1987–present
Alia Hussain Lootah
Alia Hussain Lootah was born in Dubai in 1987. Her installations of metal wire and wood are built around the bond between mother and child. In 2017 she co-founded the Madaf studio in Dubai with partners, where she teaches children and adults, and the educational programme for children that she leads has reached more than 30,000 participants since 2021.
Biography
Alia Hussain Lootah was born in 1987 in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. Her public biography begins with her studies.
She received a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences degree in strategic communication from Zayed University. She was also awarded a scholarship for study programmes at New York University and the University of Cambridge. In 2014 she was one of the participants in the Salama bint Hamdan Emerging Artists Fellowship, a mentoring programme for early-career artists. Her first exhibition appearances date from the early 2010s. In 2011–2013 her work was shown at the Sikka exhibition (Sikka Art Fair), and in 2013, at Tashkeel, she took part in the exhibitions “Motni” and “Metamorphosis”. The titles and make-up of these shows should be checked; I have few documents to hand. The main theme of her work is the relationship between mother and child. She gives it form in installations of metal wire, in abstract constructions that invite contemplation. In 2022 she was shown at Abu Dhabi Art by Aisha Alabbar Gallery. In 2023 she took part in the Arab Calligraphy Biennial in Dubai. At Art Dubai in 2024 she presented installations in which the play of light and shadow is built from wooden forms and wire.
In 2017, together with partners, Lootah founded Madaf in Dubai, an art centre for children and adults where classes are built around creative self-expression.
Education is a separate strand of her activity. She leads one of the largest educational programmes for children in the Emirates, supported by ARM Holding. Since 2021 the programme has reached more than 30,000 children; its interactive workshops deal, among other subjects, with the future of water. In one interview Lootah said that art education and collaboration between artists change the place of art in society and strengthen a sense of cultural belonging.
Profile notes