• LAST CHANCE Farid Abu Shakra: Threads of Landscape — Engraved Narratives

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

    A solo exhibition of works that fuse engraving, embroidery, and landscape, presented by Gallery One, Ramallah. In Abu Shakra’s work, landscapes are more than geographical representations: "they are woven tapestries of experience and narrative”, says the gallery. "Each piece captures [ ... ]

    Free
  • Al Marmoom: Film in the Desert Festival

    Al Marmoom Conservation Reserve Dubai

    The fourth edition of Dubai Culture’s mini film festival takes place for nine days in January at the Al Marmoom Conservation Reserve. Under the theme ‘Where Stories Come to Life', it aims to provide an innovative platform for filmmakers to [ ... ]

    Free
  • A Writer on Honeymoon

    Sharjah Institute of Theatrical Arts Calligraphy Square, Sharjah

    In a special commission by Sharjah Art Foundation for Perform Sharjah, theatre director Ahmed El Attar collaborates with the noted actor Sayed Rajab to adapt a one-act play by the controversial playwright Ali Salem. In this contemporary adaptation, the plot [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • LAST CHANCE Thaier Helal: Navigating Through Nothing

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

    A solo exhibition featuring Helal’s most recent body of work and a pivotal moment in the artist’s evolution, a more straightforward yet deeply expressive style without the constraints of his previous methods. The new approach, characterized by loose, dynamic strokes, [ ... ]

    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
  • Remote Abu Dhabi by Rimini Protokoll

    Rimini Protokoll pushes the boundaries of conventional theatre. During this performance walk within the collective’s ‘Remote X’ series (2013–ongoing), you are invited to explore the growing presence of artificial intelligence in future cities; for this tour, designed specifically for Abu [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • LAST CHANCE Abdoulaye Konaté: Sambadio

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

    This solo show for the pioneering Malian artist Abdoulaye Konaté is inspired by the final track of Ali Farka Touré’s iconic 1976 album Le Jeune Chansonnier du Mali. The song Sambadio celebrates farmers with lyrics reflecting a father’s passionate plea [ ... ]

    Free
  • LAST CHANCE Eman Alhashemi: Superficial Transactions

    Aisha Alabbar Gallery Warehouse C19, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

    Alhashemi's second solo exhibition at the gallery is her first after returning from the States with a Master’s in Fine Arts. Curated by Nasser Abdullah, this exhibition presents a series of works that build on her previous experiences, "appearing as [ ... ]

    Free
  • LAST CHANCE Khalif Tahir Thompson / Summer Wheat: Jewels

    Sotheby’s Dubai DIFC Gate Village Building No3, Unit 01, Level B2, Dubai

    The first in The Gallery Collective, a series of sort-of gallery takeovers whereby Sotheby's Dubai is giving its DIFC exhibition space over to a series of local galleries in a two-year run starting in November. Every six to eight weeks, [ ... ]

    Free
  • Marina Fedorova: Cosmodreams | Elementa

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

    A solo show for Marina Fedorova featuring painting, graphics, limited-edition colour prints, 3D printing, and augmented-reality pieces. Says the gallery: "Fedorova creates a diverse space that connects the distant cosmos with everyday life, providing critical reflections on the evolution of [ ... ]

    Free
  • LAST CHANCE Rand Abdul Jabbar

    Lawrie Shabibi Unit 21, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

    Rand Abdul Jabbar’s first gallery solo show, curated by Meitha Almazrooei, weaves narrative with sculpture and textile to explore myth-making as a method of preservation and transformation. The exhibition follows on from her award of the Richard Mille Prize ('Earthly [ ... ]

    Free
  • LAST CHANCE Awodiya Toluwani: The Becoming

    Zidoun-Bossuyt Gallery 796 Jumeirah Street, Dubai

    Toluwani's fourth exhibition with the gallery (and his second in Dubai) looks at marriage in his native Nigeria. It provides insights into several marital practices observed across different local cultures and analyses prospects for the institution.

    Free
  • LAST CHANCE Adel El Siwi: Yellow Tropics

    Tabari Artspace Gate Village Level 2, DIFC, Dubai

    El Siwi's first solo exhibition in over a decade features both new paintings and pieces from an archive of earlier works: "the paintings shown here collectively present philosophical provocations and musings" says the gallery. The title references Upper Egypt and [ ... ]

    Free
  • Hot Spots

    Sotheby’s Dubai DIFC Gate Village Building No3, Unit 01, Level B2, Dubai

    The second in The Gallery Collective, a series of sort-of gallery takeovers whereby Sotheby's Dubai is giving its DIFC exhibition space over to a series of local galleries in a two-year run starting in November. Every six to eight weeks, [ ... ]

