50 Years of Cool is a collaborative exhibition with Taqeef, O General, and Gulf Photo Plus, commemorating the 50th anniversary of air conditioning in the United Arab Emirates.

This exhibition maps the cultural impact of air conditioning in the Emirates over the span of 50 years, inviting viewers to reflect on its transformational effects on quality of life, and beyond that, into the fabric of our urban landscape.

This evolution in air conditioning moves on a conversational current with the Gulf's textured migrant histories and economic development, with the rise of companies like Taqeef and Fujitsu General, which had laid the groundwork for the UAE's industrialisation as we know it today.
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With works in photography, moving image, and annotated portraits with the insights of employees and customers, '50 Years of Cool' narrates a lesser-pondered perspective on the commercial advent of air conditioning through the lens of four artists based in the United Arab Emirates.
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Hussain AlMoosawi's grid of photographs captures the diverse typology of air conditioning systems in the UAE, highlighting their ubiquitous presence in our urban architecture and by extension, our everyday lives.

Fatema Al Fardan's short experimental film collages a personal oral history and visuals to weave together a poetic interpretation of the before-and-after effects of modern air conditioning, platforming a first-hand account of how it has revolutionised the ways people live and work.
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Ahmed Al Kuwaiti's photographic series plays witness to the intricate relationship between the buildings, people, and air conditioning systems that have made the urban environments of the Emirates habitable in intense heat.

Poignant portraits of 0 General employees, technicians, and long-time customers, presented by Augustine Paredes, offer a glimpse into the on-ground human impact of the local air conditioning systems industry, accounting for the human faces and pioneering stories behind cooling technologies.
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Together, these works extend a fascinating and thought-provoking reframing of the role of air conditioning as a catalyst to a significant paradigm shift in the country, its people, and their daily lives. In '50 Years of Cool,' Taqeef and 0 General celebrate the past, present, and future of air conditioning, and the people who made it possible.

We're a world-class provider of AC solutions in the Middle East. For 50 years we've been innovating to create new possibilities in the most challenging climates by pioneering game-changing AC technology in the region.

From our origin story in 1972 as a single source AC supplier formed in Abu Dhabi, Taqeef has evolved into the leading technologist in the cooling space, redefining comfort in homes, businesses and communities in the UAE, Iraq, Sudan and Morocco.

Sustainability sits at the heart of all our HVAC solutions, and by collaborating to bring incredible products and partners together, we're committed to improving people’s lives and the planet, one degree at a time. Conscious Cooling is the theme that sits behind Taqeef's corporate promise.

→ taqeef.com

O General is the Middle East’s biggest selling air conditioning brand. Renowned for their superior product performance and innovation, they are the originators of extreme weather cooling solutions for the Middle East. In 1973 they revolutionised the market with the first and only desert specified AC unit that could cope with the challenges of both extreme heat and sand. They have been setting industry standards for cooling ever since.

The company’s technology is driven by their unique customer insight and deep understanding of the region, its climate and its people. This knowledge drives the ongoing development of new air conditioning applications which offer the most effective and energy efficient cooling for domestic and commercial environments. Research and innovation lie at the heart of every Fujitsu General product and their performance, environmental impact and unrivalled quality continues to set the standard in an increasingly competitive market. Fujitsu General units remain the most requested and recommended in any new project in the Middle East.

→ taqeef.com/o-general

We are Dubai’s center for photography, equipping and inspiring the local and international photography community through photography workshops, free artist talks, state-of-the-art printing services, and the region’s longest-running international photography event, GPP Photo Week.

Beyond our direct-to-community support, we leverage our decades of production, curation, and programming experience to support institutions and businesses when interacting with regional image-makers to produce commissions, workshops, and exhibitions that are unique to the locale of the activation.

→ gulfphotoplus.com

Exhibition at MiZa

MiZa, Mina Zayed, Abu Dhabi

March 1 — 9

10am — 10pm