Reem Fadda is currently working as Associate Curator of Middle Eastern Art – Abu Dhabi Project at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation based in New York.  She is also a PhD candidate at the History of Art and Visual Studies Department at Cornell University.

From her curatorial concept, Fadda stated; “Mohammed Kazem, a pioneering contemporary artist and thinker from the UAE, represents a generation that emerged from an avant-garde legacy of arts and  artists in the UAE and the surrounding region, one that has thrived since the mid-70s with advocates  such as his mentor artist Hassan Sharif. The curatorial research for our pavilions presentation in Venice will see Kazem as the leading individual artist and thinker he is and highlight his contribution to the local artistic heritage.”

Mohammed Kazem first studied art at the Emirates Fine Art Society, he then went on to learn music, attend national and international art workshops, as well as teach painting at Dubai Art Atelier. A pioneer in the UAE contemporary art scene for his incorporation of video and new technologies, his interest in conceptual art and his progressive attitude towards medium and context is especially highlighted by his ongoing series “Directions.”

Widely known through numerous solo and group exhibitions in the UAE and abroad, his works have been collected by private institutions such as Deutsche Bank as well as Museums in Doha, Sharjah, JP Morgan Chase Bank, USA, Sittard in Holland and by private collectors. Kazem has participated in many high profile exhibitions including the Havana Biennial (2000), Singapore Biennale (2006), Dhaka Biennial, Bangladesh (2002), and the Sharjah Biennale (1993 – 2007).  Most recently he exhibited at the University of the Arts, Philadelphia (2010); and at the Mori Art Museum, Tokyo (2012).

The National Pavilion has appointed the dynamic Emirati design house, Fikra, lead by Salem Al Qassimi to produce the visual elements related to both the organization and the exhibition.