13 October 2024

Leila Pazooki: Unyielding Essences

Leila Heller Gallery Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Subtitled “a feminine odyssey through matter and soul", this exhibition seels to explore the profound relationship between humans (especially women) and the enigmatic world of objects, stones, and minerals. Unyielding Essences invites us to challenge the misconceptions surrounding humanity and [ ... ]

Free

Candlelight Concert: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons

SeaWorld Yas Island Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

One of the most successful productions in the Candlelight Concerts series of "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 AED200

Asian Dub Foundation / La Haine

The Arts Center @ NYUAD NYUAD Campus, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Cine-conert with Asian Dub Foundation layering their edgy alternative breakbeats over Mathieu Kassovitz’s landmark 1995 cinema classic of crime and social pressure in the banlieus. The band’s musical accompaniment to La Haine has attracted widespread acclaim. Has to be unmissable. [ ... ]

AED 105

Selfdrive Laughter Factory: The ‘Sweety Darling’ Tour

Radisson DAMAC Hills Hessa Street Dubailand, Dubai

Three good standups (two British, one American) for the latest Laughter Factory tour: Jack Gleadow – energetic and quirky performances that feature a mix of physical comedy, witty storytelling, and audience interaction (“if you like Lee Evans you will love [ ... ]

AED 160

The Youth Orchestra: Concert for Children

Cultural Foundation Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum Street, Abu Dhabi

The Youth Orchestra is such a good idea: the International Music Institute— one of the oldest music schools in the country, founded in 1994 -- runs it as a free-of-charge programme for would-be music students in the United Arab Emirates, [ ... ]

AED 50

The Ladykillers

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

It was a classic Alec Guinness Ealing comedy film of the 1950s and then a Coen Brothers remake (with massive infrastructure alterations) of 2004. Then in 2011 Graham Linehan adapted the 1955 original for the stage; it's recognisable, and you [ ... ]

AED 120

Asian Dub Foundation: Live in Concert

The Arts Center @ NYUAD NYUAD Campus, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

A full-on concert featuring ADF's tough jungle rhythms, dub basslines, wild guitar, and forceful high-speed raps drawn from South Asian roots. Expect a wild ride (they’ve been called heirs to The Clash) and be prepared to dance. Tickets are AED [ ... ]

AED 105

Selfdrive Laughter Factory: The ‘Sweety Darling’ Tour

Park Rotana Khalifa Park, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Three good standups (two British, one American) for the latest Laughter Factory tour: Jack Gleadow – energetic and quirky performances that feature a mix of physical comedy, witty storytelling, and audience interaction (“if you like Lee Evans you will love [ ... ]

AED 160

That Place

Courtyard Playhouse Street 4B, Al Quoz 1, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

This looks interesting: a series of monologues by women on the theme of "that place we escape to – in our mind – when sh*t hits the fan". It's a development of the Express Yourself sessions that have been running [ ... ]

Free, but pre-register

Rhythm of Life – Music for Wellbeing and Positivity

Jafza One Convention Centre Jafza One, Jebel Ali, Dubai

The second concert in a series that aims to promote wellbeing and positivity through music, this one featuring celebrated father-daughter duo Srinivas and Sharanya in a retro Bollywood show with R.D.Burman-Kishore Kumar classics plus some of their own film songs [ ... ]

AED 100

The Ladykillers

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

A second performance for Graham Linehan's adaptation of the 1955 Ealing comedy film: "an action-packed black comedy" with the imaginative, immovable Mrs Wilberforce faced by a corrupt gang of five evildoers. "With only a parrot and one of the dimmest [ ... ]

AED 120

Selfdrive Laughter Factory: The ‘Sweety Darling’ Tour

Dukes The Palm Palm Dubai, Dubai

Last chance to catch three good standups (two British, one American) on the latest Laughter Factory tour: Jack Gleadow – energetic and quirky performances that feature a mix of physical comedy, witty storytelling, and audience interaction (“if you like Lee [ ... ]

