Arash Nazari
Behrang Samadzadegan
Vice, 2022
138 x 210 cm
Katya Traboulsi
Qatar, 2016
Hand painted resin and brass sticks
Brass base and top
Edition 2/6
73 x 21 x 21 cm
Katya Traboulsi
Afghanistan, 2016
Hand carved and painted resin
Brass base and top
Edition 2/6
73 x 21 x 21 cm
Katya Traboulsi
Iran, 2016
Hand painted porcelain
Brass base and top
73 x 21 x 21 cm
Katya Traboulsi
Lebanon, 2016
Hand carved cedar wood
Brass base and top
Artist's Proof
73 x 21 x 21 cm
Farideh Lashai
Gone Down the Rabbit Hole, 2010
Oil, Acrylic, and Graphite on Canvas, in Four Parts
220 x 220 cm overall
Farideh Lashai
Keep Your Interior Empty of Food, You Mayest Behold Therein the Light of Interior
Projected Animated Photographic Images on Painting (Oil and Graphite on Canvas)
180 x 200 cm
Mehdi Farhadian
Allies, 2023
Acrylic on Canvas
150 x 120 cm
Parinaz Eleish Gharagozlou
Being A Woman, 2022
Mixed Media and Collage on Canvas
179.705 x 152.4 cm
Reza Aramesh
Action 184, 2016
Bronze (Edtion of 3+AP)
10 x 19 x 50 cm
Reza Aramesh
Action 188: Metamorphosis – a study in liberation, 2017
Bronze
Height: 164 cm
Soraya Sharghi
The Thinker, 2023-24
Acrylic on Canvas
226.6 x 183 cm
Wassef Boutros Ghali
Untitled, 2001
Acrylic on Canvas
71 x 43 in. (180.3 x 109.22 cm)
Wassef Boutros Ghali
Untitled, 2013
Acrylic on Canvas
65 x 55 in. (165.1 x 139.7 cm)
Y.Z Kami
Endless Prayers XXXVII, 2009
Mixed Media on Paper
114.5 x 84 cm
Y.Z Kami
Endless Prayers XVII, 2009
Mixed Media on Paper
158.8 x 124.5 cm
Marwan Sahmarani
Untitled, 2024
Oil on Canvas
150 x 170 cm
Jehangir Vazifdar
Serenity
Oil on Canvas
140 x 112 cm
Jehangir Vazifdar
The Athletes, 1992
Felt-tip on Paper
21 x 29 cm
61 x 55 cm (framed)
Jehangir Vazifdar
Untitled (two faces), 1999
Felt-tip on Paper
21 x 29 cm
61 x 55 cm (framed)
Azza Al Qubaisi
ECO STELLAR 2, 2021
Recycled Aluminum from Aircraft Seats
170 x 170 x 160 cm
Azza Al Qubaisi
ECO STELLAR 1, 2020
Recycled Aluminum from Aircraft Seats
150 x 140 x 120 cm
Katya Emelyanova
Mr. Mojo
Ceramic Glazed, Metal Stage
210 x 37 x 37 cm
Sofia Yeganeh
In Between Us, 2024
Hand Embroidered, Print, and Paint on Canvas
Aref Montazeri
Shahzad, 2024
Mirror, Polymer
48 x 70 x 200 cm
Lorenzo Quinn
Posidonia
Stainless Steel
Edition of 8 plus 2 artist proof
86.5 x 177.5 x 92.5 cm
Zeinab Al Hashemi
There May Exist, 2024
Oil Barrels, Camel hides
Dimensions Variable
Arash Nazari
Haroun in Bath, 2023
Oil on Canvas
300 x 125 cm
Marcos Grigorian
Untitled, 1961
Mixed Media on Canvas
110 x 120 cm
Marcos Grigorian
Crossroads, 1975
Cracked Earth on Canvas
122 x 122 cm
Shirin Neshat
“Love Decided Our Fate,” from Looking For Oum Kulthum series, 2018
C-Print with Ink, Printed on Dibond
165.1 x 128.3 cm
Shirin Neshat
“Ask My Heart,” from Looking For Oum Kulthum series, 2018
C-Print with Ink, Printed on Dibond
162.4 x 118.6 cm (60 x 46.7 in.)
Dubai, UAE – Leila Heller Gallery is pleased to announce its upcoming collaborative exhibition with Zaal Art Gallery, Toronto, titled Maydan: A Living Agora, opening on April 14, 2025 at A1 Space, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai.
The exhibition explores Maydan- a space of gathering, exchange, and dialogue, both as a physical site and as a symbolic structure embedded in Middle Eastern, South Asian, and global cultures. Like the Greek Agora, the Maydan has historically functioned as a civic space, but in today’s context, it embodies evolving notions of collectivism, identity, and shared presence.
Maydan: A Living Agora brings together artists from diverse backgrounds who engage with the social, spatial, and conceptual dimensions of communal space. Their works reflect the multifaceted nature of Maydan as a platform for negotiation, memory, and storytelling within today’s shifting cultural landscapes.
Set within Alserkal Avenue, a former industrial zone turned vibrant cultural hub, the exhibition mirrors its setting: an Agora within an Agora. Here, artists, thinkers, and publics converge, not in isolation, but in active exchange. Unlike Foucault’s heterotopia, Maydan is not a space of "otherness," but one of togetherness, a participatory arena where overlapping narratives and identities intersect.
The exhibition unfolds across three interwoven modes:
Geometry & Spatial Constructs – Artworks exploring the architectural and conceptual design of communal spaces.
Monumentality & Collective Memory – Sculptural works that anchor shared experiences and histories.
Cultural Narratives & Figurative Storytelling – Pieces drawing from mythology, heritage, and lived experiences to animate the human fabric of Maydan.
Together, these threads invite the viewer to inhabit a living, breathing Maydan, an ever-evolving agora of voices, visions, and encounters.
ARTISTS: Marcos Grigorian, Reza Aramesh, Sudarshan Shetty, Katya Traboulsi, Lorenzo Quinn, Aref Montazeri, Zeinab Alhashemi, Anton Bakker, Azza Al Qubaisi, Sofia Yeganeh, Farideh Lashai, Parinaz Eleish, Arash Nazari, Mehdi Farhadian, Behrang Samadzadegan, Soraya Sharghi, Shirin Neshat, Wassef Boutros Ghali, Y.Z. Kami, Marwan Sahmarani, Jehangir Vazifdar, Ali Beheshti, Sahand Hesamiyan, Andisheh Avini, Mehrdad Mohebali, Farah Ossouli, Fereydoun Ave, Ashkan Abdoli, Mohammad Hossein Maher, Shahryar Hatami, Yousha Bashir, Kiarash Alimi, Ali Akbar Sadeghi.
