His Excellency Zaki Nusseibeh, the Cultural Advisor to the President of the United Arab Emirates and the Chancellor of UAE University, officially inaugurated the first visual arts exhibit that maps out the cultural impact of cooling in the Emirates over the span of 50 years.
Narrating a lesser-pondered perspective on the advent of air conditioning through the lens of four artists based in the UAE, 50 Years of Cool, is hosted by Taqeef and O General – the originators of desert cooling systems in. It will be hosted at MiZa, an emerging creative district located in the heart of Abu Dhabi’s historical Mina Zayed, from 1st to 9th March.
Marking the occasion, His Excellency Zaki Nusseibeh, said “Art and culture play a vital role in expressing and reinforcing the values of kindness, tolerance, understanding and a sense of a shared struggle. Over the past 50 years, the UAE has accomplished many remarkable feats, and collaborations such as the one we are celebrating today between Japan and the UAE have played a pivotal role in this. Collaboration makes both societies and individuals stronger, and there is a wealth of knowledge that can be gained from one another.”
With works in photography, moving image, and annotated portraits, the exhibit invites viewers to reflect on air conditining’s transformational effects on quality of life, and beyond that, into the fabric of the urban landscape. This evolution in air conditioning moves on a conversational current with the Gulf’s textured migrant histories and economic development, which had laid the groundwork for the UAE’s industrialisation as we know it today. H.E. Akio Isomata, Ambassador of Japan to the UAE who was also present at the opening.
Tariq Al Ghussein, CEO, Taqeef, said, “In 1973 Taqeef collaborated with Fujitsu General to bring air-conditioning to the country. The technology, the only of its kind at the time, transformed the way homes and offices were built and subsequently, the way people lived. This exhibition extends a fascinating and thought-provoking reframing of the role of air conditioning as a catalyst to a significant paradigm shift in the country, its people, and their daily lives. It takes visitors on a nostalgic, yet captivating voyage of the humble air conditioner’s role – both past and present in the UAE.”
Featured works include Hussain Al Moosawi’s grid of photographs that capture the diverse typology of air conditioning systems in the UAE, highlighting their ubiquitous presence in the UAE’s urban architecture and by extension, its everyday lives. A short experiential film by Fatema Al Fardan collages a personal oral history and visuals to weave together a poetic interpretation of the before-and-after effects of modern air conditioning, platforming a first-hand account of how it has revolutionised the ways people live and work.
A photographic series by Ahmed Al Kuwaiti plays witness to the intricate relationship between the buildings, people, and air conditioning systems that have made the urban environments of the Emirates habitable in intense heat. While poignant portraits of O General employees, technicians, and long-time customers, presented by Augustine Paredes, offer a glimpse into the on-ground human impact of the local air conditioning systems industry, accounting for the human faces and pioneering stories behind cooling technologies.
“We are humbled that O General is firmly entrenched in the region’s cultural fabric, maintaining its market leadership position since inception. Our commitment is unwavering in supporting the UAE’s growth and development over the next 50 years, aligning our technologies and products with the country’s net-zero aspirations by 2050,” concluded Etsuro Saito, President & CEO Fujitsu General Limited.