AED 160

That Place

Courtyard Playhouse Street 4B, Al Quoz 1, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Second performance for this series of monologues by women on the theme of "that place we escape to – in our mind – when sh*t hits the fan". Features Afaf Bibi, Aida Laubach, Aishwarya Searing & TRE Dancers, Alana Hicks, [ ... ]

Free, but pre-register

Marie Kiyone

Dubai Opera Studio Downtown Dubai, Dubai

The young Japanese pianist has been a laureate of many national and international piano competitions, has performed with well-known orchestras and chamber musicians, and regularly gives recitals in many countries. This one has a substantial programme of Chopin and Liszt [ ... ]

AED 500

The Ladykillers

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

The final performance for Graham Linehan's adaptation of the 1955 Ealing comedy film: "an action-packed black comedy" with the imaginative, immovable Mrs Wilberforce faced by a corrupt gang of five evildoers. "With only a parrot and one of the dimmest [ ... ]

AED 120

Wissam Shawkat: Journey of a Letter

Sharjah Calligraphy Museum

Wissam Shawkat, one of the best of the modern calligraphers, presents his journey in the world of Arabic calligraphy from classical Arabic letttering during his schooldays in Iraq to the development of his Al Wissam script and Calligraforms style. The [ ... ]

General admission: AED 10

Some seasons: Fereydoun Ave and the Laal Collection, 1959-2019

Jameel Arts Centre Al Jaddaf, Dubai

Over the past five decades, artist, curator, designer and collector Fereydoun Ave (b. 1945) has assembled a singular collection of modern and contemporary Iranian art inflected by personal history, friendship, sensibility and circumstance. A linchpin figure, Ave returned to Iran in 1970 [ ... ]

Free

Victor Ekpuk: INTERwoven TEXTures

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

The Nigerian-American artist’s solo debut in the Middle East is an exhibition of painting and sculpture that continues his exploration of Nsibidi, an ancient Nigerian graphic communication system. A tribute to the power of dialogue and collective human experiences, this [ ... ]

Free

Sahand Hesamiyan: Prolepsis

The Third Line Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

The Third Line's third solo exhibition with Sahand Hesamiyan is a collection of sculptures that celebrate his dedication to steel as a 3D medium and shine a light on a number of long-cherished yet unrealised projects. While Hesamiyan is known [ ... ]

Saher Nassar: The Front Side Strikes the Most

Zawyeh Gallery Warehouse 27, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

Soldiers undergo rigorous training, sometimes bordering on indoctrination, to execute commands often beyond their personal desires or intentions. They become pieces in a domino effect, operating in environments they cannot control. The latest works by Saher Nassar examine the psychology [ ... ]

Free

Mariam Abbas: Terra Ephemera

Mestaria Gallery Unit 35, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

Mariam Abbas is an Emirati illustrator, designer, and visual artist influenced by the architecture, botany, and the rich cultural backdrop that surrounds her. In particular, she finds that architecture can narrate tales of the past, while botanical gems convey cultural [ ... ]

Free

Jehangir Vazifdar: A 60 Year Retrospective

Leila Heller Gallery Dubai, United Arab Emirates

The late 60s and 70s were a time when the Indian sensibility found fresh voice, a time when new styles, techniques and visions came into the light. To some he will be known as the architect of some of Mumbai’s [ ... ]

Free

Ali Cha’aban: I Guess I Am Still Angry

Leila Heller Gallery Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Within the depths of our memories lie fragments of our childhood utopias. This exhibition seeks to examine the potency of these recollections, exploring how they shape our understanding of the world and influence our desires for a better future. Nostalgic [ ... ]

Free

Shambhavi Singh: To see a world in a grain of sand …

Volte Art Projects Warehouse 13, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

Singh appropriates, distorts, and symbolically creates surfaces and patterns within nature; raised in a farming family, it is the rural landscape, the farmer, and agricultural implements that find form in her practice. So the sickle, used primarily for harvesting or [ ... ]

Free

MULTIVERSE by klove

1x1 Art Gallery Unit 10 Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

You don't often find glass and light fittings presented as art in Dubai, so this show could be interesting. Prateek Jain and Gautam Seth established klove studio in New Delhi in 2005, since when it has built a reputation for [ ... ]