    Free
  • LAST CHANCE Lamya Gargash: Kun

    Maraya Art Centre Al Qasba, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

    Through her work, Gargash delves into spirituality, transformation, and the human journey. Her first solo exhibition with the Maraya Art Centre has a title – kun means 'to be' – that reflects the exploration of a liminal state between different [ ... ]

    Free
  • LAST CHANCE Rita Maikova: Inner Guide

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

    A solo exhibition by the Ukrainian artist combines surrealism and personal symbolism in "ethereal landscapes that explore resilience, transformation, and the cycles of life ... Her dreamlike scenes – lush green forests, sweeping sand dunes, and symbolic characters – invite [ ... ]

    Free
  • LAST CHANCE Nabil Anani: The Land and I

    Zawyeh Gallery Warehouse 27, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

    Nabil Anani has been focussed on painting landscapes for over two decades. His work demonstrates how the land is central to his identity and existence, and how it is also integral to its people; in The Land and I, Anani [ ... ]

  • 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
  • Remote Al Ain by Rimini Protokoll

    Rimini Protokoll pushes the boundaries of conventional theatre. During this performance walk within the collective’s ‘Remote X’ series (2013–ongoing), you are invited to explore the growing presence of artificial intelligence in future cities; for this tour, designed specifically for Al [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Paresh Maity: Cricket’s Greatest Canvas

    Taj Dubai Burj Khalifa St, Business Bay, Dubai

    Maity’s first solo exhibition in Dubai celebrates the intersection of art and sport via a dozen works inspired by the 2023 ICC Men’s World Cup; the large-scale acrylics are signed by winning captains, too. To 1 March. Above: Paresh Maity, [ ... ]

    Free
  • Bygones

    NYUAD Project Space NYUAD Campus, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi

    What does it mean to come from a home that does not exist today? The artworks in this exhibition examine the idea of true foreigners – whose left-behind homes exist not only in a different place, but also in a [ ... ]

    Free
  • Mississippi Masala: dir Mira Nair (1991)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    The vibrant cultures of India, Uganda, and the American South come together in Mira Nair’s Mississippi Masala, a luminous look at the complexities of love in a modern melting pot. Years after her Indian family was forced to flee their [ ... ]

    Free
  • Hakili Koura: A New Mentality

    NYUAD East Plaza Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Yahael Camara Onono, the master djembe drummer and innovative band leader of Balimaya Project, present a night of song, dance, discovery, discussion, and history, rooted in the folklore of the Mandé peoples of West Africa. Hakili Koura aims to share [ ... ]

    AED 105
  • LAST CHANCE Candice Lin: Night Stone

    Jameel Arts Centre Al Jaddaf, Dubai

    The Los Angeles-based artist’s first solo exhibition in West Asia. Through ceramics, liquids and organic materials, Lin spotlights histories of trade, colonialism and extraction in this new central installation. It's co-commissioned with the Biennale of Sydney and Monash University Museum [ ... ]

    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
  • Whale Rider: dir Niki Caro (2002)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Keisha Castle-Hughes stars as a twelve-year-old Māori girl whose ambition is to become the chief of the tribe – a role traditionally reserved for males. Although disregarded by her grandfather and shunned by the people of her village, she is [ ... ]

    Free
  • Remote Abu Dhabi by Rimini Protokoll

    Rimini Protokoll pushes the boundaries of conventional theatre. During this performance walk within the collective’s ‘Remote X’ series (2013–ongoing), you are invited to explore the growing presence of artificial intelligence in future cities; for this tour, designed specifically for Abu [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • LAST CHANCE Chaouki Choukini: Citadelles of Today

    Green Art Gallery Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    New work by the Lebanese-born Paris-based sculptor. Working mainly in wood but occasionally in marble or stone, Choukini's aethetic may appear somewhat primitivist; in fact his sculptures exhibit a sophisticated interrogation of organic and mechanical worlds. To 20 January.

    Free
  • LAST CHANCE Alyazia Al Nahyan: In the Breath of Decay

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

    A solo show for the Emirati artist to open this new gallery in Abu Dhabi’s Mina al Zayed. Al Nahyan’s practice is based on foraging -- materials she collects on her walks through her family farm and elsewhere, are accentuated [ ... ]

    Free
  • LAST CHANCE Marina Fedorova: Cosmodreams | Elementa

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

    A solo show for Marina Fedorova featuring painting, graphics, limited-edition colour prints, 3D printing, and augmented-reality pieces. Says the gallery: "Fedorova creates a diverse space that connects the distant cosmos with everyday life, providing critical reflections on the evolution of [ ... ]

    Free
  • LAST CHANCE Neither Here ~ Nor Elsewhere

    The Third Line Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    A group exhibition curated by Sanaz Askari that brings together a diverse collective of artists from across Africa and Asia – Faissal El-Malak, Hayv Kahraman, Mahsa Merci, Michael Ho, Omar Mismar, Sam Samiee, Sophia Al-Maria, Soufiane Ababri, Tahmineh Monzavi, and [ ... ]

