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” [ ... ]
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 [ ... ]
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 [ ... ]
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 [ ... ]
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 [ ... ]
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 [ ... ]
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 [ ... ]
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 [ ... ]
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 [ ... ]
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 [ ... ]
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 [ ... ]
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, [ ... ]
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 [ ... ]
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 [ ... ]
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 [ ... ]
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 [ ... ]
“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 [ ... ]
Tehran's Dastan Gallery has worked with Fereydoun Ave since its establishment and has been part of many of his projects. In this exhibition, Dastan seeks to present a glimpse into the diverse and multidimensional world and practice of the artist. [ ... ]
Two short films by the Norwegian director Ursula Biemann that explore the profound connections of indigenous communities to their natural environments. Screenings will be followed by a Q&A with Biemann. Acoustic Ocean (2018, 18 mins) is a poetic invitation to [ ... ]
Glasgow-based Emmie McLuskey works with sculpture, print, sound and performance to explore the physical embodiment of communication with a particular focus on systems of learning. McLuskey works across the roles of artist, programmer, writer and educator. She sees these as [ ... ]
An immersive AV-plus-2D group exhibition featuring Talal Al Najjar, Ziad Al Najjar, and Miramar Al Nayyar in a new space at ICD Brookfield Place. Guests are invited to enter “an otherworldly space that feels simultaneously like a sanctuary of origin [ ... ]
Godfrey Reggio’s groundbreaking 1982 film Koyaanisqatsi set to an influential score by Philip Glass (his first major film success) and performed live by the Philip Glass Ensemble. Taking its title from a Hopi word meaning “life out of balance,” Koyaanisqatsi [ ... ]
This is the 12th annual event in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month with a strong all-female line-up of comedians plus a special guest survivor, a BCA info booth and more. Men are very welcome too ... Mina Liccione hosts, [ ... ]
The French-Lebanese funnywoman has a massive social media following for her character-based snippets of life – notably for Mother Makmak, a caricature of the typically caustic Lebanese mother. There are shows on 5 and 6 October, in French, Arabic and some [ ... ]
This is the second edition of a festival that described itself as “the point of intersection between art, technology and the community … The main goal is to attract and create a community of open minded artists, scientists, and tech [ ... ]
A second show for the French-Lebanese comedienne and her character-based snippets of life in French, Arabic and some English.
The Malaysian doctor-turned-comedian is in town with his Brain Drain world tour. Expect quick wit and and great comic timing; his recently released second Netflix special, Ride With Caution, suggests that he is destined for greatness (he's keen to become Malaysia’s first [ ... ]
The Jameel's annual festival devoted to helping the young explore a possible future in the arts is pitched at "all high school and university students, teachers, developing professionals and creatively minded youth in the UAE". Day one is aimed at [ ... ]
Award-winning keyboardist Jolynn J Chin did well on America’s Got Talent with her eclectic blend of classical, pop and electronics. For this 90-minute ToDA gig, she's supported by immersive neon art from Polygon.
Exactly what it says: a regular Monday evening of scenes, stories and narrative improvisation influenced by audience suggestions and featuring the Courtyard Playhouse's most experienced improv performers plus guests. There's a new angle to the event for this season – [ ... ]
The Omani artist’s first solo show in Dubai declares that there's always a way to emerge from darkness to lightness, as exemplified by the transformation of shame from something sinister into strength and confidence: bold colours suspending and transcending traumatic [ ... ]
The multi-award-winning musical (it has won more than 99 international awards) inspired by the Roald Dahl book touches down in Dubai for an eight-day run that has to be one of the highlights of the season. As the New York [ ... ]
Redaround plays a blend of rock, pop and Arabic music that isn’t as rare as it once was – “taking inspiration from the melting pot of cultures in Dubai as well as the band’s own tastes and influences, they fuse [ ... ]
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 the lowest score is eliminated. Eventually only [ ... ]
A visually stunning spectacle of propulsive dance, dazzling lighting, and powerful live music from the Canadian experimental post rock band Fly Pan Am. Choreographer Dana Gingras and her Montreal-based dance company Animals of Distinction explore spaces of inclusion and exclusion, [ ... ]
Called by The Independent “the most sought-after ballerina in the world”, Natalia Osipova’s Abu Dhabi Classics show promises a programme of favourite classics and contemporary masterpieces. Her new dance company, Blooms Dance Project, which has been running now for a [ ... ]
A second performance for this visually stunning spectacle of propulsive dance, dazzling lighting, and powerful live music from the Canadian experimental post rock band Fly Pan Am. Choreographer Dana Gingras and her Montreal-based dance company Animals of Distinction explore spaces [ ... ]
Every Friday, ToDA transforms into a jazz venue for live performance accompanied by a 360° immersive show: this time it's Lady J & her trio in a 90-minute set. "Expect a sparkling arrangement of the Grooviest Classics together with jazzed-up [ ... ]
Four more standups, perhaps a bit more varied than usual and featuring a couple of good local comics on the bill for a change. Dana Alexander (originally from Canada, now based there and in the UK) tours a lot and [ ... ]
Featuring more than 100 works, many on view for the first time, this exhibition is the largest solo presentation of artworks by Ethiopian telsem artist Henok Melkamzer. Traditionally termed as healing or talisman art, telsem is a sophisticated visual art [ ... ]
Sharjah Art Foundation’s annual photography exhibition returns for its 11th edition, featuring artists “whose work challenges established notions of photographic practices” – four individuals and one collective, chosen through an international open call that received more than 350 applications. This [ ... ]
A really interesting panel discussion presented by Museum of the Future as a contribution to Dubai Culture's ongoing Calligraphy Biennale. The session promises to explore the role of calligraphy across diverse cultures, local communities, and heritages, looking at how it [ ... ]
Following sold-out shows in New York, London and his native South Africa, Darren "Whackhead" Simpson returns to Dubai with his standup show – but expect a few of the phone pranks for which he's well known.
“An unforgettable night of laughs” (it says here, and who are we to argue?) from Dubomedy and Art For All . The line-up includes Dubomedy main man Ali Al Sayed and the equally stellar Mina Liccione (his partner in Dubomedy), [ ... ]
A second evening on JBR for the latest Laughter Factory tour – Dana Alexander (originally from Canada, now based there and in the UK) tours a lot and has been a hit in Dubai before; her style has been described [ ... ]
Aldo Dotto plays a recital of what does indeed look like a top selection of the composer's works, all lit by candlelight. The programme: ♦ Symphony 40, 1st movement (arranged for piano) ♦ Sonata no.5 KV 283 in G Major: [ ... ]
German Cova and his musicians (guitar, piano, tabla and one dancer) will guide us through the world of Flamenco — from classical guitar to the passion of movement. "Every aspect of this vibrant show will leave you breathless," promises the [ ... ]
Exactly what it says: a regular Monday evening of scenes, stories and narrative improvisation influenced by audience suggestions and featuring the Courtyard Playhouse's most experienced improv performers plus guests. There's a new angle to the event for this season – [ ... ]
Ewaa, the Abu Dhabi Centre for Sheltering and Humanitarian Care, is launching the MENA region’s first-ever art therapy conference on 17 and 18 October. Under the theme Empowering through Creativity, the conference promotes the creative application of arts and evidence-based [ ... ]
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