Tona is Cuban trumpeter Tonatiut Isidron, well known to Dubai audiences. With his friends he makes up a high-energy quartet that delivers a fusion of classic jazz with modern improvisation. Should be good, even at this slightly elevated price (which [ ... ]
Yasmina Reza's cult comedy classic uses three friends' reactions to an expensive all-white painting to examine the dynamics of friendship. Spoiler alert: it's not really about art per se – the white painting is just the catalyst, but it does [ ... ]
A student-curated exhibition developed by students from the American University of Sharjah under the mentorship of Sheikh Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, Founder of the Barjeel Art Foundation, and drawing on works from Barjeel’s noted collection of modern and contemporary Arab [ ... ]
The third Mini Festival promises to transform 25hours Hotel One Central into a vibrant hub for alternative music, creativity, and community – six rooms, live bands, DJs and vinyl selectors, workshops and talks, film screenings, a record fair, and a [ ... ]
Dubomedy's standup night at Social Distrikt returns. This has become a bit of a fixture: good vibes, good comedy, and "you never know who will pop in". Recommended. It's free, but it's popular, so pre-booking is recommended to get a [ ... ]
Known for his dramatic performances, an edgy take on classical crossover, and roguish good looks, the young Serbian piano virtuoso infuses classical music with dance beats while (mostly) keeping his intricate playing to the fore in his arrangements. Mrvica definitely [ ... ]
The acclaimed Japanese choreographer, in town for his performance piece Ink in a couple of days' time, explores how movement becomes conversation. In this workshop, participants learn to sense and respond to the subtle messages within their own bodies and [ ... ]
A one-night special where male and female teams go head-to-head in fast, improvised games. No scripts, no planning — expect fierce rivalry, loads of mischief and some serious acting moves as the judges score each round. By the end of [ ... ]
magpie has long been a fan of the Sharjah Light Festival, the 14th edition of which runs 3 to 15 February. By contrast with the newer Manar Abu Dhabi and Dhai Dubai light art festivals, SLF generally takes a more [ ... ]
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 [ ... ]
Open-air Khaleeji jazz from Boom.Diwan, led by Grammy-nominated guitarist and ethnomusicologist Ghazi Al Mulaifi. Blending Gulf traditions with live improvisation, Boom.Diwan brings a contemporary edge to regional music; for this performance they are joined by the Abu Dhabi Folklore & [ ... ]
The UAE National Orchestra's second concert programme unfolds in three movements: Emerging Love, Passionate Love, and Eternal Love. There's no information about the music, but we're told that "at the heart of this journey, the ney traces a path of [ ... ]
The Courtyard's popular 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 with [ ... ]
New work from the Saudi artist, who has been exhibited all over the Middle East since 1999. His practice is shaped by poetry from the Arab world and "the complex intersections between modern spaces and personal freedoms"; he aims to [ ... ]
An expressionist exploration of the city that captures Dubai as it is felt, rather than as it is seen. "Through expressive brushstrokes, colour becomes a language, revealing the city’s complexity – its energy, diversity, and profound contradictions." To 5 February.
The Middle East's newest art fair opens with a core presentation of 87 galleries and 84 artists (more than half of whom come from the region) plus a Special Projects programme of nine large-scale, site-specific sculptures, installations, and performances in [ ... ]
Huang Yi was last seen in Abu Dhabi in The Arts Center’s inaugural season, dancing with an industrial robot. This time he takes the ‘dance meets tech’ idea in new directions; in this collaboration with audiovisual pioneer Ryoichi Kurokawa, the [ ... ]
Dubomedy's Friday Night Comedy format comes to Abu Dhabi. "Audiences can expect big laughs, rotating killer line-ups, and a weekly comedy experience done right ..."
It looks as though the Junction has found another small gem – David Lindsay-Abaire's play, winner of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, is a deeply moving yet surprisingly funny story about a family navigating love, loss, and the search [ ... ]
The Laughter Factory bookers are on a bit of a roll right now, which might be enough to justify the door price hike (from AED 160 to 175). The February tour has another good collection of standups: Paul Tonkinson Terrific [ ... ]
Another good-looking booking for the Jazz Studio series. Errico Cutolo is well known to Dubai's jazz aficionados, especially for nostalgia-soaked shows typically from the big band era. This one hints at Italian classics from his youth ... The price does [ ... ]
A group show with Adel Abidin, Daniele Genadry, Ali Kaeini, Katya Muromtseva, and Melissa Rios that explores "how landscape is transformed in an age of post-human thought, climate disruption, and hybrid perception ... This is a space where nature is [ ... ]
Huma Shoaib has always been an interesting, thoughtful artist, creating patterns from sacred geometry and looking for analogies in life and nature. She often uses paper cut silhouettes layered with detailed graphite drawings that typically adds three-dimensional depth to otherwise [ ... ]
The debut exhibition in the UAE by the emerging Egyptian artist draws inspiration from Hawam's hometown of El Mahalla El Kubra in Gharbeya Governorate – its countryside, colours, and the faces of people who shaped his early life. Working in [ ... ]
The Jameel's introduction to careers in the creative sector, aimed primarily at school and college students, is back. Past editions were given to somewhat unwieldy titles, and this one continues the trend with Art as a Voice: How do you [ ... ]
An opportunity for writers – novelists, poets, journalists, bloggers, and more – to meet, exchange ideas, and network: "connect with fellow book lovers, spark new collaborations, and feel part of a shared creative space ... An evening of conversation, inspiration, [ ... ]
A second performance for H72's production of David Lindsay-Abaire's play about a family navigating love, loss, and the possibility of finding light in unexpected places. The final show is on 8 February.
