Hathee Ana

Who is the Arab woman? What does she look like? How does she behave?

Harmful stereotypes and negative perceptions about the people of the Arab world, particularly Arab women, persist, especially beyond the Arab region. In recent years, Arab artists have increasingly attempted to creatively defy them and to represent themselves by themselves on a global scale by participating in international art exhibitions, holding solo shows, or showcasing their art in the borderless realm of social media to users across geographies. While this unprecedented level of self-representation is to be applauded, a significant dimension of it is often overlooked in global conversations. Not many have stopped to ponder upon the following: What are the complexities, challenges, responsibilities and opportunities that come with self-representation?

Using a range of mediums, four Emirati artists – Maitha Demithan, Fatema Al Fardan, Roudhah Hamad Al Mazrouei and Alia Sultan Al Joker– addressed Arab identity, womanhood and their experiences of self-representation through visual art. They presented them to the world at large from an Emirati perspective, adding to other pre-existing international dialogues. Collectively they say “Hathee Ana,” or “This is me.”