• Buika – An Evening for the Soul

    Cultural Foundation Qasr al Hosn, Abu Dhabi

    The US-based Spanish singer, poet, composer, and music producer Concha Buika, known for her characteristic fusion of flamenco with copla, jazz, soul, and African polyrhythms, brings her new show to Abu Dhabi for a one-off performance. She has a stunning [ ... ]

    From AED 175
  • Selfdrive Laughter Factory: The ‘Sweety Darling’ Tour

    Mövenpick Hotel JBR Dubai, 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
  • Candlelight: Beethoven’s Best Works

    Mina A’Salam Hotel Jumeirah Road, Dubai

    The title of this concert certainly sets the bar high, though it seems a pretty good selection of the composer's works for piano. The pianist is Magdalena Wajdzik, and the other plus is the way these recitals are lit by [ ... ]

    From AED 150
  • Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory: dir Mel Stuart (1971)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    The original and still the best musical version of Roald Dahl’s classic story of Charlie Bucket (Peter Ostrum), a little boy with no money but a good heart, who dreams wistfully of being able to buy the candy that other [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Olaf Breuning & Edgar Orlaineta: Yours or Mine?

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

    This is looking like a major show for Carbon 12, with two of its mid-career stars; the gallery believes the works of Edgar Orlaineta (b.1972, Mexico) and Olaf Breuning (b.1970, Switzerland) “weave a captivating narrative of hybridity and environmental consciousness [ ... ]

    Free
  • Memory is the Seamstress

    Green Art Gallery Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    A group exhibition curated by Murtaza Vali, featuring works by Hangama Amiri, Cian Dayrit, Melissa Joseph, Lebohang Kganye, Jagdeep Raina and Raed Yassin. “Memory is the seamstress, and a capricious one at that. Memory runs her needle in and out, [ ... ]

    Free
  • Abdalla Al Omari: Unsuspecting State

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

    A solo exhibition featuring recent work by Abdalla Al Omari – his second solo show at the gallery, but his first as a represented artist. Al Omari is clever with his use of scale and composition in representing the mundane [ ... ]

  • Karolina Krasouli: Arodo

    Grey Noise Unit 24 Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Karolina Krasouli presents a series of new and old works, paintings, drawings, sketches and photographs that explore the intersection of abstraction and figuration. Through a process of reading and writing, she extracts a set of operations for ‘rewriting’ meanings and [ ... ]

    Free
  • The Quiet Girl: dir Colm Bairéad (2022)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Nominated for Best International Feature at the 2023 Oscars Colm Bairéad’s beautifully understated feature debut finds a young girl coming to terms with loss and the importance of family in rural Ireland. Nine-year-old Cait (a terrific debut by Catherine Clinch) [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Samia Halaby: Lasting Impressions

    Sharjah Art Museum Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

    The big autumn exhibition at the Sharjah Art Museum is a major retrospective for the NY-based Palestinian Samia Halaby, featuring around 180 works of various sizes from abstract paintings and sculptures to documentary drawings and digital works. Internationally recognised as [ ... ]

    Free
  • Rabee Kiwan: Black II

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

    Following the success of his previous exhibition at this venue, Black I, this new solo show for the Syrian artist delves into the realm of human emotions and experiences. As well as paintings with an engaging interplay of colors tframed [ ... ]

    Free
  • Symposium: In the Heart of Another Country

    Al Mureijah Art Spaces Al Mureijah Square, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

    Art scholars and museum leaders are invited to take part in this English-language symposium on representation and exhibition-making, sustainability and accessibility, and the significance of public collections. It’s held in tandem with the current exhibition In the Heart of Another [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • 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
  • Sal & Rushdi Do Comedy feat Saad Haroon

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

    Two of the Courtyard's favourite performers with an evening of improv and stand-up. There are sets from Salman Qureshi, who lays the groundwork by dissecting the absurdities of everyday life; and Rushdi Rafeek, who takes those everyday observations and launches [ ... ]

    Free but donations welcome
  • 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

    Waddington Custot Dubai, 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