Building the Platform: Sunny Rahbar and The Third Line's Defense of Middle Eastern Art
In the early 2000s, Dubai’s contemporary art scene was not a given; it was a possibility waiting for a catalyst. Sunny Rahbar became that catalyst. Of Iranian origin and raised in Dubai, Rahbar’s journey was a global art world apprenticeship—from Parsons School of Design to the Guggenheim Museum, Sotheby’s in London, and the launch of a New York gallery. But her true calling wasn't in the established art capitals; it was back home. She returned to Dubai with a determined goal: to build a concrete foundation for the region's emerging artistic voices. In 2005, this vision materialized as The Third Line, a gallery she co-founded to create an internationally recognized platform for artists relevant to the Middle East.
For Rahbar, this was never just a commercial endeavor. It is, and always has been, an act of profound belief and defense. "I have always been inspired by individuals who have stood up in the face of adversity, to push through against all odds," she says. This inspiration is the engine of her work: "I chose to defend the artists that I work with, to defend their work, and to stand beside them. I do believe it takes courage to devote your life to your art."
Pioneering Exhibitions: From Video Art to Golden Coastlines
Under her guidance, The Third Line hasn't just hosted exhibitions; it has pioneered new forms of artistic dialogue in the Gulf. Rahbar points to pivotal shows that broke new ground:
Laleh Khorramian's 2008 show was arguably the first time a video installation was presented in a commercial gallery context in the region, challenging traditional notions of what art could be in that space.
Farhad Moshiri's iconic knife-wall piece, spelling "Shukran" (Thank You) in Arabic, demonstrated the power of a single, monumental installation to captivate and converse.
Perhaps most memorably, Abbas Akhavan's 2012 solo exhibition featured a faux gold-leaf replica of Dubai's coastline applied directly to the gallery wall. In a brilliant critique of the city’s real estate frenzy, pieces of the wall were sold as property, with prices inflating as the "land" was bought—a timely, incisive work that could only have emerged from its specific context.
The Best Response? Anything But Indifference
For a gallerist so dedicated to artists who tell difficult truths, the measure of success is unique. "I think any reaction is a good reaction, and the worst is indifference," Rahbar states. "Then I feel something has failed, either in the work or in the viewer." But even failure, in her view, is not an end. It is "always a good starting point"—a philosophy that fuels the constant innovation and courage required to build a scene from the ground up.
Through The Third Line and her new venture, Sun/Ra, Sunny Rahbar continues to provide that essential platform. Her work ensures that the artists of the Middle East are not just seen, but are heard, defended, and recognized on their own terms, changing the international art landscape one groundbreaking exhibition at a time.
How does the art world differ in Dubai than in other parts of the world?
It’s perhaps a microcosm version of the art world at large and comes with its share of the good, the bad and the ugly.
With increased globalization, and a lot of regional exchange, you see familiar faces in Dubai all the time. With 10 years in to full time programming, and the rise of many other commercial and non-commercial art spaces and publications, the Dubai art scene is still in its early stages. It is grows and shrinks like an organism and lot of people – writers, artists, curators – fly in and out all the time to add to it. However, it’s not as transient as it used to be, which is great. But it still has years to go before it truly begins to mature.
Sunny you were one of the first people to put Dubai in the map for the art world, what were some of the big challenges you faced doing so?
We started without there being any reference and framework of a similar model in the UAE. We were working with building blocks and a lot of mistakes taught us some lifelong lessons. But most all, the challenges allowed us to push for multifarious solutions – that perhaps are not standard at all for a young commercial set up anywhere. We had to start by building an audience and awareness, before anything – we weren’t programming to sell like a shop. While the selling was a necessary aspect to sustain The Third Line, we wanted to build something much bigger than that. We wanted to present that platform where the makers and the audience could converge, converse and connect.
Once The Third Line had some footing, we started getting involved in fairs and biennales and that allowed us to take Dubai and UAE to the world. It came with a lot of its own challenges, and most of the initial years were spent battling stereotypes. But then we knew what we were getting into – and it wasn’t a traditional model ever to begin with. It’s been a lot of hard work, and we still face new challenges every day, but we’ve definitely come a long way since the initial days, and we’ve enjoyed every step of the way.
Anything else you would like to share or any upcoming projects/exhibitions we should know about?
We're still breaking into the new gallery space at Alserkal Avenue, after having opened it in January of 2016. We've had an exciting line-up of exhibitions - Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Youssef Nabil, Hassan Hajjaj, Sara Naim and Huda Lutfi. We just opened a show by photographer Farah Al Qasimi, and initiated our alternative programming, where we invited WTD Magazine - a Dubai based architecture and design publication - to programme a series of performative conversations. The idea is to return to more such experimental and alternative, ground roots programming, where we work closely with local thinkers, makers and doers. We have great plans ahead – expand our bookstore and work on our library and then open the Fall season with shows by Slavs and Tatars and Hayv Kaharaman. We also have a book project in the pipeline and simultaneously working on art fairs – you’ll see us at Frieze London and Abu Dhabi Art in October.
Meanwhile, coming up much sooner are two shows that we are very excited about – Rana Begum at Parasol unit ( Just opened), London in June and Sophia Al Maria at the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York in July.
There’s this and so much more.
