Middle East's largest African Art collection

Abdulrahman Al-Khulaifi holds one of the most significant private African art collections in the Middle East — over 3,000 works spanning artists, curators, exhibitions, and publications. The challenge wasn't just building a website. It was building a digital institution that could do justice to a collection of that scale and cultural weight.
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Descifer led the project end-to-end: from discovery workshops and information architecture through to UX research, UI design, and full web development. We structured a content ecosystem that interlinks artists, artworks, exhibitions, and residencies — designed for exploration rather than passive browsing. Masonry-style grids preserve each artwork's original ratio. Attribute-based search and filters make a collection of thousands navigable. Citation copy tools make it useful for academics and researchers.
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3,000 images were optimised for web performance, and the CMS was built for bulk uploads from day one — with a foundation ready for future e-commerce and CRM functionality. The result was received with strong acclaim from the art community, and reinforced Arak Collection's position as a leading voice for African art on the global digital stage.