All Day

Children’s Biennial

Umm Al Emarat Park Abu Dhabi

What a good idea this is: the Abu Dhabi Festival is running the first outdoor children’s art biennale in the Middle East Under the theme How the World Feels, the Biennale will explore how children experience the world through touch, [... more]

Standard park entry AED 10

Mahmoud Moussa: Sculpture, Form & Memory

Region Concept Space MiZA, Abu Dhabi

The UAE's first solo exhibition dedicated to the Egyptian sculptor. Mahmoud Moussa (1913–2003) is described by Maha Al Mansoori Art Gallery – which is responsible for this short-run Frieze-adjacent show – as one of the most important figures in Arab [... more]

Free

Afrah Shafiq: Nobody Knows For Certain

Jameel Arts Centre Al Jaddaf, Dubai

Afrah Shafiq’s Nobody Knows for Certain is a multimedia game that draws on the illustrated children’s books that were distributed widely in India by the USSR, highlighting a little-known chapter of Cold War-era cultural exchange. These richly illustrated Soviet fairytales [... more]

Free

Christo and Jeanne-Claude Award 2025: Safekeeping Stories

NYUAD Central Plaza Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi

Safekeeping Stories, by UAE-based Indian artist and graphic designer Hannan Arshad, was the winner of the 2025 Award. A poignant response to cultural loss, and a compelling example of how historical narratives can be reimagined through contemporary public art, the [... more]

Free

Majdi Al Kuzbari and Randa Hijazi: Talid

K Gallery Al Barari, Seventh Heaven, Dubai

A joint exhibition by two Syrian artists who explore their homeland's living heritage through abstract painting (Hijazi) and mosaic jewellery (Al Kuzbari) – "a dialogue between memory, tradition, and the present ... heritage as a living presence in contemporary art [... more]

Free

Wadeei Khaled: Nearness

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

A solo show for the Palestinian artist Wadeei Khaled that considers the family as the foundation through which we understand ourselves, our histories and our connection to place. "His paintings transform everyday gestures of love and care into a visual [... more]

Free

Shaikha Al Mazrou: Two Horizons

Cultural Foundation Qasr al Hosn, Abu Dhabi

Significant works and new commissions by the Emirati artist and sculptor known for her material experimentation across steel, marble, glass, resin and copper. Curated by Reem Fadda, alongside Noor AlMehairbi, Paz Monge and Afra Saif Almazrouei, the exhibition unfolds across [... more]

Free

DIFC Art Nights

DIFC Gate Village Dubai

Under the theme Future Forms, DIFC Art Nights claims to feature more than 600 artworks in exhibitions, "interactive art installations", creative workshops, live artistic performances and musical entertainment. This edition also has a dedicated Emirati heritage art corner with works [... more]

Free

A Writing Practice: Visual Poetry

421 Arts Campus Mina Zayed, Abu Dhabi

421's writing seminar, led by Sarah Afaneh and designed for writers at any stage of their practice, approaches the page as a spatial site for poetry – considering how typography, fragmentation, erasure, and arrangement can shape meaning. Participants will play with [... more]

Free, but pre-register

The Comedy Lab

Radisson Red Dubai Digital Park, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Dubai

Mad Cat Comedy's regular Thursday stop in Silicon Oasis promises "insane laughs every week".  The door price of AED 99 includes one drink and popcorn.

AED 99

Cocktails and Comedy

Bondz Unit 156 Level POD, Emirates Financial Tower, DIFC, Dubai

“Dubai’s hottest comedy night” (aka the Mad Cat team) come to the moodily-lit speakeasy style bar in DIFC for a regular Thursday gig. The door price includes one drink.

AED 99