17 May 2025

Abdullah Al Othman: Structural Syntax

Iris Projects Studio 20, Madar 39, MiZa, Port Zayed, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

The Saudi artist has long been developing a highly characteristic visual language rooted in the Arabian urban landscapes, architecture, and linguistic history. In his work, In his monumental installations and sculptures Al Othman reflects on the layers of history embedded [ ... ]

Free

Youth Takeover 2025

Jameel Arts Centre Al Jaddaf, Dubai

The Jameel's annual Youth Takeover is the manifestation of the Assembly, an experimental learning programme designed to foster creative leaders aged 18 to 24 in the UAE, "inviting the creation and curation of projects reflective of their generation’s areas of [ ... ]

Free

LAST CHANCE Adrian Pepe: A Shroud is a Cloth 

NIKA Project Space Unit 11 Al Khayat Avenue, 19th Street Road — Al Quoz 1, Dubai

Adrian Pepe’s poetic meditation on fragmentation and renewal gets an extended run at NIKA Project Space. It uses a monumental 200m2 woollen textile piece that previously wrapped a building damaged in the 2020 Beirut Port explosion to highlight the relationship [ ... ]

Free

LAST CHANCE Laura Garcia Karras: Eidolon

Volery Gallery Maze Tower - 5201, Dubai International Financial Center, Dubai

A solo exhibition by that French artist that explores "the spectral space between presence and absence, giving form to what lingers just beyond perception" (the ancient Greek word 'eidolon' means phantom, double, or apparition). Karras’s works appear as delicate traces [ ... ]

Free

LAST CHANCE Flower Shop

Volery Gallery Maze Tower - 5201, Dubai International Financial Center, Dubai

A group show – with Maria Andrievskaya, Almendra Bertoni, Katie Hector, Jen Hitchings, and John Denniston II– that invites us to think of colour not just as a visual element but as a language of its own. "Colour is what [ ... ]

Free

Zhou Song: Supernatural·Algorithm

Volery Gallery Maze Tower - 5201, Dubai International Financial Center, Dubai

Zhou Song's solo show echoes traditional Chinese landscape painting but employs symbolic imagery to explore relationships between nature, technology, and faith. The 'anthropomorphic tree' is central, serving as a metaphor for nature’s alienation by technology – "these trees retain natural [ ... ]

Free, but book appointment slot

Music Loves Company presents Comedy Kix

Music Loves Company Sky Quarter , Mobility District, Expo City, Dubai

Comedy Kix presents some of Dubai’s top Desi stand-ups – Nitesh Chaturvedi, Emaad Siddiqui, Adil Javed, Faizan Nassan, Piyush Malhotra, and Prateek Hiranandani (the show will partially be delivered in Hind). The door price includes a free drink.

AED 85

Moon Is The Oldest TV: dir Amanda Kim (2023)

Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Kim's documentary profiles the career of Nam June Paik and his pioneering contributions to video art. A timely meditation on the contradictory ways in which technology elicits both fascist tendencies and intercultural understanding, the film charts Paik’s artistic evolution with [ ... ]

Free

Les Quatre Cents Coups | The 400 Blows: dir François Truffaut (1959)

Louvre Abu Dhabi Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi

Truffaut's largely autobiographical coming-of-age drama is the classic French New Wave film and utterly unmissable. In the first of many appearances with the director, Jean-Pierre Léaud is a misunderstood 13-year-old living in a small, uncomfortable Parisian apartment with his mother, [ ... ]

AED 30

The Temple

The Arts Center @ NYUAD NYUAD Campus, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

As part of International Jazz Month in Abu Dhabi, The Temple makes its public debut – an evening with some of the UAE’s most creative improvisers. It's curated by Ratish Chadha, who also plays in a couple of the slots. [ ... ]

AED 105

The Laughter Factory Premium Comedy Club

Vintage Grand Hotel Al Fay Road, Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

This month's Laughter Factory tour. The acts: Aaron Butler engaging Belfast-born stand-up known for his high spirited stage presence Justin Panks observational comic with a genius for approaching seemingly everyday subjects from extraordinary angles. Roxy Yekta UK-born Iranian comedian with [ ... ]

AED 160

LAST CHANCE Tran Luong: Tầm Tã – Soaked in the Long Rain

Jameel Arts Centre Al Jaddaf, Dubai

The first major survey of Vietnamese contemporary artist Tran Luong covers 30 years of painting, installation, performance and work with communities showcasing how his practice has been shaped by political and social transitions and his multifaceted roles as activist, curator, [ ... ]

