• Day 2 | Forest Cinema

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

    Three films selected from the two editions of Ghost, a triennial video and performance art series in Bangkok, that show how natural and manufactured subjects can haunt and possess novel forms of life and knowledge. Mangosteen dir Tulapop Saenjaroen (Thailand [ ... ]

    Free
  • Goodbye Julia: dir Mohamed Kordofani (2023)

    Cinema Akil in 25hours Hotel Trade Center St, Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Mona is a retired singer in a tense marriage in Northern Sudan. Wracked by guilt after covering up a murder, she tries to make amends by taking in the dead man’s southern Sudanese widow, Julia, and her son, Daniel. Mona [ ... ]

    Free
  • The Nutcracker

    Dubai Opera

    Tchaikovsky’s all-time seasonal favourite is back, again delivered by the Astana Opera Ballet and Orchestra. Choreography is by Yuri Grigorovich, the set designs by Simon Virsaladze are described as "stunning", and the blurb promises that audiences will be transported "into [ ... ]

    From AED 290
  • Solos on the Barge

    Perform Sjarjah Barge Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

    For three days (20, 21 and 22 December, 5-9pm each day) a barge moored in Sharjah's historic port across from the Bait Obaid Al Shamsi will host several short performances and monologues from classical Arab theatre delivered by professional actors. [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • The Nutcracker

    Dubai Opera

    A second performance for Tchaikovsky’s all-time seasonal favourite is back, as delivered by the Astana Opera Ballet and Orchestra. Choreography is by Yuri Grigorovich, the set designs by Simon Virsaladze are described as "stunning", and the blurb promises that audiences [ ... ]

    From AED 290
  • The Nutcracker

    Dubai Opera

    Tchaikovsky’s all-time seasonal favourite is back, as delivered by the Astana Opera Ballet and Orchestra. Choreography is by Yuri Grigorovich, the set designs by Simon Virsaladze are described as "stunning", and the blurb promises that audiences will be transported "into [ ... ]

    From AED 290
  • LAST CHANCE Fashionarte

    Chaka Arts Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    This month-long exhibition for Goshopia aims to “reimagine sustainable fashion as museum-worthy wearable art ... FashionArte represents a significant milestone in Dubai's sustainable fashion movement, offering visitors the unique opportunity to experience eco-conscious fashion through an artistic lens while supporting [ ... ]

    Free
  • Bye Bye Tiberias: dir Lina Soualem (2022)

    Cinema Akil in 25hours Hotel Trade Center St, Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Thirty years ago, Hiam Abbass left her native village in Galilee to follow her acting dream in France. Camera in hand, her daughter Lina questions her mother’s bold choices and the way the women in her family – who she [ ... ]

    Free
  • The Nutcracker

    Dubai Opera

    The final performances (at 2pm and 8pm) for Tchaikovsky’s all-time seasonal favourite, as delivered by the Astana Opera Ballet and Orchestra. Choreography is by Yuri Grigorovich, the set designs by Simon Virsaladze are described as "stunning", and the blurb promises [ ... ]

    From AED 290
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • Home Alone: dir Chris Columbus (1990)

    25hours Hotel Dubai One Central Trade Center Street, Dubai

    The original and the best of the Home Alone franchise, funny and slightly sad because eight-year-old Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) is accidentally left behind while his family heads to Paris for Christmas and they simply don’t notice that he’s not there [ ... ]

    Free
  • The Mask of Zorro: dir Martin Campbell (1998)

    25hours Hotel Dubai One Central Trade Center Street, Dubai

    Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins and Catherine Zeta-Jones have great fun in this easy-to-watch action/adventure movie. Hopkins is Zorro, escaping from prison to find his long-lost daughter (Zeta-Jones) and avenge the death of his wife. He is aided by his successor [ ... ]

    Free
  • Bye Bye Tiberias: dir Lina Soualem (2022)

    Cinema Akil in 25hours Hotel Trade Center St, Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Thirty years ago, Hiam Abbass left her native village in Galilee to follow her acting dream in France. Camera in hand, her daughter Lina questions her mother’s bold choices and the way the women in her family – who she [ ... ]

    Free
  • LAST CHANCE Laal Collection Volume II

    Total Arts at the Courtyard Al Quoz, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    The latest instalment of this exhibition features Fereydoun Ave's extraordinary collection of modern and contemporary Iranian and international art, from 1959 to the present – a potent (and highly recommended) reflection of the collector’s personal journey, connections, sensibilities, and experiences. [ ... ]

  • Home Alone: dir Chris Columbus (1990)

    25hours Hotel Dubai One Central Trade Center Street, Dubai

    The original and the best of the Home Alone franchise, funny and slightly sad because eight-year-old Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) is accidentally left behind while his family heads to Paris for Christmas and they simply don’t notice that he’s not there [ ... ]

    Free
  • Home Alone: dir Chris Columbus (1990)

    25hours Hotel Dubai One Central Trade Center Street, Dubai

    The original and the best of the Home Alone franchise, funny and slightly sad because eight-year-old Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) is accidentally left behind while his family heads to Paris for Christmas and they simply don’t notice that he’s not there [ ... ]

    Free
  • LAST CHANCE Way of the Forest

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

    This travelling edition of the Colomboscope arts festival features work by 19 artists from South Asia and Africa. Taking over Galleries 1 and 2 inside 421 Arts Campus, it focuses on interdependence, custodianship, and restorative practices across rainforests, wilderness, mountain [ ... ]

    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
  • Goodbye Julia: dir Mohamed Kordofani (2023)

    Cinema Akil in 25hours Hotel Trade Center St, Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Mona is a retired singer in a tense marriage in Northern Sudan. Wracked by guilt after covering up a murder, she tries to make amends by taking in the dead man’s southern Sudanese widow, Julia, and her son, Daniel. Mona [ ... ]

    Free
  • Home Alone: dir Chris Columbus (1990)

    25hours Hotel Dubai One Central Trade Center Street, Dubai

    The original and the best of the Home Alone franchise, funny and slightly sad because eight-year-old Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) is accidentally left behind while his family heads to Paris for Christmas and they simply don’t notice that he’s not there [ ... ]

    Free
  • 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