Maya Allison is Chief Curator at New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD), and founding Executive Director of The Art Gallery at New York University Abu Dhabi. She is also Curator of the National Pavilion of the UAE to Venice for 2022. Previous posts include curatorial roles at Brown University, and The RISD Museum, alongside which she directed the annual international new media showcase Pixilerations, all in Providence, Rhode Island (USA). She holds degrees from Columbia University, Reed College, and was awarded a curatorial research fellowship at Brown University’s Center for Public Humanities.

Allison’s curatorial specializations intersect two areas: artistic communities, and installation art. Her most recent project, Speculative Landscapes (NYUAD Art Gallery, 2019) gathered four rising UAE-based artists who work in immersive, experimental installation. Her curatorial projects that included editing book-length publications include Wunderground: Providence, 1995 to the Present (Curatorial Assistant, RISD Museum, 2006), Slavs and Tatars: Mirrors for Princes (Curator, JRP Ringier/NYUAD Art Gallery, 2015), Diana Al-Hadid: Phantom Limb (Curator, Skira / NYUAD Art Gallery, 2016), But We Cannot See Them: Tracing a UAE Art Community, 1988-2008 (Lead Curator, NYUAD Art Gallery, 2017), and Zimoun (Curator, NYUAD Art Gallery, 2019). Outside the university, she has guest-curated a number of projects in the UAE, including Artists and the Cultural Foundation: The Early Years (Lead Curator, with book publication, Cultural Foundation Abu Dhabi, 2018), a 30-year survey of 18 UAE artists.

Alliott Hadi Shahid is one of the leading Chartered Accountants, Auditors and Business Advisors firm in the United Arab Emirates recognized for high standards and cost-effective professional services, with offices across Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Al Ain and internationally through our affiliation with Alliott Group, a worldwide alliance of independent accounting, law and consulting firms, with more than 163 member firms with some 185 offices in over 65 countries.

AHS is the first Auditing / Accounting Firm registered in UAE to received ISO 9001 Certification since the year 2003.

Alliott Had Shahid is registered with the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Islamic Development Bank (IDB), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), United Nations Development Programs (UNDP), United Nations Office for
Project Services (UNOPS), UAE Central Bank, Emirates Industrial Bank, local and international financial institutions and Free Zones in the UAE.

Edward Gallagher is managing director of leading contemporary art platform Galloire. Galloire brings major established artists and emerging innovators in art to the Middle East for the first time with gallery exhibitions, public art installations and cutting-edge digital experiences.

Some nine years ago, Edward began building his personal collection of contemporary art, from where his passion and interest grew rapidly, leading to the founding of Galloire in 2020.

Prior to establishing Galloire, Gallagher, an experienced business leader in the region, oversaw several major international businesses, growing their presence and reach across the GCC.

Shafeena Yusuff Ali is a Serial Entrepreneur, Art Historian and Cultural Practitioner, Hotelier, Social Impact Practitioner and Researcher and Philanthropist. She serves as the Chairperson of Tablez Food Company (2010 - Present), Director of Twenty14 Holding Pt. Ltd. (2014-present) and is the Co-Founder and Director of Adeeb and Shafeena Action Research Foundation (2020 - Present). She founded the Rizq Art Initiative in 2023 with a vision to promote art and artists originating from the Global South as well as to cement the position of Abu Dhabi in the cultural map of UAE.

Shafeena holds an MBA from the Said Business School, University of Oxford, as well as a Masters in Social Innovation from the University of Cambridge. She also studied MA in Art History and Visual Culture from Lindenwood University and is among the most influential women in the Middle East. She has also been awarded several awards including the Indo-Arab Women Entrepreneurship Award in 2018 and the Achiever of the Year Award at the Emirates Woman of the Year Awards 2017.

Emma is a founder of boutique creative and marketing consultancy Xler8AD. Based in Abu Dhabi, she has consulted to notable Government and private companies in the UAE and across the GCC. Prior to founding xler8AD, Emma set up and ran F1 Custom, a creative content agency within F1 Racing, that worked with Formula 1 teams, sponsors and host cities across the Globe.

As a global Account and Production Director, Emma has delivered campaigns, content and collateral across platforms, in multiple languages throughout the GCC, Europe, the Americas and Asia. She brings experience of working with some of the World’s biggest brands, across multiple sectors including technology, retail, FMCG, banking, healthcare, automotive, sport and education as a Marketing & Content Strategist, Account Director, Production Director, and Strategic Planner.