Free

LAST CHANCE Trần Lương: Tầm Tã – Soaked in the Long Rain

Jameel Arts Centre Al Jaddaf, Dubai

Trần Lương is a major figure in performance and visual art in Vietnam. This exhibition is the first international survey for the artist; it includes painting, installation, performance, community engagement and institution-making as it traces Trần’s life and work from [ ... ]

Free

LAST CHANCE Nadine Ghandour: Rooms for Error

Bayt AlMamzar House 2, 26 Street, Al Mamzar, Dubai

Nadine Ghandour’s first solo exhibition in the UAE, curated by Dawn Ross, features recent works informed by her experiences in various cities, including Dubai, Sharjah, Cairo and Rotterdam. Working with drawing, writing, performance and sculpture, Ghandour creates works that depict imagined [ ... ]

Free

Ana Escobar Saavedra: It Starts Where It Ends

421 Arts Campus Mina Zayed, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Ana Escobar Saavedra has a cross-disciplinary creative practice working on the frontiers of craft, art and design. Born and bred in Colombia, she is now established in the UAE; for the last few years, she has combined a personal studio [ ... ]

Free

Unstable Grounds: 2025 MFA Graduate Exhibition

421 Arts Campus Mina Zayed, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

For the fourth time, this exhibition shows work by students completing the two-year Master of Fine Arts in Art and Media at NYUAD – Dima Abou Zannad, Bao, Adele Bea Cipste, Hala El Abora, Mowen Li (Amira), Jude Maharmeh, Safeya [ ... ]

Free

LAST CHANCE Women in Contemporary Arab Art

Kutubna Cultural Center Madina Avenues 17, Nadd Al Hamar, Dubai

"A rare journey through modern and contemporary Arab art” in the form of more than 35 original works by artists including Ismail Fattah, Najat Makki, Khaled Al Jader, Louay Kayali, and Salah Taher that represent women in a variety of [ ... ]

Free

Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial: Bik Van der Pol’s The poem that jumps the fence

Abu Dhabi Beach Al Hisn Street, Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Artist duo Bik Van der Pol (Liesbeth Bik and Jos Van der Pol) engage in collaborative projects on how art constructs public spaces for speculative thought and collective creativity. The poem that jumps the fence features weekly performances on Abu [ ... ]

Free, but pre-register

Felipe Ortiz: Lugares

Courtyard Playhouse Street 4B, Al Quoz 1, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

A night of unique improvised theatre with Felipe Ortiz, an acclaimed performer from Colombia – founding member of La Gata Circo and Picnic Impro, teacher of circus techniques, clowning and theatre improvisation at the Javeriana University in Bogotá, touring around [ ... ]

Free

Monday Night Comedy: This Is Impro

Courtyard Playhouse Street 4B, Al Quoz 1, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Exactly what it says: a regular Monday evening of scenes, stories and narrative improvisation influenced by audience suggestions and featuring the Courtyard Playhouse's most experienced improv performers plus guests. Classic Courtyard improv. It's free, but you need to put your [ ... ]

Free

The Fridge Concert Series Season 46: Allexa Bash | Joe Girvin

The Fridge Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

The Fridge's series of showcase concerts continues with Ukrainian pop powerhouse Allexa Bash – echoes of Kate Bush and Adele – with her new single 'Hurricane' plus songs from her debut album Dark Angels. Support comes from singer-songwriter Joe Girvin [ ... ]

AED 70

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)

Zabeel Theatre Jumeirah Zabeel Saray, Palm Jumeirah West Crescent, Dubai

All 37 of the bard's plays, condensed into 97 minutes of fast-paced comedy, silliness, audience participation, and "just the right amount of innuendo". Look out for Othello as a rap song, the History plays as a gridiron football game, Titus [ ... ]

From AED 200

Wednesday Night Impro: Maestro

Courtyard Playhouse Street 4B, Al Quoz 1, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

The Courtyard's most peopular evening of elimination improv. Ten actors converge for a night of scenes, songs and games based on audience suggestions. After each round you score the players on a scale of 1 to 5, and the one [ ... ]

Free

The Laughter Factory Premium Comedy Club

Aura Skypool Palm Tower 50th floor, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai

