Failure is often seen as a negative term. Yet without pushing boundaries, taking risk and learning from mistakes, artistic practice stagnates. Failing is an integral part of the creative process. It ignites development, growth and evolution. The House of Failure takes the viewer on a journey into the breadth and depth of creative enquiry that lurks behind every artwork.
This exhibition examines the fundamental importance of experimentation and risk-taking in art and design practice. Practitioners have contributed ephemera resulting from their own research and experiments that have answered questions, offered discoveries, served as inspiration and opened new lines of inquiry. These items offer personal insights into how artists confront the fear of failure, how it feeds the creative process, and how (either real or imagined) it nurtures artistic expression.
Programming in House 10:
Fail Better!
Tashkeel (House 10, Al Fahidi), Sunday 17 March & Sunday 24 March: 4.30–8.00pm
Drop in and join Hadil Moufti and Fabiola Chiminazzo to discover about the importance of process and layers in art-making. Suitable for 13 yrs+ and adults.
Calligraphy Fun
Tashkeel (House 10, Al Fahidi), Monday 18 March: 5pm, 6pm, 7pm
Join Ibraheem Khamayseh to discover the basics of Arabic calligraphy in 45-minute sessions exploring form, rhythm and movement of the alphabet with pens, pencils and playdough. Children under 13 yrs must be accompanied by an adult. Limited places.
Ask Tashkeel
Tashkeel (House 10, Al Fahidi), Tuesday 19 March: 4.30–8.00pm
Curious about how to take your arts practice forward? Find out what Tashkeel can do for you! Drop in and meet the team. Learn about membership, our year-round workshop programme and more! Suitable for adults. (free)
Portfolio Reviews
Tashkeel (House 10, Al Fahidi), Wednesday 20 March: 4.30–8.00pm
Portfolio reviews provide artists with guidance in taking their work to the next level. Completed projects, works in progress are all welcome. Book an individual 20-minute session with fine artist and instructor Fatima Atallah. Suitable for adults. Limited places.
Kintsugi
Tashkeel (House 10, Al Fahidi), Thursday 21 March: 4.30–8.00pm
Kintsugi is the age-old Japanese art form of repairing broken ceramics in a way that is often considered more beautiful than when it was when whole. Join Hessa Al Ajmani to piece back together with broken ceramics with glue and gold powder. Suitable for 13 yrs+ and adults. Limited places. Register at tashkeel.org (free)
Expressive Drawing
Tashkeel (House 10, Al Fahidi), Friday 22 March: 11.15am, 12.15pm, 1.15pm, 2.15pm, 3.15pm
Join Katie Venner-Woodbridge for a medley of fun-filled 45-minute drawing workshops for children including Collaborative Drawing to Music, Battle Drawing and Drawing at Length. Children under 13 yrs must be accompanied by an adult. Limited places.
Construct & Create
Tashkeel (House 10, Al Fahidi), Friday 22 March: 4.30–8.00pm
Drop in and build your very own playbox with Salim Ahmed. Take a flatpack kit of pre-cut cardboard and assemble. Then dive into the lucky dip of signs and symbols and let your imagination run wild. Children under 13 yrs must be accompanied by an adult.
Featuring the Strikethrough: Craft Talk & Workshop for Writers and Artists
Tashkeel (House 10, Al Fahidi), Saturday 23 March: 12.30–2.30pm
How do we work with gestures that allow change, revision, failure while keeping the work strong? Join Jill Magi to explore works by poets and artists where doubt, strikethrough and revision is central to the work itself. Suitable for adults. Limited places.
Panel Discussion: The Artist & Failure
Tashkeel (House 10, Al Fahidi), Saturday 23 March: 4.30–6.00pm
Join moderator Flounder Lee, Fatima Atallah, Katie Venner-Woodbridge and others for a panel discussion examining the necessity of failure and how it feeds artistic practice. Suitable for adults. Limited places. Register at tashkeel.org (free)