    Free
  • Dance Will Be You

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

    Efie Gallery continues its commendable promotion of artists of African origin with this group show featuring María Magdalena Campos-Pons, ahead of her debut solo exhibition in the Middle East at Efie in April, alongside works by JK Bruce-Vanderpuije, Dina Nur Satti and Myles Igwebuike. [ ... ]

    Free
  • LAST CHANCE Edgar Orlaineta: What We See of Things is the Things

    CARBON 12 17th Street, Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    A solo show for the Mexican artist whose practice focuses on hybrid sculptural forms that draw inspiration from modernism, popular culture, and specific historic moments. In particular, Orlaineta explores post-war design and architecture, generally depicting biomorphic shapes with a strong [ ... ]

    Free
  • Quoz Arts Fest

    Alserkal Avenue Al Quoz 1, Dubai

    Quoz Arts Fest returns for its 12th edition, filling Alserkal Avenue with music, food and family-friendly fun from 10am to 11pm for the weekend. It looks like the biggest and best Quoz Fest yet; there's a lot of music (Bull [ ... ]

    Weekend pass AED63
  • Al Hosn Festival

    Al Hosn Abu Dhabi

    Two weeks of Emirati culture, past and present – "a living expression of Abu Dhabi’s cultural heritage" – in what is probably the traditional heart of Abu Dhabi. Building on the success of the last festival, the 2025 event sees [ ... ]

    AED 35
  • Remote Al Ain by Rimini Protokoll

    Rimini Protokoll pushes the boundaries of conventional theatre. During this performance walk within the collective’s ‘Remote X’ series (2013–ongoing), you are invited to explore the growing presence of artificial intelligence in future cities; for this tour, designed specifically for Al [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Candlelight: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons

    Mina A’Salam Hotel Jumeirah Road, Dubai

    One of the most successful productions in the Candlelight Concerts series – "classical music concerts aimed at democratising access to classical music by allowing people all over the world to enjoy live music candlelit performances".  The Vivaldi favourite was written [ ... ]

    From AED150
  • The Ice Hole – A Cardboard Comedy

    The Junction Unit H72, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    This English version of an award-winning French comedy has been winning rave reviews, and the production has popped up a few times at various Dubai venues in the last few months – most (deservedly) selling out. It’s fun, mad as [ ... ]

    AED 100
  • LAST CHANCE Zé Tepedino: Marina

    Gallery Isabelle Unit 17, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    The first solo exhibition in the UAE by Brazilian carioca artist Zé Tepedino is curated by Amanda Abi Khalil and also features a work by Hassan Sharif. Says the gallery: "Marina is not a place but a tide, a rhythm [ ... ]

    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
  • VIP Classical – Cultural Music Circle: David Khrikuli and Sanaz Sotoudeh

    Dubai Opera Studio Downtown Dubai, Dubai

    This presentation of the VIP Classical – Cultural Music Circle promises "an exquisite programme" by two rising young stars of the piano. David Khrikuli (Georgia) takes the first half of the evening: Chopin Polonaise op.44 in F-sharp minor Chopin Preludes [ ... ]

    AED 500
  • The Ice Hole – A Cardboard Comedy

    The Junction Unit H72, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    A second performance for Complices Théâtre's production of this fun comedy. It's mad as trumpets, with echoes of Monty Python, Laurel and Hardy, and the Mighty Boosh. An imposing Shakespearian actor tells incredible stories of a man journeying through Europe [ ... ]

    AED 100
  • Slavs and Tatars: Simurgh Self-Help

    The Third Line Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    This is The Third Line's third solo exhibition with the artist collective Slavs and Tatar, presenting a new body of work inspired by Marcel Broodthaers’ Musée d'Art Moderne – Département des Aigles (1968-1972) – one of the most influential works [ ... ]

    Free
  • LAST CHANCE Farhad Ahrarnia: No Scheherazade

    Lawrie Shabibi Unit 21, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

    Farhad Ahrania’s fourth solo exhibition at this gallery celebrates all things 1980s via "a multi-textual autopsy which invariably examines the complex legacy of Princess Diana Keith Haring". In particular, Ahrania looks at the flip side of 80s glitz, the spectre [ ... ]

    Free
  • The Power of Connection

    Bassam Freiha Art Foundation Cultural District Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi

    Subtitled ‘supporting art through patronage and collaboration’, this ‘dialogue’ on how patronage shapes the UAE’s art scene features Stéphanie Oueda-Cruz – Tiffany & Co’s Global VP for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging – in conversation with Michaela Watrelot, Director of [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register