This UAE National Orchestra concert looks like a really interesting (and challenging) option – music by the baroque master composer rescored for the instruments, modes and sounds of the Arab world: "a musical dialogue emerges, as harpsichord converses with qanun and [ ... ]
Culture Emulsion’s production (in French, of course) of the popular comedy by Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de la Patellière that premiered in 2010 and went on to become a successful film adaptation. It’s a story about names and family relationships; [ ... ]
The February Laughter Factory tour has another good collection of standups: Paul Tonkinson Terrific live performer with an effervescent style and some great caricatures in his repertoire. A former (double winner) Time Out Comedian of the Year Pierre Hollins Another [ ... ]
"An avant-garde concept, electrifying soundscapes, and themed masks, bringing together art, architecture, and nightlife for a truly unique after-hours experience ..." Third time out for the Louvre's club night, featuring a DJ set from the Blaze at 10pm with techno [ ... ]
Filipino indie folk-pop band known for soulful melodies and rich harmonies come to the Main Stage at Global Village. The gig is free with general admission.
Maria Laura may be well established in Dubai, but she's originally from Cuba; and it shows in her passion for music – which covers multiple genres, including pop, RnB, and soul. She's a good jazz singer, too, especially of course [ ... ]
The most comprehensive solo exhibition to date of Brazilian artist Leda Catunda outside her home country. Sharjah Art Foundation is presenting four decades of Catunda’s practice, tracing the transformation of her art from figurative painting to hybrid forms that explore [ ... ]
More than 30 new paintings, offering a comprehensive survey of the artist’s recent work. This show approaches ancestry as a living presence rather than a distant past, reflecting on civilizations whose surviving traces – clay tablets, systems of law and [ ... ]
While Jorge Tacla was only an adolescent during the 1973 coup against Chile’s democratically-elected socialist president Salvador Allende, the upheaval left an irrevocable mark on his politics and practice. Titled after a line from a TS Eliot poem, Tacla’s "most [ ... ]
The motifs of the sun and its intense heat as well as the sand and its pervasive orange hue often serve to represent and condense the Gulf’s complex ecologies and aspirations. This selection of recent and newly commissioned works by [ ... ]
The Jameel's introduction to careers in the creative sector, aimed primarily at school and college students, continues with its mix of stands run by potential employers and educators (over 30 UAE organisations and universities) and a busy programme of workshops [ ... ]
The February Laughter Factory tour has another good collection of standups: Paul Tonkinson Terrific live performer with an effervescent style and some great caricatures in his repertoire. A former (double winner) Time Out Comedian of the Year Pierre Hollins Another [ ... ]
The Expo City-funded all-women ensemble celebrates Chinese New Year under the Al Wasl Dome: "blending the elegance of a symphonic performance with the beauty of traditional East Asian melodies, the concert captures the joy, hope, and togetherness that define this [ ... ]
Dubomedy's standup night at Social Distrikt – good vibes, good comedy, and "you never know who will pop in". Recommended. It's free, but it's popular, so pre-booking is recommended to get a seat. And there's a minimum spend of one [ ... ]
Final performance for H72's production of David Lindsay-Abaire's play about a family navigating love, loss, and the possibility of finding light in unexpected places.
Japanese pianist Fuko Ishii demonstrates why she was the winner of the 17th Grieg International Piano Competition in 2022. Praised for her sensitivity and colour, she has put together an all-Grieg recital programme that highlights the composer’s variety: Norwegian Dances, [ ... ]
This solo show includes works created over several years, using acrylic, pastel, ink, charcoal, and found materials such as wood, fabric, and recycled objects. At the centre of the exhibition is the recurring image of the chair, appearing as a [ ... ]
421's Winter season of talks and panel discussions developed in collaboration with afikra, Localized Futures, explores the future of key cultural and civic sectors through a regional lens – challenging the dominant global narrative by looking at the complexities, innovations, and [ ... ]
MadCat’s standup team at their regular stop at the Easy Tiger bar in Abu Dhabi's Al Ain Palace. The door price of AED 99 includes two drinks ...
The debut solo exhibition in the Middle East for the Chinese-born London-based artist, known for her luscious sweeps of colour and a mordant wit (“Good Girls Go To Heaven, Cool Girls Go Everywhere”). This show presents a new body of [ ... ]
Works resulting from a year of profound transformation initiated by the artist’s journey to Nepal, "where inner awareness and self-observation became central to her practice". Radchenko’s visual language combines painting, collage, symbolism, and layered cultural references, creating compositions that are [ ... ]
Animenia returns to Manarat Al Saadiyat with five days of cosplay, music, food, and J-pop culture – “step inside a world inspired by the hidden corners of Neo-Tokyo, where glowing signs, colourful characters, and offbeat discoveries bring anime culture to [ ... ]
This adventure-ish drama, written as well as directed by Shahad Ameen, follows Saudi grandmother Sitti travelling from Taif to Mecca to perform Hajj with her two granddaughters, 12-year-old Janna and 18-year-old Sarah. But before they reach their destination, Sarah disappears, [ ... ]
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