Free

Inked in time

Custot Gallery Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Custot’s new show is a group exhibition of works on paper, by Fernando Botero, Richard Höglund, Marc Quinn, Pablo Reinoso, Bernar Venet and Fabienne Verdier. Höglund’s magnifies the interaction of ink and paper, highlighting the fluid and marking properties of [ ... ]

Free

Khalid Alastad: Little Neighbours

FN Designs Unit 26 Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

A solo show of documentary photography, presented by Tashkeel at its new location in Alserkal Avenue at FN Designs(Warehouse 26). Alastad is known in photography circles for his passion, patience and dedication to the documentation of the UAE's desert ecosystem; [ ... ]

Free

Sawsan Al Bahar

Firetti Contemporary Unit 29, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

As an extension of Sawsan Al Bahar's solo show currently at Maraya Art Centre, Firetti Contemporary will be exhibiting works by the artist for Alserkal Lates. In drawing, Installation and text, Sawsan explores and experiments with a notion of home [ ... ]

Free

Alserkal Lates

Alserkal Avenue Al Quoz 1, Dubai

The new season's first open-all-evening mini-festival at Alserkal Avenue. It's the mix as before, only more so – the galleries are staying open late, most with brand new shows, and so are the eateries and coffee shops. But added to [ ... ]

Free

All Seeing Eye

Seeing Things Warehouse 34, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

A phygital (physical/digital) and interactive exhibition created in response to an open call by MORROW Collective (the show also marks the launch of MORROW's NFT space on Foundation World, where most of these works will also be available). The exhibition [ ... ]

Free

Cry, the Beloved Country: dir Zoltan Korda (1951)

Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Canada Lee is the black parish priest in the backcountry of South Africa, who travels to Johannesburg to support his son accused of murdering a prominent white man. With the assistance of  clergyman Reverend Msimangu (Sidney Poitier), he eventually meets the [ ... ]

Free, but pre-register

Costa Brava, Lebanon: dir Mounia Akl (2021)

Museum of the Future Trade Centre 2, Sheikh Zayed Rd, Dubai

A couple decide to leave the toxic pollution and social unrest of Beirut, hoping to build a utopian existence in the mountains. It’s a strong story, beautifully acted; the result is something of a love letter to Lebanon, a political [ ... ]

General admission: AED149

Vir Das: Mind Fool Tour

Dubai Opera

The top Indian comic comes to Dubai fairly regularly, and he's always reliably funny. “No artist embodies the globalisation of stand-up like Vir Das” said the New York Times; “there is a mixture of audacity and humility in Das's comedy” [ ... ]

From AED 150

Miriam Fares, Ahmed Saad, Ayed & Dj Aseel

Coca-Cola Arena City Walk, Dubai

A pretty cool lineup for the UAE graduation concert– "the ultimate afterparty", as the blurb puts it, and it's open to the public too.  with headliners Myriam Fares, Ahmed Saad, Ayed and DJ Aseel. Acclaimed artist, Myriam Fares, known as [ ... ]

From AED 95

Curating Art with Maria Firetti

CB2 Level 2, Mall of The Emirates, Dubai

The eponymous founder of Firetti Contemporary Gallery talks about understanding value and choosing art if you're a novice collector (always interesting to hear the views of a galerist on such subjects). The talk is at CB2, the high-end furniture and [ ... ]

Free

Rooftop Rhythms: Season 12 Opening

Marketplace, NYUAD Campus Abu Dhabi

The Middle East’s longest-running (and best, and best-supported) poetry (and other performance) open mic event enters its twelfth season. You get culturally-diverse voices with a lineup that features up-and-coming spoken word artists, poets, and musicians presenting original material, typically on [ ... ]

Free, but pre-register

Soylent Green: dir Richard Fleischer (1973)

Museum of the Future Trade Centre 2, Sheikh Zayed Rd, Dubai

The classic ecological dystopian thriller starring Charlton Heston, Leigh Taylor-Young, and Edward G. Robinson; the story follows a murder investigation in a grim future of dying oceans and year-round humidity caused by the greenhouse effect, with the resulting pollution, depleted [ ... ]

