• The Art of Curation: Women at the Forefront of Cultural Dialogue

    Bassam Freiha Art Foundation Cultural District Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi

    A panel discussion in celebration of International Women’s Day, featuring a group of top female curators with local connections. Speakers: Suheyla Takesh Director, Barjeel Art Foundation Paz Monge Museum Curator, Guggenheim Chimere Cissé Founder, Art|Kōrero and STELLA Alliance Moderated by [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Artist talk: Athar Jaber

    Ayyam Gallery B11, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Barjeel Art Foundation founder and noted cultural commentator Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi talks with Athar Jaber about the artist's practice, life, and thoughts. Athar Jaber’s first solo show at Ayyam Gallery, titled Vestiges, is midway through its run (to 1 [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • The Power of Words: When Humour Meets Visual Culture

    Zidoun-Bossuyt Gallery 796 Jumeirah Street, Dubai

    A conversation with around Thomas Lélu's current Zidoun-Bossuyt show Calm Down It’s Just Art exploring the impact of language and humour in contemporary art, and how it resonates within an international cultural context like that of the UAE. The panel: [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • A Tribute to Quincy Jones

    Berklee Abu Dhabi UAE Pavilion, Saadiyat ISland, Abu Dhabi

    The Abu Dhabi Festival in collaboration with Berklee Abu Dhabi pay tribute to musical legend Quincy Jones (a close friend of the Festival) in a special session of Riwaq Al Fikr – ADMAF Talks. The evening features insights from long-time [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Layered Dialogues: Society as Medium

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Subtitled 'Objects as Anchors: Material, Narrative, and Memory', this panel discussion riffs on the recently-opened Layered Medium: We Are in Open Circuits exhibition at this venue (runs to 30 June and is well worth seeing). As the blurb puts it: [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Layered Dialogues: Society as Medium – In/Visible City

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Another in the series of panel discussions based around the Layered Medium: We Are in Open Circuits exhibition at this venue (runs to 30 June and is well worth seeing). Artist Minouk Lim talks with Wael Al Awar, Principal architect [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Clémence Marie Bergal in Conversation

    Foundry Downtown Boulevard Crescent, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard, Dubai

    An Inloco Gallery conversation about the evolution of public art in the MENA region with Clémence Marie Bergal, Abu Dhabi Public Art Director at DCT Abu Dhabi. Clémence will discuss how institutional frameworks, artistic practice, and urban development shape public [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • The Twentieth Line

    The Third Line Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    The Third Line gallery is currently running The Only Way Out Is Through: The Twentieth Line, a significant retrospective exhibition curated by Shumon Basar to mark its 20th anniversary by looking back on two decades of The Third Line’s story [ ... ]

  • Restless Circle: Tour and Conversation

    Al Mureijah Square Sharjah

    What goes into conceptualising and curating a solo exhibition? Artist Afra Al Dhaheri and curator May Al Qaydi lead an enquiry-based tour of Al Dhaheri's current exhibition Restless Circle (ends tomorrow, 14 December), followed by a conversation between the two that [ ... ]

  • Artist Talk: Ryan Koopmans and Alice Wexell

    Leila Heller Gallery Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Ryan Koopmans and Alice Wexell talk about their creative process, alongside their exhibition The Wild Within currently running at Leila Heller – digital art envisioning iconic architecture (like the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and Louvre Abu Dhabi) reclaimed by nature.

    Free
  • An Unwritten Country: Frauke Heard-Bey in conversation with Meitha Al Mazrooei

    Jameel Arts Centre Al Jaddaf, Dubai

    Historian and author Frauke Heard-Bey joins scholar Meitha Almazrooei to discuss the long arc of writing and archiving history. Heard-Bey’s landmark publication From Trucial States to United Arab Emirates, first published in 1982, is an essential source for anyone interested [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Conversation: Daniele Genadry and Nadine El Khoury

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

    Artist Daniele Genadry and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Associate Curator Nadine El Khoury will discuss Genadry’s practice and her approach to landscape through light, perception, and visual uncertainty, in relation to ecology, mediation, and the themes of the current group exhibition [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Memory under Construction: Rashad Bukhash in conversation with Lina Najem

    Jameel Arts Centre Al Jaddaf, Dubai

    Architect Rashad Bukhash has restored and protected from demolition hundreds of buildings in Dubai. In this conversation with researcher Lina Najem, he revisits decades of work on both shores of Dubai Creek, including a long tenure at Dubai Municipality, with [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Localized Futures: Collective Heritage

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

    A key element in 421's Winter season is Localized Futures: Conversations by 421 x afikra, a four-part series of talks and panel discussions developed in collaboration with afikra. The series aims to explore the future of key cultural and civic [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Another City is Possible: Mediating Architecture

    Al Qasimiyah School Sheikh Saqr Bin Khalid Al Qasimi St, Sharjah

    For the next event in its SAT03 public programme, Sharjah Architecture Triennial presents a conversation on reimagining the city and the possibilities of architecture beyond its conventional boundaries. Led by Vyjayanthi Rao and Tau Tavengwa, Curator and Associate Curator of [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Artist Talk: Huang Yi – Art, Movement, and Gratitude

    NYUAD Art Gallery Reading Room أبو ظبي, أبو ظبي, United Arab Emirates

    Behind the precision of robotics and the poetry of movement lies a story of resilience and grace. In this talk, Huang Yi reflects on how scarcity became a source of creativity and how gratitude continues to guide his work and [ ... ]

    Free, but request invitation