Lawrie Shabibi was founded in 2010 by Asmaa Al-Shabibi and William Lawrie and opened its doors in early 2011 in Alserkal Avenue, located within the light industrial warehouse district of Al Quoz in Dubai. Following the relocation of several renowned galleries, this quickly became the hub of contemporary art in the region, and we have been a forerunner in the development of this contemporary art scene. The gallery’s initial focus was on the practices of emerging contemporary artists from the Middle East and North Africa (the “Global South”), but has expanded to artists from other regions and generations, yet with the same focus on the “underrepresented”. A major focus remains the support of artists from the diaspora who create work in all media to explore issues such as identity, memory, history and socio-political issues specific to the diasporic experience.