Dubai Artist Teachers Exhibition at Media One Hotel lobby.
Step into a space where creativity meets community as Dubai Artist Teachers presents its debut exhibition at Media One Hotel.
This is more than just an art show, it’s a rare window into the personal worlds of a group of artists who double as educators, shaping the next generation while passionately pursuing their own artistic journeys.
Opening night takes place on 25th June from 4pm to 9pm in the hotel lobby, followed by drinks at Qwerty. The exhibition runs until 2nd July, transforming the heart of the hotel into a dynamic, thought-provoking gallery.
The group is a diverse collective of practicing artists based across the UAE, with backgrounds spanning painting, photography, ceramics, embroidery, textiles, printmaking, and more. Though their mediums vary, they share a common belief: to teach art with meaning, one must continue to live as an artist. Through regular workshops, studio sessions, and peer critiques, they nurture both their students and each other, and now, for the first time, they are bringing that creative synergy to the public.
Among the featured artists:
- Alexandra Bolshakova, a multidisciplinary painter blending fashion, colour theory, and hand-stitched detail to explore the human figure and storytelling through fabric.
- Chelsea Cooney, whose background in ceramics has evolved into a photographic practice that captures overlooked moments in Dubai’s ever-shifting urban landscape.
- Hakan Erkam, known for his emotionally resonant, textural oil paintings and sculptural works made from reclaimed materials, often touching on resilience, displacement, and identity.
- Daniel Simon, a photographer and writer whose visual work is rooted in place, memory, and emotion, turning travel and geography into lyrical photo essays.
- Gareth Pyper, who brings the grit and energy of street culture into fine art portraiture, blending bold marks with cultural references from London to Abu Dhabi.
- Jessica Lee, a self-taught artist creating highly emotive, abstract pieces using bold colours and textures, tapping into meditative flow and intuitive expression.
- Lillian Mackey, a textile and porcelain artist whose delicate, ritual-based work explores heritage and memory through stitched language and symbolic domestic materials.
- Simon Alexander Johnson, a portrait artist and printmaker whose practice blends traditional oil techniques with found materials and community-driven outreach, particularly in North East India.
Together, they represent the growing force of artist-educators shaping Dubai’s creative landscape, voices that deserve to be seen, heard, and celebrated.
Whether you’re drawn to figurative art, socially engaged practice, textile storytelling, or simply curious about the minds shaping creativity in classrooms across the city, this exhibition promises a rich, intimate, and inspiring experience.
Date: Opening Night – 25th June
Time: 4pm to 9pm (exhibition runs until 2nd July) - Happy hour on 25th June in Qwerty from 4pm to 7pm
Location: Media One Hotel Lobby
Afterparty & Artist Meet: Qwerty (Lobby Level)
