With Its Collaborative Gallery Exhibition, Déjà Vu, Dubai-Based Alserkal Is Responding To Uncertainty By Challenging The Conventional
The show, which has been billed as the first of its kind in the UAE, will run until 10pm on May 8, 2026, at Concrete in Alserkal Avenue.
UAE-based arts and culture enterprise Alserkal has unveiled Déjà Vu, a multi-gallery exhibition at Concrete, the multidisciplinary venue within its Alserkal Avenue creative district in Dubai.
Having opened on April 25, 2026, Déjà Vu has been conceptualized in response to the uncertainty across the UAE and the wider region following the outbreak of the Iran war, with a statement from Alserkal noting that “the exhibition unpacks the incongruity and inanity of repeated cycles in three streams—the uncanny as it presents in historical mismatching and memory glitches; historical absurdity; and linguistic slippage.”
Déjà Vu at Concrete in Alserkal Avenue.
The exhibition, which features more than 50 artists represented by 20 contemporary art galleries in the UAE, has been billed as the first of its kind in the country, and it is set to run from 10 am to 10 pm until May 8, 2026. With the show aiming to provide a commercial opportunity for galleries that have been impacted by current events, the price list for all the works at Déjà Vu has been made available to anyone who visits it.
In a conversation with Inc. Arabia, Vilma Jurkute, Executive Director of Alserkal, shared that Déjà Vu was born out of a desire to respond meaningfully to the current moment, while also creating new opportunities for the wider arts ecosystem. “Alserkal has always been nimble and adaptive and progressive,” Jurkute noted. “In our mission, we challenge the conventional, and we pioneer new models. And this crisis offered a moment of recalibration, a moment of opportunity, for such new models to emerge.”
A scene from Déjà Vu.
Alserkal has thus made use of a collective approach to bring together galleries from both within its arts district and beyond, many of whom have worked alongside it to build the UAE’s contemporary art ecosystem over the past two decades. “These are reputable galleries whose artists’ rosters are now internationally known,” Jurkute highlighted. “And so, it’s with that collective responsibility, that collective resilience, we brought this exhibition to life.”
While the name of the exhibition was inspired by a Raed Yassin artwork shown in it, Déjà Vu is also hosting works by notable names like Larissa Sansour, Samuel Fosso, Mithu Sen, Nabil Anani, Seher Shah, Lubna Choudhary, and others. “These are exceptional works co-existing in the same space, in dialogue with each other, at the same point in time, for the first time ever,” Jurkute pointed out. “These works are part of art history.”
Vilma Jurkute, Executive Director of Alserkal.
Jurkute also noted that the goal with Déjà Vu was not only to create visibility for the participating galleries, but also to encourage a new generation of collectors to engage with the regional art scene. That intent also shaped the decision to make pricing fully transparent throughout the exhibition. “This is an opportunity for our public to acquire their first work, or grow their collection by learning or discovering about new artistic practices,” Jurkute said.
But Déjà Vu is ultimately about more than commerce—it is also a statement on the role of arts and culture in moments of disruption. “Arts and culture [are] fundamental to any society,” she said. “When you witness people engage in arts and culture, it's a simulation of togetherness... When you see youth engaged in arts and culture, you witness culture in transformation. And this exhibition creates that access, that opportunity.”
Pictured in the lead image is a scene from Déjà Vu. All images courtesy Alserkal.
