Despite the uncertainty the region is facing, creativity continues to endure. Across the Middle East, artists, photographers, and designers respond to changing realities not by retreating, but by creating. In moments when the future feels fragile, art becomes a way to observe, document, and preserve the stories of a place and its people.
Photographer and researcher Hussain AlMoosawi is one of those voices. Through his long-running project Facade to Facade, he documents the architecture of the UAE with careful attention to buildings that often go unnoticed. His work captures structures from different eras, exploring how cities evolve while holding onto fragments of their past.
Form Hotel – Photo © Hussain AlMoosawi
AlBahr Towers – Photo © Hussain AlMoosawi
AlMoosawi did not immediately return to photography when he moved back to the UAE after years abroad. Instead, he spent time observing the environment around him, reassessing what made the region’s urban landscape unique. “When I returned to the UAE in 2013 I did not start taking photographs immediately,” he explains. “It took me a little more than two years to start using my camera methodically.” This period of observation eventually shaped the direction of his work. Rather than chasing iconic landmarks, he began focusing on subtle elements of the built environment, from residential facades to industrial landscapes. His fascination with details such as split-unit air conditioning systems became an unexpected entry point into understanding the aesthetic language of everyday architecture.
Al Ibrahimi – Photo © Hussain AlMoosawi
Liwa Tower – Photo © Hussain AlMoosawi
The turning point came with the launch of Facade to Facade in 2017. One of the first buildings he photographed for the project was Dubai World Trade Centre, a structure that holds deep personal meaning for him. “Growing up in Dubai, this building took the centre stage and was highly connected with snippets of childhood memories,” he says. “Photographing it was a no brainer.” Much of AlMoosawi’s work focuses on buildings that exist outside the spotlight. Areas such as Bur Dubai and Deira once served as vibrant cultural and commercial hubs before attention shifted toward newer developments and malls. By revisiting these neighborhoods, his photographs remind viewers of their architectural and social significance. “I’m not looking for beauty,” he explains. “I’m looking for identity. For something that sticks out.”
AlOmaira Building – Photo © Hussain AlMoosawi
Residence 22 – Photo © Hussain AlMoosawi
That search for identity has transformed his work into something larger than documentation. It has become part of a wider conversation about heritage in rapidly evolving cities. For AlMoosawi, architecture built in the decades following the UAE’s formation represents an important layer of modern heritage, one that deserves recognition before it disappears.Through the lens of his camera, the city becomes more than a landscape of buildings. It becomes a living archive of identity, memory, and belonging. As AlMoosawi reflects, “I find home in everything I photograph, and documenting the UAE makes me feel that I’ve earned my belonging.”
