020-21). Her work has been exhibited in Jaou Tunis (2022), Congress Center Basel (2022), and Middle East Institute's Art and Culture Center (2020). Al Fardan designed projection for contemporary performance Al Raheel | Departure commissioned by The Arts Center and Cultural Foundation (2022 & 2020). She won the collaborative Zachary Doss Friends in Letters Memorial Fellowship (2020) and "Best Photo Associated with Sustainability" at the Abu Dhabi Ports Photography Competition (2017). She holds a dual BA from New York University Abu Dhabi in Economics and in Art and Art History: Art Practice (2020). Al Fardan likes to hear stories more than she likes to tell them.
Vocational Development and Residences
Cultural Foundation Art Residency
Jul 2022 - Mar 2023
Salama bint Hamdan Emerging Artists Fellowship (SEAF)
Mar 2021 - Jan 2022
Warehouse421 x Gulf Photo Plus Artistic Development Program
Feb 2020 - Feb 2021
Exhibitions
50 Years of Cool ٥٠ عاماً من التبريد
2023 - Group Exhibition - MiZa - Abu Dhabi
Hekayah | The Story
2022 - Performance - The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi - Abu Dhabi
Our Time, Even in Dreams
2022 - Group exhibition - Contemporary Art Festival - Jaou Tunis - Tunis
Al Raheel | Departure
2022 - Projection - Contemporary Performance - The Arts Center - Abu Dhabi
While the Coffee Grounds Settle: Stories from Women in the UAE
2022 - Group exhibition - Curated by Dirwaza Curatorial Lab - Fathom Gallery - Washington DC - USA
EYE/VIEW x REX Box III 
2022 - Group Exhibition - Curated by Gyo Yoon - Kino REX Bern - Bern - Switzerland 
EYE – VIEW
2022 - Group exhibition - e-billboard, Congress Center Basel - Basel - Switzerland
Mina Zayed: Reflections on Past Futures
2021 - Group exhibition - Warehouse421 - Abu Dhabi
In Response to Solastalgia
2021 - Group exhibition - Curated by Anna Bernice - Maisan15 - Dubai
Emirati Womanhood
2021 - Group exhibition - Khaleeji Art Museum - Dubai
Art in Isolation: Creativity in the Time of Covid-19
2020/21 - Group exhibition - Curated by Laila Abdul-Hadi Jadallah - The MEI's Art Gallery - Washington DC - USA
Al Raheel | Departure
2020 - Projection Designer - Contemporary theater - The Arts Center - Abu Dhabi
between the three of us
2020 - Solo thesis exhibition - Online
Live Video Performance
2019 - Group exhibition - Made in NY Media Center - New York City - USA
Publications
Guidebook to Pandemia, Heavy Feather Review, Zachary Doss Friends in Letters Memorial Fellowship, 2020, Winner. Visual poetry.
Her Sunny Disposition, Airpot Road, 2019. Photograph.
A Manifesto, Airport Road, 2018. Poetry.
Facilitating & Speaking
List it Out: An Experimental Writing Workshop صناعة القائمة: ورشة كتابة تجريبية, Workshop, 421, Abu Dhabi
Photos of Home, Workshop, 2021, Gulf Photo Plus x Alserkal Avenue, Dubai
#24images24hours, Instagram Takeover, Gulf Photo Plus
Critical Response Process, Workshop, 2021, SEAF, Abu Dhabi
Reflections on Institutions and Critique: The Case of Mina Zayed, Podcast, 2021, Warehouse421
PRESS