Curiosity sparks growing demand for African art in the UAE

DUBAI: In a warehouse at Alserkal Avenue — Dubai’s arts district — a group of 11 emerging artists from the Democratic Republic of Congo recently displayed their work in a week-long exhibition titled “Breaking the Mold.” The title was a reference to the attempts of the artists — all former students of the Academy of Fine Arts in the DRC’s capital, Kinshasa — to escape the restrictions of their academic training.