From street art and graffiti murals to fashion design and underground performances, The Mine is an incubator for young and unconventional talent, both locally and internationally.
Part of a genuine effort to break through the boundaries of the art world, this creative haven is located in the heart of Al Quoz – the home of the up and coming underground scene in Dubai.
Click here to see The Mine in pictures
Just don’t make the mistake of calling it a gallery – founder Sanaz Askari is adamant on clearly defining her vision and her passion for cultivating new talent.
“When people ask me if this is a gallery I say no, this is a space,” she states. “We represent artists in a non-conformist way. We don’t go through the prerequisites of a gallery, we do group shows and the main objective here is to create an affordable art scene for young collectors.
“The Mine” is exactly what the space stands for. They hunt and promote emerging talent and expose them to interested art enthusiasts, design aficionados and art collectors in Dubai.
Most of the pieces are priced at $5000-$6000, but there are also pieces for $500. “This is not something you see in Dubai at all. A lot of spaces market themselves as having affordable art work, but they start from $10,000,” states Askari.
The space itself has a very effortless feel to it. You look around and see that the skeleton of the warehouse has been left intact, and furnishings are made up of recycled barrels, crates, ropes, palettes and cement boxes. Washed and painted, they are then placed strategically around the space.
She added: “I feel that, as a society, humanity has become so obsessed with consumerism that we are constantly buying and wasting, expanding and devouring nature in the whole. That is why I feel it is imperative that in order to thrive in the future we must be able to recycle, particularly in this part of the world.”
“Another reason for the more contemporary and approachable feel of our space, is the overwhelming urge to break free of the stuffy, pretentious nature of many spaces. The over-sterilised, “money-is-everything” nature of such environments stifles the creative process, and this is partially why we are willing to display pieces such as installations or murals, which are not for sale, but purely art for arts sake,” she states.
The space is composed of two floors, the second floor is solely reserved for a single art installation. “This is very precious to me. I think that there are not enough art installations in Dubai, which is very important culturally. This installation is not for sale, it’s been done in a lot of museums around the word and it’s the first time that this artist comes to Dubai to do something like this in a gallery,” Askari says.
The installation is made by Japanese artist, Yasuaki Onishi, and is entirely composed of glue and plastic. It has been on display since the original launch of the space- which coincided with the citywide celebration of the Expo 2020 win- where it will remain till the end of April.
“I did it as a gift back to Dubai, and I wanted people to come and see it and feel nurtured and feel stimulated mentally,” Askari says.
Every Saturday, The Mine holds a Yoga session around the Japanese installation. The space is also transformed into a venue that artists can rent out for alternative activities, photo-shoots and creative projects.
The Act, for example, has put on a freakishly bizarre performance in the space once before, and is planning to do so again later this month during Art Dubai.
“I feel like there are not enough venues in Dubai where you can go and get stimulated mentally,” she says.
“Being an entrepreneur, I feel that in order to succeed, I must not only swim against the current, but do so with style.”
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