Ths second weekend of this month's Laughter Factory tour. The acts: Aaron Butler engaging Belfast-born stand-up known for his high spirited stage presence Justin Panks observational comic with a genius for approaching seemingly everyday subjects from extraordinary angles. Roxy Yekta [ ... ]

AED 250

LAST CHANCE Halim Al Karim: Mythological Love

XVA Gallery Al Fahidi Historical Neighborhood, Bur Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Experimental photography works by the Iraqui artist, who says: “Inspired by the Sumerian myth and my archaeological excavations in our invisible life, the mythological love series invites us to contemplate the magical love relationship between human women and the Anunnaki [ ... ]

Free

LAST CHANCE Al Braithwaite: MATAB

XVA Gallery Al Fahidi Historical Neighborhood, Bur Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Al Braithwaite is a contemporary artist from London who works across a variety of disciplines including sculpture, assemblage, found material and installation. For this show, Braithwaite’s Material Abstraction (MATAB) comprises textured panels arrayed as physical sculptures. Says the gallery: “Their [ ... ]

Free

Carnage: Courtesies, Goodwill, and Other Hypocrisies

Zayed Theatre, SUAD Campus Hazza Bin Zayed St, Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

This adaptation of Yasmina Reza's Le Dieu du Carnage is described as a "compelling theatrical experience that delves into the fragile facade of civility". The play follows two couples who meet to resolve a conflict between their children – but [ ... ]

AED 50

The Laughter Factory Premium Comedy Club

Aura Skypool Palm Tower 50th floor, Palm Jumeirah, Dubai

The Abu Dhabi stop on this month's Laughter Factory tour. The acts: Aaron Butler engaging Belfast-born stand-up known for his high spirited stage presence Justin Panks observational comic with a genius for approaching seemingly everyday subjects from extraordinary angles. Roxy [ ... ]

AED 160

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)

Zabeel Theatre Jumeirah Zabeel Saray, Palm Jumeirah West Crescent, Dubai

The second performance for this four-day run of the West End hit – all 37 of the bard's plays, condensed into 97 minutes of fast-paced comedy, silliness, audience participation, and "just the right amount of innuendo". Look out for Othello [ ... ]

From AED 200

LAST CHANCE Michael Sailstorfer: Air Electric

Carbon 12 Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Sailstorfer’s fourth solo exhibition with the gallery brings together three series of works that explore one of the artist’s signature themes: energy. He reflects on energy in its various forms – as a source, as storage, as a transmitter, as [ ... ]

Free

LAST CHANCEa radical intimacy of hanging out

Aisha Alabbar Gallery Warehouse C19, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

A group exhibition featuring Emirati artists Asma Khoory, Taqwa Alnaqbi, and Sultan Al Remeithi, curated by Salem AlSuwaidi. "In a world rushing forward, the exhibition invites you to linger—where 'killing time' becomes a quiet, radical act of care, presence, and [ ... ]

Free

The Laughter Factory Premium Comedy Club

Radisson DAMAC Hills Hessa Street Dubailand, Dubai

This month's Laughter Factory tour. The acts: Aaron Butler engaging Belfast-born stand-up known for his high spirited stage presence Justin Panks observational comic with a genius for approaching seemingly everyday subjects from extraordinary angles. Roxy Yekta UK-born Iranian comedian with [ ... ]

AED 160

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)

Zabeel Theatre Jumeirah Zabeel Saray, Palm Jumeirah West Crescent, Dubai

The third performance for this four-day run of the West End hit – all 37 of the bard's plays, condensed into 97 minutes of fast-paced comedy, silliness, audience participation, and "just the right amount of innuendo". Look out for Othello [ ... ]

From AED 200

Friday Night Spotlight

Courtyard Playhouse Street 4B, Al Quoz 1, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

A new Courtyard Playhouse community theatre night, described as "a celebration of creativity and experimentation" with community members and in-house performers taking the stage to try out fresh ideas and showcase their talents. The first half features performances from the [ ... ]

Free

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)

Zabeel Theatre Jumeirah Zabeel Saray, Palm Jumeirah West Crescent, Dubai

The third performance for this four-day run of the West End hit – all 37 of the bard's plays, condensed into 97 minutes of fast-paced comedy, silliness, audience participation, and "just the right amount of innuendo". Look out for Othello [ ... ]

