Faisal Al Hassan

Canvas: How did 421 Arts Campus start in 2015? How has its mission evolved over the decade?

Faisal Al Hassan: When we opened in 2015, the plan that we mapped out for 421 wasn’t perfect but the mission was clear. We knew for sure that the UAE needed a place where young and emerging cultural practitioners could experiment, somewhere they could test ideas, take risks, even make mistakes, without the weight of the market or the formality of institutions. That belief was really the seed from which 421 grew.

In those early days, we were a tiny team in a small office but with very big ambitions. There was no model to follow, nothing like it here at the time. What carried us forward were our values and the conviction that the arts matter deeply, that experimentation is essential, and that process is just as important as outcomes. Looking back now, ten years later, I can see how much that ethos has shaped who we are.

Starting out as Warehouse421 in Mina Zayed, right next to the fish market and vegetable stalls, gave us a very particular character. We stood out, and we still do. Where others might see risk, we see possibility. When an artist comes to us with a bold or unusual idea, our instinct isn’t to rein it in, but to ask: how can we help you make it real?

Over the past decade, we’ve hosted more than 50 exhibitions and over 1000 programmes, including talks, workshops, screenings, symposia and community events that have reached thousands of people in the UAE and beyond. Each one has been a chance to connect emerging artists with wider audiences and to create spaces where dialogue and imagination can thrive.

By our five-year milestone in 2020, we’d learned so much from those first years that we developed a five-year strategy for 2021–2026. That’s when we launched the capacity-building programmes that are now at the heart of what we do: the Artistic Research Grant, the Artistic and Curatorial Development Programs, our Internship and Residency Programs. These give artists the chance to take risks, grow their confidence, and push their practices further. Seeing participants carry their ideas from here into the wider world has been one of the most rewarding parts of the journey.

Now we’re close to completing that strategy and working on the next one. The needs of artists in the UAE and the region today are very different from what they were ten years ago, and our job is to listen, respond and adapt. That’s how we’ve always worked – checking in with our community, building close relationships and letting their needs guide our direction.

How have you seen approaches to artistic practices and exhibition making change over time, and how has 421 helped develop these areas in the UAE?

The arts scene has grown enormously in the last decade. We’ve seen institutions, galleries, artists, curators and academics all pushing for more sustainable ways of making and exhibiting work. There’s also been a growing focus on issues around the environment and environmental justice, and how these intersect with social justice, politics and gender.

At 421, we’ve been engaging with these conversations for a while. For example, On Foraging (first at Expo 2020 Dubai, then at 421 in autumn 2022) looked at food security and the environment; Total Landscaping by Murtaza Vali examined urbanisation and ecology; and Nine Nodes of Non-Being, curated by Ritika Biswas, explored environmental justice from a philosophical perspective. Beyond exhibitions, our public programmes have brought in experts to work with artists on sustainability practices, and we even commissioned a research study on our own carbon footprint that also examines the challenges that hinder artists from working sustainably in the UAE.

Internally, we’ve been working since 2018 to make our exhibitions more sustainable, from rethinking shipping policies to adopting modular gallery walls. We also now have a dedicated sustainability officer on our team. None of this is perfect – it’s ongoing work, but it’s something to which we’re committed.

Alongside this, we’ve also seen a greater emphasis on practices like publishing and performance, which historically haven’t had as much institutional support. We’ve tried to fill that gap by organising symposia and programmes, and even commissioning grants that nurture writers and performance artists.

421 has played a vital role in the UAE’s creative ecosystem. What are some of the key initiatives?

At its core, 421 is a human-centered, nurturing platform. Our year-round programme brings artists, practitioners, educators, collectives and communities together to imagine new possibilities for social transformation.

But transformation starts with connection. Young and early-career practitioners need a space where they can develop their practice and use the arts as a way of asking questions, exploring ideas and reflecting critically on the world around them.

That’s where our capacity-building programmes come in. They support artists and creatives who are ready to take the next step in their practice. We work with juries of regional arts professionals and pedagogical partners to shape the curricula, and the programmes function as a launchpad for careers. They’re open to early-career practitioners across visual arts, design, architecture, film, new media, literary arts and performance. Our key programmes include the Artistic Research Grant, the Artistic Development Program, the Curatorial Development Program – currently paused as we are restructuring it to better meet the needs of curators in the UAE and the region – the Residency Programs and our Internship and Mentorship Programs.

What makes 421 successful in these initiatives?

Our programmes are constantly adapting – they’re not fixed or rigid. We relaunch them, rework them and reshape them based on the feedback we receive from artists. For instance, the Curatorial Development Program is being rethought and will return in a new form, built around the insights of the curators with whom we’ve participated so far.

This flexibility is at the heart of how we work. From the beginning, we never wanted to impose a rigid structure. We wanted the space to respond to the community’s needs, and that means being open to change.

Another important part of our success is that many members of our team are practicing artists and creatives themselves. They’re part of the community we serve, and that perspective shapes the way we approach everything we do. And finally, I think it’s dedication. We have an incredible team who are deeply committed to the mission of 421. Their passion is what makes this work possible.

Participation and community have been central to 421. Why are these important elements in 421’s mission?

For us, participation isn’t just a principle, it’s a practice. Our initiatives come directly out of conversations with the creative community and the public. Sometimes these are informal, ongoing discussions with artists, at other times they’re structured focus groups or interviews. Either way, it’s how we understand whether or not we’re creating impact, and it’s what guides our programming framework.

This goes back to what I mentioned earlier. From the start, we didn’t want to come in with a rigid structure, we wanted the space to be responsive to what the community needs. That means being open to adapting and changing, and it’s an approach that has shaped everything we do. It’s also what makes participation so central to our mission.

To mark the occasion, 421 is releasing a 10-Year Impact Report. Why was this important? What are some of the external and internal forces that have shaped the organisation?

We wanted to use this milestone to really pause and reflect. The impact report will capture our evolution over the last decade – who we are now, how we got here and why we do what we do. It’s both a reflective tool and a way to communicate more clearly with our community.

Impact in the arts is hard to measure, but it’s important to try. This report is based largely on interviews with artists, partners and other stakeholders so that it reflects a wide range of voices. We’re also hoping that it sparks more dialogue. We want further feedback from our community, so that we can continue learning and growing together. There will be some data and numbers too, but mostly it’s about stories, relationships and the long-term impact of the work we do.

What else can we expect for the 10th anniversary?

The anniversary programme is really exciting. It includes a landmark exhibition curated by Munira Al Sayegh, Nadine Khalil and Murtaza Vali. The show brings together video, performance, installation and multimedia works, and it looks at how artistic practices and exhibition making have evolved in the UAE over the past decade – while also imagining possible futures. Time is a central theme – the past, present and future.

The public programme revisits some of our most impactful initiatives, while also creating new opportunities for collective reflection. There will be talks and conversations, community archiving, technical labs and creative walks, so lots of ways for people to engage. It’s all about collective authorship and creating a living, participatory portrait of 421. Of course, we’ll also celebrate with a special birthday edition of Block Barty, our festival with performances, pop-ups, creative vendors and food.

What does the next 10 years look like to you?

It’s hard to predict exactly what the next decade will look like, but what I can say is that our programming will continue to grow and expand in response to our community. The needs of artists and audiences are always evolving, and our role is to stay flexible and responsive.

What I’m most excited about is watching the current generation of artists continue to grow and shape the ecosystem – and seeing new generations come into the fold. It’s always a joy when we see alumni from 421 featured in biennials, residencies and galleries around the world. That’s what makes this work so meaningful.