General admission: AED149

Bebel Gilberto: Songs My Father Loved

The Arts Center @ NYUAD NYUAD Campus, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

The Brazilian chanteuse presents a musical love letter to her father João Gilberto, one of the originators of bossa nova, featuring a deeply personal collection of songs he made famous. With her rich, smoky voice, Bebel has developed a distinctive [ ... ]

AED 105

Beasts of the Southern Wild: dir Benh Zeitlin (2012)

Museum of the Future Trade Centre 2, Sheikh Zayed Rd, Dubai

Faced with both her hot-tempered father's fading health and melting ice-caps that flood her beloved bayou home, six-year-old Hushpuppy must learn the ways of courage and love. Her father contracts a mysterious illness, nature flies out of whack, and an [ ... ]

General admission: AED149

Wow Music Fest

Coca-Cola Arena City Walk, Dubai

Live EDM DJing with a genuinely great bill. Headliners are Paul van Dyk (above) and genre-hopping duo Infected Mushroom; support comes from Weekend Heroes (hi-energy progressive house and techno) and the excellent progressive PsyTrance project Invisible Reality. Top local lad DJ [ ... ]

From AED 174

Breaking Boundaries II

Firetti Contemporary Unit 29, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

Firetti’s original Breaking Boundaries exhibition featured the works of Nasser Al Salem and Josh Rowell; this successor, curated by Celine Azem as part of the Dubai Calligraphy Biennale, has work by six artists from different parts of the world. It [ ... ]

Free

Saudi Film Confex

BLVD Expo Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Film Commission’s new industry event is a four-day conference and exhibition that aims to “lay the foundations for the Kingdom’s future film industry ventures ... underpinned the growing economic role of the film industry in Saudi Arabia”. We’re [ ... ]

Free for exhibition

Blane De St Croix: Horizon

NYUAD Art Gallery Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

The Art Gallery at NYUAD opens its new season with works from a sculptor who works on the relationship between people and landscape and in particular the landscape of climate change. His practice is based on extensive field research; over [ ... ]

Free

Matilda The Musical

Dubai Opera

The multi-award-winning musical (it has won more than 99 international awards) inspired by the Roald Dahl book touches down in Dubai for what has to be one of the highlights of the season. As the New York Post put it, [ ... ]

From AED 325

Trevor Noah: Off the Record

Coca-Cola Arena City Walk, Dubai

Trevor Noah’s The Daily Show landed a record seven Emmy nominations this year; but he’s rather wasted in that talk-show-host role, IMO, for he’s a consummate standup performer – especially for large auditoriums – with sold out shows on five [ ... ]

From AED 250

Inge Thomson: Lecture Concert

Sharjah Art Foundation, Flying Saucer Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

In this Sharjah Art Foundation lecture performance, Inge Thomson will be performing excerpts from projects that have had an impact on her outlook as an artist and musician, while also sharing some of her thoughts along the way. Inge has [ ... ]

Free

Fridge Concert Series 41: Ghaliaa / Mira Habash

The Fridge Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter Ghaliaa should be able to make the most of the revamped Fridge venue with its redesigned stage and new state of the art sound system. Ghaliaa’s sound fuses RnB, hiphop, electropop, indie and jazz, all characterised by what [ ... ]

AED 70

A Utopian Stage: Excavated Archives: Festival of Arts, Shiraz-Persepolis

Meem Gallery Umm Suqeim Rd, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

This exhibition describes an open-ended, evolving project that “explores how in the aftermath of the collapse of European hegemonies and the rise of the Global South a fluid artistic exchange was possible across geographies, histories and forms in ways and [ ... ]

Free

Samuel Olayombo: Lotus Bloom Ranchers

Zidoun-Bossuyt Gallery 796 Jumeirah Street, Dubai

“I cross the boundaries of traditional masculinity, macho culture, societal gender assertions and associations," says Samuel Olayombo, who works with oils, acrylics, charcoal and pastels to create vibrant and large-scale canvases of predominately male but non-gender normative portraits. Using a [ ... ]

Free