Culminating the public programme of composite – Youth Takeover 2023, join the Assembly members in conversation with writer, curator, and Assembly alumnus, Shama Nair.

The conversation reflects on the Takeover’s provocation of the self in dialogue with space, tracing back to the motivation behind this theme and its ultimate materialization at the Jameel. Together, the voices that make ‘composite’ shall share out loud about how the shows’ core questions continue to transcend its physical manifestation. 

Happening before the panel, visitors are invited to join us for a guided tour of composite led by the Assembly members.

The Assembly is an annual platform bringing together creative leaders aged 18 to 24 who share their perspectives on creating, curating and commissioning in the UAE.  The Assembly 2022-2023 cohort members are: photographer, filmmaker and writer Auguste Nomeikaite, visual artist Bilal Bashir, artist and architect Farah Ali, artist Hala El Abora, interdisciplinary researcher and artist Karno Dasgupta, multidisciplinary artist Nathaniel Enriquez, artist Ronald Ekore and visual designer Saba Sayfaiee.

Shama Nair designed, co-curated and facilitated this year’s Assembly learning programme culminating in the 2023 Youth Takeover at Jameel Arts Centre. She is a photographer, writer, and curator based in the UAE and is an Alumnus of Jameel Art Centre’s Assembly programme (2021). Drawn to the intersection of urban spaces and visual culture, her work strives to explore our spatial, temporal and aesthetic relationships with an ever-expanding neoliberal metropolis. She graduated as a Media Studies major from the Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts, Pune in 2018 and returned to Dubai where she continues to collaborate with arts and academic institutions between India and the UAE.