Fatma Lootah is one of the UAE’s most quietly influential artists, whose practice has developed over decades of sustained, reflective work.
The Emirati artist, based between the UAE and Italy, has built a body of work that privileges reflection over statement. Her paintings and mixed-media works unfold through layers of texture and surface, carrying emotional depth rather than fixed narratives.
She works from House 35, her studio in Dubai’s historic Al Fahidi neighbourhood, a space gifted to her in 2010 by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in recognition of her artistic contribution. From this base, Lootah continues to explore memory, place and time with quiet precision.
These sensibilities come into focus in “Wishes”, her recent commission for OMNIYAT, marking the organisation’s 20th anniversary, a celebration of two decades of visionary design, architectural excellence and influential projects across Dubai.
Over the past 20 years, OMNIYAT the leading ultra-luxury real estate developer in Dubai has marked a series of milestones that have helped shape Dubai’s skyline. Its anniversary tagline, “20 Years of Imagining the Impossible”, encapsulates the organisation’s vision and ambition under the leadership of Founder and Executive Chairman Mahdi Amjad. Outstanding architectural projects such as The Opus by OMNIYAT, One at Palm Jumeirah and The Lana, Dorchester Collection, Dubai, exemplify the company’s approach, blending architecture, design and hospitality to create spaces that mirror Dubai’s evolution as a global destination.
The title of the work is simple, yet deeply resonant. A wish exists in an in-between space, personal and unspoken, shaped by hope rather than certainty. Lootah does not attempt to define this state or illustrate specific outcomes. Instead, she translates the emotional experience of wishing into a visual language that feels open, layered and intentionally unresolved.
Art in the Middle curated the project, working closely alongside Lootah from commission to delivery of the canvas. The team spent time with her in House 35, observing her process and discussing the ideas behind Wishes. As she absorbed the flowing lines of OMNIYAT’s architecture, Lootah translated the way its buildings interact with space, light and time into a more human gesture, allowing movement and rhythm to guide the work.
She continues, “The painting came by itself. I tried to create a very hard structure, but it didn’t want that. It wanted to dance, to play in the atmosphere around it. So, it became this woman, flying in this beautiful light, so peacefully.”
Through these spontaneous gestures, “Wishes” unfolds slowly, resisting immediacy and rewarding prolonged engagement. In the context of OMNIYAT, an organisation centred on empowerment and inclusion, the commission becomes a reflection on shared humanity.
Installed within the built environment, the work does not demand attention but exists in quiet dialogue with its surroundings, creating moments of pause in an otherwise fast-moving world. In this project, Lootah reaffirms her long-standing commitment to art as a space for reflection, offering stillness, sensitivity and emotional openness without resolution.
Hayley is passionate about everything 90s, from art and fashion to music. Her love for glossy, artful coffee table books started early during her days in book publishing and has only grown since. She collects luxury magazines from around the world, enjoys exploring creative workshops around the city, and always chases dinners with a view, preferably by the beach.
