Abu Dhabi’s second major public art initiative opens

This week sees the launch of the first edition of the Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial. It features site-specific installations by more than 70 artists, both UAE-based and international, in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.

There’s a theme for the Biennial theme – Public Matter. By this the curators aim to explore the concept of ‘public spaces’ in the context of Abu Dhabi: “Abu Dhabi’s public life is shaped by various factors that include environmental conditions, communal way of living, indigeneity (sic), architecture, and city planning … In a place where the natural environment dominates and determines the ways, locations, and times at which people gather, it is essential to question and localise what it means to be public”.

There’s also the influx of non-Emiratis, which certainly has had a major influence in the kind of place Abu Dhabi has become (and how it’s still developing). So the Biennial also “aims to explore the cultural imaginaries of different transitory communities and the conditions under which these communities become public”.

The Biennial is organised by DCT Abu Dhabi as one element of its Public Art Abu Dhabi programme, slated to be costing an impressive $35 million annually for the next years. Another component has already been seen in the shape of the three dozen light installations (by 22 artists) of Manar Abu Dhabi – a genuinely strong festival of light art that ran for four months earlier this year. Manar Abu Dhabi will be apparently be alternating with the Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial.

Rita Aoun, DCT Abu Dhabi’s Culture Sector Executive Director, pointed to the initiative’s role in community-building – fostering what she termed “the collective cultural identity of the emirate, enhancing the experience of art for everyone and strengthening our residents’ sense of pride”. She also said the goal is for everyone in Abu Dhabi, residents and visitors, “to forge their own connection with the city, inspired by the unique stories and creativity of our artists”.

DCT Abu Dhabi has planned out a number of routes planned for us to help navigate between the artworks:

Abu Dhabi Corniche Route: one-hour walking route – works by Wael Al Awar, Oscar Murillo, Farah Al Qasimi, Bik Van der Pol, Tania Candiani, Sammy Baloji, UT-R Studio and Nicholas Galanin. There’s a free guided walking tour of the route – registration is required: do it here – at 4.30pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays; at 7pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays; and at 10am and 7pm on Saturdays. Alternatively there’s a two-hour guided walk of both the Corniche and the Public Parks routes: 4.30pm Saturdays, 10am Sundays, register here.

Abu Dhabi Public Parks Route: one-hour walking route that spans Urban Park, Formal Park, Lake Park, Recreation Park – works by Abdullah Al Saadi, Hashel Al Lamki, Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Kader Attia, Khalil Rabah, Seema Nusrat, Rami Kashou x Artisans of the UAE, Paweł Althamer, Nathan Coley, Athar Jaber and Allora & Calzadilla. There’s a free guided walk at 7pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; 4.30pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays; and 4.30pm and 7pm on Sundays. Register here.

Abu Dhabi Bus Terminal Route: 30-minute walking route – works inside and outside the terminal by Hussein Sharif, Zeinab Alhashemi, Henrique Oliveira, and Eko Nugroho.

Downtown Abu Dhabi Route: one-hour walking route – works by Azza Al Qubaisi, SUPERFLEX, Lúcia Koch, Nathan Coley, Mohammed Al Hawajri and Radhika Khimji.

Carpet Souq Route: 40-minute driving route – works by Christopher Joshua Benton, Khalil Rabah, Eddie Clemens, Yeesookyung and guBuyoBand.

National Theatre Route: 30-minute driving route – works by Afra Al Dhaheri (National Theatre) and Kabir Mohanty (Umm Al Emarat Park).

Cultural Foundation Route: 30-minute walking route – works by Mohamed Al Astad, Ayesha Hadir, Wael Shawky, Mircea Cantor, Nnenna Okore and Load na Dito.

There’s also a single route for the emirate’s second city:

Al Ain Oasis Route: 45-minute driving route via Hili Archaeological Park and Al Jahili Fort – works by Rawdha Al Ketbi, Shaikha Al Ketbi, Alex Ayed, Nathan Coley, and Yeesookyung.

This is an entirely sensible approach to finding the installations. There’s a good map on the website that summarises all of these routes, showing who’s where and what you’ll see (click the location numbers).

Along some of the routes are what the organisers are calling ‘community hubs’, with eateries, performance spaces, and shops that will give visitors “a chance to take a piece of the Biennial home”. These are located in the Carpet Souq, Lake Park, Formal Park, Corniche Beach, and Urban Park.

There’s also a variety of activities scheduled throughout the Biennial, including talks, film screenings, interactive experiences, workshops, children’s activities, tours, and “wellness events” – plus the really quite exceptional Remote Abu Dhabi by Rimini Protokoll, which we’d definitely recommend. We’re trying to track all these extras for inclusion in the Agenda listings.

And there will be a second wave of installations and activities beginning in January. This will have works by Latifa Saeed, Atelier Aziz Al Qatami, Anga Art Collective, Arquitectura Expandida, Daniel Buren, Alia Farid, Ayesha Hadhir, Emily Jacir and Mobile Akademie Berlin and Rami Kashou x Artisans of the UAE.

The Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial is on now and runs to 30 April.