While studying in the US, Maliha Tabari noticed that artists from the Middle East and North Africa were often misrepresented or overlooked in the post-9/11 climate. “In my early twenties, I started collecting modern MENA art,” she says. “I loved travelling to places like Damascus, Cairo, and Beirut, spending hours in the studios of artists like Adam Henein and Hussein Madi.” These experiences, she says, revealed a gap in the art world and inspired her to found Tabari Artspace. The space will present Palestinian artist Saj Issa’s Never Make a Wish in a Dry Well at this month’s Art Dubai, continuing to bring regional representation to global audiences.