This Is Not A Gallery
Gulf Coffee House
Weaving a Third Space is the culmination of 1604’s first Creative Lab program, an eight-week shared studio practice by artists Elham Shafaei, Natalya Konforti, and Sulafa Mohammed. Their works, spanning multiple mediums, reflect shared themes of connection, community, and the traces we leave behind—an interplay of threads that tie their individual perspectives together.
Elham Shafaei (b. 1983) is an Iranian artist and curator currently based in the United Arab Emirates. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Painting from the School of Arts at the University of Science and Culture in Tehran, as well as an M.A. and Ph.D. in Fine Arts from Universiti Sains Malaysia. Elham’s work and research focus on experimental processes, exploring diverse mediums such as painting, papermaking, photography, installation, textile art, sound, and video art to express her concepts. Her artistic practice often delves into human existential conditions, including themes of loneliness, emptiness, and freedom. Additionally, she explores the connections between these themes and ideas of home, memory, displacement, and diaspora.
Natalya Konforti (b. 1986) is a French-American artist and cultural program facilitator with an undergraduate degree in Fashion Design from ESMOD International. A decade in the garment industry cultivated her attunement to color palettes, a fascination with patterns, as well as a deep appreciation for textile craftsmanship. Her process-driven, introspective practice is grounded in what we leave behind, channeling themes of memory, community, and sustainability. Through a variety of mixed mediums including photography, paint and textile, her work pays homage to a meaningful technique, material, or location
Sulafa Mohammed is an Emirati artist exploring the intersection between crochet, numbers and personal history through textile techniques and crocheting. Her practice draws inspiration from strategies of archiving and documentation, aiming to transform seemingly overlooked and insignificant details from daily life into meaningful artworks
Weaving a Third Space
Beyond the familiar realms of home and work, a third place emerges. It is where society thrives, where interactions unfold, and where communities take shape, challenging and redefining societal norms. In Dubai, diversity is often concentrated in distinct “pockets,” with identities existing side by side but rarely overlapping. The third space is where culture happens: a meeting ground where society comes together to understand, embrace, and celebrate difference.
For artists, third spaces are essential. Even with access to resources, the ability to connect, exchange, and grow alongside peers is what truly nurtures the artistic process. Through conversations and shared experiences, weaving our third space has allowed us to create an artistic family, a foundation of support that uplifts and strengthens us. It is a safe space, free from hesitation, that fosters creative risk-taking and encourages new ways of making. While artistic growth can happen in isolation, it flourishes in community. Weaving a Third Space renders visible the beauty of connection.
Vernissage & Artist Talk
Recap from the Vernissage & Artist Talk, where our talented Creative Lab cohort showcased their artworks and shared their experience in an insightful conversation by Shama Nair.
Threads – An Edible Installation
As part of Weaving a Third Space for the open studio's finissage at 1604 Art Space, artists came together to create a playful and edible food art installation. The concept of the food art was inspired by thread, a central medium shared by the three artists in their work. Food naturally brings people together, making it an ideal complement to a collaborative studio practice. Like a third space, it fosters creativity, exploration, and connection. In this project, the artists embraced food as an interactive, accessible medium—one that invites participation in ways traditional art forms may not. While both food and art are rooted in creativity, working with food introduces an element of unpredictability, encouraging openness, experimentation, and playfulness.
The project marked a shift from the artists’ usual individual practices, focusing on collaboration and responding to a shared prompt. Using familiar techniques within the context of food in a creative space proved both inspiring and generative. The idea of thread, a key element in their artistic practices, became a symbol in the food art, connecting the artists' mediums with the edible installation. Much like thread in textile art, food served as a connector, providing a tangible way for the artists to engage with viewers. Its tactile qualities mirrored the hands-on nature of textile creation, appealing to multiple senses and breaking down barriers to participation. With food art, there was no need for permission—immediate interaction was invited, fostering generosity, nourishment, and a shared experience.
