• • Celebrating Bassam Freiha Art Foundation One Year of contribution to the Arts, as the first private art foundation established in Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Island Cultural District.

     

    • Celebrating Christie's 20 Years of presence in the UAE, as the first international auction house to hold auctions of Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art in the region.

     

    • Celebrating Nja Mahdaoui 60 Years of Artistic Legacy, as one of the most prolific and notable contemporary artists of the Arab world and pioneer of abstract calligraphy—and 36 Years of Artistic Presence in the UAE.

  • FOCUSED RETROSPECTIVE

  • 1965-2025

    60 years of Art 

    From his first solo show in Tunis, in 1965, to his first retrospectve in the UAE, this exhibition offers a rare opportunity for audiences to engage directly with Mahdaoui's creative vision.

  • 1989 - 2025

    36 YEARS of Artistic Presence in the UAE

    In 1990, Nja Mahdaoui chaired the jury of the sixth Visual Arts Annual Exhibition, produced by the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation at the Abu Dhabi Cultural Centre. During this event, alongside Hoda Kanoo and Reem Al Mutwalli, he organized an open painting workshop in collaboration with several Emirati artists and the poet Habib Sayegh, where an audience of various ages is invited to collaborate on the making of three large-scale paintings (20 x 1.6 m).

     

    For the past three decades, Nja has been an active and influential figure in the UAE's art scene. His contributions include multiple solo exhibitions, numerous participations in the Sharjah Biennial for the Art of Arabic Calligraphy, and consistent involvement in nearly all editions of Art Abu Dhabi and Art Dubai since their inception. Mahdaoui's artworks are held in the collections of several prestigious foundations and private collectors across the UAE, among them are the Dubai Collection, the Sharjah Art, Barjeel, and Farjam Foundations.

  • UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

  • 1989 • SOLO SHOW Nja Mahdaoui, within the Journées Culturelles Tunisiennes, travelling exhibition produced by the Tunisian Ministry of Culture...

    1989

    • SOLO SHOW Nja Mahdaoui, within the Journées Culturelles Tunisiennes, travelling exhibition produced by the Tunisian Ministry of Culture and the National Office of the Tunisian Tourism, Le Méridien Hotel, Abu Dhabi and Damascus

     

    • GROUP SHOW Nja Mahdaoui, within the Journées Culturelles Tunisiennes, touring exhibitions and events produced by the Tunisian Ministry of Culture and the National Office of the Tunisian Tourism, Prague and Sharjah

     

    2006

    • BIENNIAL Nja Mahdaoui, Second Biennale of Calligraphy in the Arab World, Sharjah.

    GUEST OF HONOUR AND JURY MEMBER

     

    • GROUP SHOW Word into Art: Artists of the Modern Middle East, travelling exhibition (2006-2008), curated by Venetia Porter, The British Museum, London and DIFC, Dubai

     

    • GROUP SHOW Flashback/Forward. A Visual Timeline of Cultural Practices in the Middle East, Third Line Gallery and Dubai Culture Village, Dubai

     

    2007

    • SOLO SHOW Nja Mahdaoui, Meem Gallery, Dubai

     

    • GROUP SHOW Sign, Writing & Calligraphy, curated by Amal Traboulsi for Art Paris-Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi

     

    • LECTURE Invited to introduce his work to students of the School of Architecture and Design at the American University of Sharjah

     

    2008

    • SOLO SHOW  Nja Mahdaoui, within the first Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Festival, produced by ADMAF (Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation), Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi

     

    • SOLO SHOW Nja Mahdaoui, within the Francophone Week, produced by ADMAF, Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research and Ghaf Gallery, Abu Dhabi

     

    • SOLO SHOW Letters & Spectrums of Nja Mahdaoui, within Silkoad, eleventh Islamic Arts Festival, Sharjah Art Museum. 

    JURY MEMBER FOR THE FESTIVAL

     

    • GROUP SHOW Through Arabian Eyes, celebrating the 37th anniversary of the UAE, DIFC (Dubai International Financial Centre), Dubai

     

    • GROUP SHOW Naseem: Ali Omar Ermes and Nja Mahdaoui, Meem Gallery, Dubai

     

    • GROUP SHOW Iqaa al kalam, Hunar Gallery, Dubai

     

    2009

    • GROUP SHOW Treasures of the World's Cultures - British Museum, travelling exhibition (2009-2012): Canal de Isabel II, Madrid; Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, Canada; Kunst & Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, Bonn; and Manarat Al Saadiyat Gallery, Abu Dhabi

     

    2010

    • BIENNIAL Nja Mahdaoui, fourth Sharjah Biennial for the Art of Arabic Calligraphy, Sharjah.

    Awarded Medal of Honour by HH Sheikh Sultan Bin Muhammad Al Qasimi

     

    2011

    • GROUP SHOW Crossing the Line, co-curated by Irene Barberis and Tashkeel, Tashkeel Gallery, Dubai

    • LECTURE Gives the lecture Errance de la lettre peinte entre le Signifiant et le Signifié at the conference Crossing the Line: Drawing in the Middle East – Intersections of transdisciplinary practice and understanding, coproduced by the American University in Dubai, RMIT University Melbourne and Tashkeel, held at the American University of Dubai.

     

    2012

    • PERFORMANCE Live creation of an artwork to benefit the Noor Dubai Foundation in collaboration with four young Emirati artists, hosted and organized by Christie’s Dubai at Emirates Towers in Dubai under the patronage of the UAE Minister of Culture, HE Abdul Rahman Al Owais.

