Between Worlds. Art Directing the First Photography Exhibition at Noor Royal Gallery
Photography is the pause between reality and reflection.
And in this spirit, we are proud to present Between Worlds — the first-ever photography exhibition at Noor Royal Gallery, curated under its new visual arts program, Lens by Noor, and one of the most carefully art-directed photo experiences in Dubai today.
A Gallery of Distinction
Though newly opened, Noor Royal Gallery has already carved a place for itself as one of the UAE’s most singular art destinations.
With works by masters such as Picasso, Pissarro, and other icons of European art history displayed under the same roof as emerging global voices, Noor is not just another gallery in Dubai — it’s a rare convergence of legacy and discovery.
Refined in design, intimate in scale, and bold in its curatorial vision, Noor stands apart from the commercial white boxes of the city. Its launch of Lens by Noor, a dedicated program for photography and visual storytelling, signals a new chapter — one where every exhibition becomes a dialogue between eras, emotions, and aesthetics.
We were honoured to be invited to lead the art direction for its first-ever photography show — a role both inspiring and exacting — and one we approached with the care this space so clearly deserves.
A Visual Journey, Not a Sequence
Our curatorial task was to select photographs from 16 participating artists from around the world, and to construct the emotional rhythm, spatial flow, and conceptual juxtapositions that bring Between Worlds to life.
Rather than organizing by category or geography, we shaped a journey — across tone, presence, and pause.
Each photograph was chosen for its ability to hold meaning, and each wall composed to speak beyond the surface — to the eye, the body, and the memory.
The Theme: Between Worlds
This exhibition lives in the space between opposites —
between stillness and movement, presence and absence, the personal and the collective.
We created deliberate contrasts and subtle harmonies between:
- The architectural stillness of skyscrapers and the elemental vastness of deserts and mountains
- The private emotion of human portraits and the instinctive grace of animal life
- The fluidity of water and the discipline of light and shadow
- The echo of solitude and the pattern of ritual and togetherness
Each room invites visitors to shift perspective — to step through a lens, and into another world.
Sixteen Artists, Global Voices
Between Worlds features work by 16 extraordinary photographers — a blend of emerging talents and established voices from across continents. Their visual languages vary — documentary, poetic, surreal, raw — but they all share a gift:
the ability to freeze time while revealing it.
From soaring aerials to intimate stills, from symbolic abstraction to untamed realism, each piece contributes to a powerful visual narrative.
A Demanding and Beautiful Task
To art-direct Between Worlds was to do more than arrange images. It was to choreograph silence and light.
To create tension and grace.
To let stories live through sequence, and space become emotion.
We believe photography is not just something to be viewed — but something to be felt, paced, and remembered.
In Closing
Between Worlds opens Friday, 20 June at Noor Royal Gallery, as the inaugural exhibition of Lens by Noor.
We invite you to walk slowly, look deeply, and let each shift in tone take you somewhere unexpected —
from emotion to geometry,
from presence to memory,
from one world… to another.
Because sometimes, what moves us most is not what we see —
but how we are guided to see it.
Warmly,
Claire Ordovsky Tanaevsky
Founder & Art Director, Claire Dominics Buro
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If Between Worlds sparked your curiosity, we invite you to continue exploring.
Browse our portfolio to see how we approach storytelling through space, texture, and design — or discover our ongoing collaboration with Art Connects Women, a global initiative uniting creative voices from over 100 countries.
Every project, every exhibition, every space — is part of a bigger narrative: one that celebrates beauty, meaning, and connection.
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