From AED 200

LAST CHANCE Elias Sime: Through the Window

Lawrie Shabibi Unit 21, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

The first solo exhibition in the Middle East for the Addis Ababa artist showcases Sime’s distinctive practice of transforming colourful wires, circuit boards, and electronic components into intricate, layered compositions that blur the boundaries between technology, nature, and abstraction. The [ ... ]

Free

LAST CHANCE Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons: I Am Soil. My Tears Are Water

Efiɛ Gallery 2 Al Khayat Art Avenue, First Al Khail Street, Dubai

Efie Gallery is opening its new space in Alserkal Avenue with Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons’ debut solo exhibition in the Middle East. The exhibiiton, curated by Faridah Folawiyo, explores diaspora and interconnectedness through the flora and fauna of Latin America, the [ ... ]

Free

LAST CHANCE Maryam Hoseini: Swells

Green Art Gallery Dubai, United Arab Emirates

The second solo exhibition at this gallery for the Iran-born, NY-based artist features new paintings that revels in transplanting elements within themselves. Hoseini says “the figures have moved from architecture to landscape"; so the flat figure expands and multiplies in [ ... ]

Free

MyLysses

XVA Gallery Al Fahidi Historical Neighborhood, Bur Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

How do contemporary artists grapple with the shifting role of text, literature and knowledge in an age of AI? This group exhibition curated by Tor Seidel tries to answer that question. As Seidel puts it, "Has access to texts and [ ... ]

Free

LAST CHANCE Mayar Obeido: Ever in Reform

Fann à Porter The Workshop, Villa 45, St. 23b, off Al Wasl Road (opposite Box Park), Jumeirah 2, Dubai

While his previous work was embedded with themes of time, context, and the mutual influence of elements, Fann À Porter's second solo exhibition for Syrian artist Mayar Obeido introduces a focus towards place, location, and grounding. The artist navigates a [ ... ]

Free

The Laughter Factory Premium Comedy Club

Dukes The Palm Palm Dubai, Dubai

The final stop for this month's Laughter Factory tour. The acts: Aaron Butler engaging Belfast-born stand-up known for his high spirited stage presence Justin Panks observational comic with a genius for approaching seemingly everyday subjects from extraordinary angles. Roxy Yekta [ ... ]

AED 160

LAST CHANCE Habuba Farah: Beams of Light

Artbooth Gallery Centro Capital Center, Al Khaleej Al Arabi Street, Abu Dhabi

A selection of works from the 1970s to the present by the noted Lebanese-Brazilian artist, including oils on canvas, gouache on paper, and pencil drawings. A highlight is her exploration of 'neutral gray' or coloured gray, achieved by blending primary [ ... ]

Free

LAST CHANCE A Room of One’s Own

NYUAD Project Space NYUAD Campus, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi

Curated by Duygu Demir, NYUAD assistant professor of Art History and curator at the Art Gallery, this exhibition features new work by current MFA students Maha Alasaker, Yuehan Dai, Nour Elbery, Almaha Jaralla, Tooba Shaikh, and Shaima Shamsi that has [ ... ]

Free

Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial: Bik Van der Pol’s The poem that jumps the fence

Abu Dhabi Beach Al Hisn Street, Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Artist duo Bik Van der Pol (Liesbeth Bik and Jos Van der Pol) engage in collaborative projects on how art constructs public spaces for speculative thought and collective creativity. The poem that jumps the fence features weekly performances on Abu [ ... ]

Free, but pre-register

Zodi et Téhu – Frères du Désert: dir Alain Berberian (1993)

Alliance Française Dubai Dubai, United Arab Emirates

A tale of courage, friendship, and adventure for all ages. Zodi, a 12-year-old nomad, discovers an orphaned baby camel in the desert. He names it Téhu and forms a deep bond with the animal. He dreams of entering Téhu in [ ... ]

AED 35

LAST CHANCE Huda Lutfi: Unraveling

The Third Line Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Huda Lutfi’s fourth solo exhibition at the gallery includes works from three recent series – When Dreams Call for Silence (2019), Our Black Thread (2020–2021), and Healing Devices (2020–ongoing) It also includes a selection of previously unshown miniature collages, offering [ ... ]

Free

LAST CHANCE Hazem Harb: Not There, Yet Felt

Tabari Artspace Gate Village Level 2, DIFC, Dubai

Unlike earlier works that centred around collective narratives, this new body of work from Hazem Harb is highly personal and intimate; it aims to draw the viewer into Harb's own lived environment, reflecting his sense of disembodiment, a feeling of [ ... ]

Free