• The Comedy Lab @ Easy Tiger

    Al Ain Palace Hotel Corniche Road, Abu Dhabi

    Mad Cat’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 …

    AED 99
  • Wafa Al Falahi: Feathers in the Reeds, Milk in the Mud

    Hunna Art Warehouse 49A, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

    The Emirati artist's first solo exhibition features an imaginary bestiary on paintings, works on paper and ceramic sculptures. Al Falahi’s creatures each carry a feeling, a memory or a premonition, says the gallery: "Pieced together from what has stayed with the [... more]

    Free
  • CLOSING TODAY Alaa Itani: A Momentum for the Horizon

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

    A visual meditation on the horizon as both boundary and promise, a visible line that remains perpetually distant. Alaa Itani's solo show brings together reverse glass paintings of horizons, blurred landscapes, and moving cloud formations; he explores landscape as acts [... more]

    Free
  • CLOSING TODAY Tirdad Hashemi and Soufia Erfanian: I Bloom Where You Hold Me

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

    Collaborative works from Tirdad Hashemi and Soufia Erfanian’s ongoing Flower series, unfolding across gallery walls covered with hand-drawn graffiti; rooted in the artists’ shared and individual experiences, the works consider what it means to care for, sustain and grow alongside [... more]

    Free
  • Cineolio’s Cinenights

    Alliance Française Dubai Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Founded by Emirati filmmaker and curator Nawaf Al Janahi in 2020, Cineolio‘s mission is focused on promoting short films and expanding their audience reach internationally. Its Cinenights screening series presents a diverse selection of short films on the big screen, [... more]

    AED 25 – AED 35
  • Recreating Gesture: Crafting a Gold Necklace from The Iron Age

    L'ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts Building 10, Dubai Design District, Dubai

    Following showings in Paris, Lyon, Seoul and Shanghai, this exhibition – "a strategic research project for L'ÉCOLE, at the crossroads of archaeology and the history of techniques, and goldsmithing craftsmanship" – demonstrates the skills and techniques in reproducing a Celtic [... more]

    Free
  • Ioannis Potamousis, Elizabeth Han, Yizhuo Meng, and Stanford Yu: Fire, Fantasy, & Dance 

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

    A spectacular demonstration of musicianship: two grand pianos, eight hands playing simultaneously, a programme of exciting rhythms and orchestral delights reworked for the keyboard. The programme: Charles Gounodx: Waltz from Faust Mozart: Overture to Le nozze di Figaro, K.492 Saint-Saëns: [... more]

    SOLD OUT but there may be returns
  • The Comedy Lab

    Radisson Red Dubai Digital Park, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Dubai

    Mad Cat Comedy's regular Thursday stop in Silicon Oasis promises "insane laughs every week".  The door price of AED 99 includes one drink and popcorn.

    AED 99
  • Cocktails and Comedy

    Bondz Unit 156 Level POD, Emirates Financial Tower, DIFC, Dubai

    “Dubai’s hottest comedy night” (aka the Mad Cat team) come to the moodily-lit speakeasy style bar in DIFC for a regular Thursday gig. The door price includes one drink.

    AED 99
  • Reem Al Mubarak: What We Left in the Sandbox

    Rizq Art Initiative Leaf Tower, Al Reem Island, Abu Dhabi

    "In this exhibition, memory becomes material: what stays, what fades, and what changes with time ... Through play and experimentation, Reem returns to lived experiences, reimagining them through the distance of memory and blurring the line between what is real [... more]

    Free
  • Yasemin Tekgürler: Journey Home

    Hotel Indigo Dubai Downtown Marasi Drive, Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    A pop-up exhibition by the New York-based Turkish artist in the hotel's lobby exploring migration, memory, identity and the meaning of belonging – "for me, home is not necessarily a place we return to, but something we carry, recreate, and [... more]

    Free
  • Tatiana Chalhoub: The Trees Now Stand Unpruned and Wild

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

    Bringing together personal histories and material experimentation, this exhibition – the  first in the UAE by the Brazilian artist – reflects on growth, rupture and renewal, revealing how fragments of the past can take root in unexpected ways. With new [... more]

    Free
  • Children’s Biennial

    Umm Al Emarat Park Abu Dhabi

    What a good idea this is: the Abu Dhabi Festival is running the first outdoor children’s art biennale in the Middle East Under the theme How the World Feels, the Biennale will explore how children experience the world through touch, [... more]

    Standard park entry AED 10
  • Sirocco et le Royaume des courants d’air: dir Benoît Chieux (2023)

    Zayed Theatre, SUAD Campus Hazza Bin Zayed St, Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    This slightly trippy animation features two intrepid sisters, four-year-old Juliette and eight-year-old Carmen, who discover a passage into the extraordinary world of their favourite book, Kingdom of the Air Streams. Transformed into cats and separated from each other, the girls [... more]

    Free, but pre-register
  • The Ugly One

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

    When the extent of his ugliness is revealed, Lette turns to a plastic surgeon for help – but when the bandages come off, Lette soon learns that there is such a thing as too beautiful ... As appearances take centre [... more]

    AED 130
  • Politically Incorrect Comedy

    Xandros Singature 1 Hotel, Barsha Heights, Dubai

    Mad Cat Comedy’s regular standup night at Xandros in Signature 1 Hotel, TECOM. The cover charge of AED 80 includes one drink.

    AED 80
  • The Laughter Factory Premium Comedy Club

    Grand Millennium Barsha Heights Sheikh Zayed Road - Exit 36, Barsha Heights, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Another good-looking bill for this month's Laughter Factory tour, with some ace local comics joining the international imports: John Fothergill Nicole Drinkwater Valentina Danubio Ahmed Kasid The rest of the schedule: 7 November Studio One Hotel 8.30pm 8 November The [... more]

    AED 175
  • The Ugly One

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

    Two further performances of Marius von Mayenburg’s very dark comedy about beauty, identity and getting ahead in life;when the plastic surgery bandages come off, Lette soon learns that there is such a thing as too beautiful ... The Junction did [... more]

    AED 130
  • CLOSING TODAY Bénédicte Gimonnet: What We Carry Becomes the Terrain

    Aisha Alabbar Gallery Warehouse C19, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

    Aisha Alabbar Gallery’s newly renovated space reopens with a solo exhibition by the UAE-based French artist that features paintings, screen prints, drawings and textile works. The theme is a pivotal journey to Peru and a renewed engagement with the roots [... more]

    Free
  • Water as a Common Ground: Notes from a Majlis

    Jameel Arts Centre Al Jaddaf, Dubai

    Day one of a weekend symposium on water – "two days of conversations, presentations and artistic exchange exploring ecological, social, mythological and poetic dimensions of water, bringing together artists, scientists, legal thinkers and researchers". This symposium explores climate-affected water systems, [... more]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Map-Making Workshop: ‘Places We Carry’ and ‘Atlas of Shared Place’

    Ishara Art Foundation Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

    A free two-part workshop led by cultural practitioner and educator Nanelle Jayawardene that explores how memory and experience shape our sense of place, "inviting participants to engage in a form of map-making that foregrounds our personal encounters with a space". [... more]

    Free, but pre-register
  • SAF Book Club Meetup: Social Class and Cultural Capital in Literature

    SAF Photography Gallery Al Manakh, Sharjah

    SAF's November book club meetup asks what literature can teach us about how social class and cultural capital dictate and uphold hierarchies, examining depictions of social strata and elite cultural spaces in books such as Babel by RF Kuang, Erasure [... more]

    Free, but pre-register
  • UAE National Orchestra: Sing for the Nation

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

    This concert by the UAE National Orchestra and choir puts the emphasis on 'national' with "an evening where we come together in love for the nation, sharing moments of pride and belonging ... a space where we gather as sons [... more]

    From AED 100
  • Joke Hub

    Canopy by Hilton Dubai Al Seef Al Seef Street, Umm Hurair 1, Dubai

    A regular Mad Cat Comedy night – “Dubai’s wildest comedy show on Saturday” at “the first purpose built comedy room in the country”. The cover charge of AED 99 includes two F&B coupons.

    AED 99
  • The Laughter Factory Premium Comedy Club

    Studio One Hotel Dubai Studio City, Dubai

    Another good-looking bill for this month's Laughter Factory tour, with some ace local comics joining the international imports: John Fothergill Nicole Drinkwater Valentina Danubio Ahmed Kasid The rest of the schedule: 8 November The Club, Abu Dhabi 7pm 13 November [... more]

    AED 175
  • The Ugly One

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

    Two final performances of Marius von Mayenburg’s very dark comedy about beauty, identity and getting ahead in life;when the plastic surgery bandages come off, Lette soon learns that there is such a thing as too beautiful ... The Junction did [... more]

    AED 130
  • CLOSING TODAY Bashar Khalaf: The Field of Dreams

    Zawyeh Gallery Warehouse 27, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

    Two series of works, Junk Garden and Protective Shield, from the Ramallah-born artist. “The Field of Dreams is an exploration of formations of ‘steel’ in the public space from the perspective of the relationship between the self, the object, and [... more]

    Free
  • Waterlands, Elemental Dreams

    Jameel Arts Centre Al Jaddaf, Dubai

    Day two of a weekend symposium on water – "two days of conversations, presentations and artistic exchange exploring ecological, social, mythological and poetic dimensions of water, bringing together artists, scientists, legal thinkers and researchers". Extending Jumana Emil Abboud’s ongoing exhibition [... more]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Woven Memories: Tradition, Identity, and Artistic Transformation

    Leila Heller Gallery Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    A panel discussion exploring the intersections of cultural heritage, personal identity, and contemporary artistic practice through the work of Karima Al Shomely. The guest speaker is Nina Heydemann, Director of Maraya Art Centre; Nadia Al Hassani, Director of the Academy [... more]

    Free, but pre-register
  • The Laughter Factory Premium Comedy Club

    The Club Al Mina, Abu Dhabi

    Another good-looking bill for this month's Laughter Factory tour, with some ace local comics joining the international imports: John Fothergill Nicole Drinkwater Valentina Danubio Ahmed Kasid The rest of the schedule: 13 November Radisson DAMAC Hills 8.30pm 14 November Studio [... more]

    AED 175
  • Salman ZQ Improvised

    Moon Bar Mina Al Salam, Madinat Jumeriah, Dubai

    A Mad Cat Comedy special featuring the group's main man at one of Dubai's coolest bars. The cover charge of AED 99 includes one drink.

    AED 99
  • CLOSING TODAY Rana Begum: Taking Form

    The Third Line Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Rana Begum brings her textile works to The Third Line for the first time. Her fifth solo exhibition at the gallery features a new body of large-scale wool tapestries presented alongside works on linen, paper and MDF, all reflecting the [... more]

    Free
  • CLOSING TODAY Azza Al Qubaisi: Between Land and Sea

    Leila Heller Gallery Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    A mid-career exhibition dedicated to the work of the Emirati multidisciplinary artist, curated by Aysha Al Hemeiri. Ranging from intimate jewellery pieces to large-scale public works, Al Qubaisi's practice invites audiences to encounter the UAE's natural resources through space, structure, [... more]

    Free
  • CLOSING TODAY Manish Nai: In Search of Material Within Material

    Leila Heller Gallery Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    A solo exhibition by the Mumbai-based artist; much of his work comes from what he has seen and handled there. Nai works with jute, newspaper, cardboard, used clothing, mosquito mesh and corrugated metal; he cuts, folds, compresses and layers these [... more]

    Free
  • CLOSING TODAY Karima Al Shomely: Between a Fold and a Memory

    Leila Heller Gallery Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Karima Al Shomely's work draws from the clothing, textiles and adornments of Emirati women. The burqa is a recurring subject, appearing in works that look at how it was made, worn and passed down through generations; Al Shomely also works [... more]

    Free
  • Artist Talks: Wafa Al Falahi – Texture of a Dream

    NYUAD Art Gallery Reading Room Abu Dhabi

    A conversation moderated by Sarah Almehairi that explores Wafa Al Falahi’s practice across painting, sculpture, and drawing, "where instinctive encounters with material give form to the subconscious". The discussion traces how memory and dream take shape through the creatures and [... more]

    Free
  • The Comedy Lab @ Easy Tiger

    Al Ain Palace Hotel Corniche Road, Abu Dhabi

    Mad Cat’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 …

    AED 99
  • CLOSING TODAY Ahmad Tallaa: The Living Archive

    Firetti Contemporary Unit 29, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

    A solo exhibition by the Syrian artist that includes large-scale portraits, a tile installation, sculptures, artist books, and works on paper. At the centre of Tallaa's practice is the face, not as portrait or likeness, but as witness; this exhibition, curated [... more]

    Free
  • CLOSING TODAYAhmad Tallaa: The Living Archive

    Firetti Contemporary Unit 29, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

    Built from layers of sand collected in the UAE, chalk powder, pigments, and acrylic, the surfaces of Ahmad Tallaa's large-scale portraits at the centre of this show are dense and almost sculptural – as the gallery puts it, "Faces do [... more]

    Free
  • CLOSING TODAY Ahmad Tallaa: The Living Archive

    Firetti Contemporary Unit 29, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

    Built from layers of sand collected in the UAE, chalk powder, pigments, and acrylic, the surfaces of Ahmad Tallaa’s large-scale portraits at the centre of this show are dense and almost sculptural – as the gallery puts it, “Faces do [... more]

    Free, but RSVP
  • CLOSING TODAY Katia Kameli: The Canticle of the Birds

    Taymour Grahne Projects Warehouse 31A, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

    A solo presentation by the French-Algerian artist and filmmaker that reinterprets The Conference of the Birds,a 12th-century epic poem by Farid ud-Din Attar, in which a flock of birds search for a mighty ruler and ultimately find their strength within [... more]

    Free
  • CLOSING TODAY Dalal Al-Obaidi: Frogs, Jazz & Blisters

    Taymour Grahne Projects Warehouse 31A, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

    A new body of 15 paintings by the Kuwaiti artist that takes us into a life split between two worlds, London and Kuwait– considering what it means to live in two places, or "to be two Dalals" as the artist [... more]

    Free
  • Mahmoud Moussa: Sculpture, Form & Memory

    Region Concept Space MiZA, Abu Dhabi

    The UAE's first solo exhibition dedicated to the Egyptian sculptor. Mahmoud Moussa (1913–2003) is described by Maha Al Mansoori Art Gallery – which is responsible for this short-run Frieze-adjacent show – as one of the most important figures in Arab [... more]

    Free
  • Writing Gym

    Emirates Literature Foundation Dar Al Adaab, Al Shindagha, Dubai

    A nice idea from Emirates Literature Foundation – a casual two-hour hands-on session of writing sprints, creative challenges, and independent writing. Useful whether you’re blocked, halfway through a novel, starting with a blank page, or experimenting with poetry or monologues. [... more]

    AED 55
  • M.O.R.O.N.S.

    First Collection Al' Amal Street, Business Bay, Dubai

    "A comedy whirlwind featuring a revolving lineup of Dubai's best comedians and fresh faces! You never know what will happen!" Standup with the Mad Cat folk. The cover charge of AED 99 includes one drink.

    AED 99
  • Afrah Shafiq: Nobody Knows For Certain

    Jameel Arts Centre Al Jaddaf, Dubai

    Afrah Shafiq’s Nobody Knows for Certain is a multimedia game that draws on the illustrated children’s books that were distributed widely in India by the USSR, highlighting a little-known chapter of Cold War-era cultural exchange. These richly illustrated Soviet fairytales [... more]

    Free
  • Christo and Jeanne-Claude Award 2025: Safekeeping Stories

    NYUAD Central Plaza Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Safekeeping Stories, by UAE-based Indian artist and graphic designer Hannan Arshad, was the winner of the 2025 Award. A poignant response to cultural loss, and a compelling example of how historical narratives can be reimagined through contemporary public art, the [... more]

    Free