The 2023-2024 Assembly cohort comprises: Karim El Atrache, Malavika Suresh, Mariam Shamma, Marwan Ali, Nabeeha Sajjad, Redha Al Hammad, Sami Soloh and Toga Tahir. This year’s programme is designed, curated and facilitated by Abhirami Suresh, Library and Youth Coordinator at Art Jameel, in collaboration with Osemudiamen Ekore, Assembly Peer Curator and alumnus of The Assembly 2022. 

Abhirami Suresh is the Library and Youth Coordinator at Art Jameel. Her personal practice focuses on methods of creative documentation, through writing and participatory projects. Abhirami studied Exhibition Design, specialising in spatial narratives and systems, creative and immersive research and audience engagement. In 2019, she founded White Lines Collective – a social inquiry into youth mental health narratives through participatory research and creative practices. The Collective’s work was presented at various international avenues, including the London Design Biennale. Abhirami was awarded the Young Curator Residency for the Ras Al Khaimah Fine Arts Festival 2022, and was a Curatorial Fellow with the Students’ Biennale at Kochi Biennale 2022/23.

Osemudiamen Ekore is the Assembly Peer Curator 2023 and was a member of the Assembly in 2022. He is a Nigerian artist practising in curation, graphic design, music, sound design and writing. He is the curator and creative director of Bootleg Griot, a public library project he founded with Fawaz Abdulazeez, where he oversees the curation of the library’s collection of books, creative direction for public installations (installation design and production) and creating and proposing public programs in collaboration with various regional institutions.

Karim El Atrache is a Lebanese artist born and raised in the UAE. He is passionate about philosophy and aesthetics and has worked with a variety of media, including drawing, Arabic calligraphy, graffiti and essay-writing. Karim studied Environmental Health & Safety and Business Management and is a member of the Abu Dhabi-based experimental creative studio, Very Crude. 

Malavika Suresh is an interdisciplinary researcher and spoken word poet. She holds a BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE). In her work, she aims to put a microscope on the mundane and question its normalcy. She has been featured as a poet at multiple local art festivals and has had her academic research featured in several local and international publications and conferences. She currently works in academic publishing.

Mariam Shamma is an Emirati designer based in the UAE, actively contributing to the burgeoning art scene. With a B.Sc in Visual Communication from the American University of Sharjah, she excels in crafting immersive experiences through innovative storytelling and diverse design forms. Mariam has also completed an internship with the National Pavilion UAE – La Biennale di Venezia, and has had her work shown at the ‘Towards Huroof Central’ exhibition in Dubai Design District in 2021.

Marwan Ali is an Egyptian architect based in Dubai with a degree from the American University of Sharjah. His work encompasses blending cultural and historic research with contemporary application through storytelling and visual representation. He is currently an architectural designer at CallisonRTKL and continues to seek the intersection between the traditional and the practical.

Nabeeha Sajjad is a Dubai-based multidisciplinary creative producer and multimedia artist who transforms concepts into realities. Her experimental work combines philosophy, photography, videography and illustration to create visually compelling narratives. With her boundless creativity and diverse background, she aims to continually push the boundaries of art, redefining artistic expression.

Redha Al Hammad is a Saudi Arabian photographer and visual artist. Redha spent his early childhood in Adelaide, South Australia before moving to the UAE at the age of nine. His work engages with his environment and is embedded with themes of homeliness, absence and interpersonal connection. He is a student at the New York University Abu Dhabi.

Sami Soloh is an artist and arts educator based in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi. His creative practice merges creativity, connectivity and nature, engaging audiences and young creatives through immersive experiences and workshops. Sami is a student of Strategic Communication at the Abu Dhabi University. His canvas is the world, and his art is transformation.

Toga Tahir is a Sudanese interdisciplinary researcher, born and raised in Dubai. Her main interests lie in unconventional creative research practices that explore the multifaceted dimensions of African identity across culture, environment and art. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Media and Mass Communication – International Relations – from the American University in the Emirates (2022) and is a co-founder of The Afrabia Climate Project. 

The Assembly engages with Art Jameel’s exhibitions and programmes, resources and the Art Jameel team to explore concepts driven by broadening ways of seeing, ways of perceiving and ways of remembering. Over the programme, the Assembly’s activities and engagements will work towards contributing to discourse around themes of memory, archives and narratives through experimental, co-creative, participatory and immersive activities. The programme continues to empower young creatives within institutional spaces and nurture spaces of care, communication and collaboration as creative enablers.

The Assembly will result in the Youth Takeover of the Jameel Arts Centre in May 2024.