     

    2013

    • PERFORMANCE Invited by the London-based artist Soraya Syed to co-create Noon, a live artwork in collaboration with the UAE calligrapher Wissam Shawkat, for the launch of Nuqta mobile web app during Art Dubai.

    2015

    • GROUP SHOW 8th Dubai International Arabic Calligraphy Exhibition, produced by Dubai Culture, Wafi Mall, Dubai

     

    2016

    • SOLO SHOW Trance, Elmarsa Gallery, Dubai

     

    • BIENNIAL Nja Mahdaoui, JURY MEMBER AND GUEST OF HONOUR at the sixth Sharjah Calligraphy Biennial

     

    • PERFORMANCE Gateway: (Re) Birth exhibition, curated by Fabrice Bousteau, Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi Art

     

    2018

    • BIENNIAL 8th Sharjah Calligraphy Biennial, Sharjah, UAE

     

    2022

    • SOLO SHOW Jafr - The Alchemy of Signs, Elmarsa Gallery, Dubai

     

    2023

    • PERFORMANCE The Rhythm of Calligraphy and Oud, live performance with Naseer Shamma, produced by the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Centre, Louvre Abu Dhabi

     

    2024

    • GROUP SHOW Roots and Modernity: Contemporary Mediterranean Arab Art, Sharjah Art Museum

    • GROUP SHOW Arab Presences, Sponsored by The Farjam Foundation, Abu Dhabi Art Fair


    2025

    • GROUP SHOW Common Grounds, highlights from the Dubai Collection, presented at Art Dubai

  • GCC & THE MIDDLE EAST

  • 1979 • BIENNIAL Sixth Arab Biennale, Kuwait City. Special Mention from the jury 1980 • GROUP SHOW Nja Mahdaoui, travelling...

    1979

    • BIENNIAL Sixth Arab Biennale, Kuwait City. Special Mention from the jury

     

    1980

    • GROUP SHOW Nja Mahdaoui, travelling exhibition within the Journées Culturelles Tunisiennes: Jeddah and Taief, Saudi Arabia; Espace Georges V, Paris; and Augsburg, Germany

     

    1982

    • GROUP SHOW Le mouvement de la calligraphie Arabe (Akl, Belkahia, Khadda, Mahdaoui, Nahle, Najem, Shibrain, Scamanga), first-ever exhibition of Arab artists (presented by Galerie Künstlerteppiche - Düsseldorf and Edition Kröner) at Art Basel 13'82

     

    1984

    • SOLO SHOW Tunisian Contemporary Artists, within the Journées Culturelles Tunisiennes, Le Méridien Hotel, Jeddah

     

    1986

    • FESTIVAL Baghdad International Festival of Art, National Museum of Modern Art, Baghdad.

    Awarded the Grand Prize for Visual Arts

     

    1990

    • GROUP SHOW Expo Tamaddun Islam Sedunia, Balai Seni Lukis Negara, Kuala Lumpur

     

    1994

    • SOLO SHOW Nja Mahdaoui, Rochan Gallery, Jeddah.

    Sponsored by HE Mohammad Said Al-Farsi, Mayor of Jeddah

     

    1995

    • SOLO SHOW East & West, Rida Art Gallery, Jeddah

     

    1998

    • SOLO SHOW Nja Mahdaoui, Manama Art Centre, Bahrain

     

    2003

    • GROUP SHOW Mightier than the Sword, travelling exhibition (2003-2004), Ian Potter Museum of Art, Melbourne and Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur

     

    2006

    • BIENNIAL Nja Mahdaoui, Tehran Biennale, Iran.

    Guest of honour and jury member

     

    2008

    • SOLO SHOW Nja Mahdaoui, Dar Al Funoon, Kuwait City

    • SOLO SHOW Nja Mahdaoui, Hewar Art Gallery, Riyadh

     

    2009

    • GROUP SHOW Sajjil: A Century of Modern Art, inaugural exhibition co-curated by Nada Shabout, Wassan Al-Khudairi and Deena Chalabi, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha

    • GROUP SHOW The First Exhibition, Rafa Gallery, Damascus

     

    2010

    • GROUP SHOW King Khalid Exhibition, produced by King Khalid Foundation, Riyadh

    • SOLO SHOW Wajd, Bait Muzna Gallery, Muscat, Oman

     

    2012

    • GROUP SHOW Journey of the Line: Contemporary Arabic Calligraphic Art, Athr Gallery, Jeddah

     

    2013

    • GROUP SHOW Nun wa al Qalam, Contemporary Muslim Calligraphy, inaugural exhibition, Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur

    • GROUP SHOW Khatt and After, Modern and Contemporary Calligraphy, highlights from Mathaf's permanent collection, Katara Cultural Village, Doha

    • CHARITY Siry-Arts - 101 works of art for Syrian refugee children in Lebanon, curated by Kathy Battista, Beirut Exhibition Centre

     

    2014

    • DUO SHOW Mapping Azimuth: Two Calligraphic Ascensions: Nja Mahdaoui & Khaled Ben Slimane, curated by Galerie El Marsa, second Jeddah Art Week, Al Furusiyya Mall, Jeddah

    • GROUP SHOW Word & Illumination, in collaboration with The British Museum, Meridian Exhibition Hall, City of Madinah, Saudi Arabia

     

    2018

    • RETROSPECTIVE AWJ: a retrospective exhibition from 1966 to 2018, Fine Arts Centre Gallery, Sheikh Abdullah Al Salem Cultural Centre, Kuwait

     

    2019

    • SYMPOSIUM 4th Baqaa Symposium, Amman Museum, Jordan

     

    2023

    • GROUP SHOW Alif Lam Ra: Contemporary Muslim Calligraphy, Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur