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10/13/25, 11:54 AM Nja Mahdaoui show opens season at Bassam Freiha Art Foundation

Nja Mahdaoui show opens season at Bassam Freiha Art Foundation

Last updated: October 12, 2025 | 11:04

Untitled 3 composition from the Azimuth series.

Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer

The Bassam Freiha Art Foundation (BFAF), located in Cultural District, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, has opened the new season with a
programme of exhibitions, including a Nja Mahdaoui retrospective. Founded by philanthropist and art collector Bassam Said Freiha and the first
and only private art foundation on Saadiyat Island, BFAF’s new programming combines historic collections, contemporary voices and leading
modern Arab artists. Providing a platform for local and international artists and designed to further BFAF’s ambition to grow and nurture the
region’s art scene, each exhibition is accompanied by a programme of community events.

The landmark exhibition titled Nja Mahdaoui: The Choreographer of Letters (Oct. 24 – Jan. 25, 2026), explores the work of Tunisian multimedia
artist Nja Mahdaoui (b. 1937, Tunisia), one of the most influential figures in Arab modern art. Co-curated by Dr. Michaela Watrelot, head curator
and director of exhibitions at Bassam Freiha Art Foundation, and Nja Mahdaoui’s daughter, Molka Mahdaoui, the focused retrospective surveys
over six decades of practice by the Tunisian master, who sublimates Arabic calligraphy into a visual and abstract contemporary art form.

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