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]
A group show for Lulua Alyahya, Rami Farook, Sohrab Hura, and Khaled Jarada that promises to take the viewer into “intimate, elusive worlds … Modest in scale, invite a form of looking that is closer and more inward, creating encounters [... more]
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]
Sara Masinaei’s solo show explores how urban spaces shape memory, movement and lived experience: "through walking, collecting found objects and recording traces of overlooked surfaces, she treats the city’s ground as an active part of how we experience and navigate [... more]
An exhibition by seven emerging UAE-based artists, beneficiaries of Dom Arts' Studio Support Programme (introduced to gave artists space and time to develop their practices without requiring them to produce new work or meet predetermined outcomes). The programme gave each [... more]
An exhibition by seven emerging UAE-based artists, beneficiaries of Dom Arts' Studio Support Programme (introduced to gave artists space and time to develop their practices without requiring them to produce new work or meet predetermined outcomes). The programme gave each [... more]
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]
The final exhibition in the series The importance of staying quiet, "an attempt to acknowledge a minimal vocabulary within Pakistani art", focuses on conceptual and material practices shaped by stillness and abstraction. To 30 December. Right: Faheem Abbas, Untitled (2025)
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]
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]
Coke bottles seem identical, but differ subtly from one country to another. These variations in taste and appearance highlight the simulacral nature of the Coca-Cola bottle – a semblance of an imagined universal ideal. The incursion of multinational brands into [... more]
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]
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]
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]
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 [... more]
Flamingo Live’s regular comedy club slot at the Coterie pub in Ibn Battuta Mall. The door price includes two drinks.
Maktaba is 421’s monthly gathering dedicated to collective reading, viewing, and discussion across disciplines. This session discusses theatre-making as a practice of solidarity, exploring how performance builds connections across geographies, identities, and movements. Facilitated by artist and theatre-maker Maitha Ali, [... more]
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]
One of the most consistently funny of the Courtyard’s classic improv gigs: the speakers have to give a presentation on a slide deck they’ve never seen before, with the topic determined at random by the Wheel of Destiny. Each presentation [... more]
“Dubai’s hottest comedy night” (aka the Mad Cat team) come to the moodily-lit speakeasy style bar in DIFC for what looks like a regular every-other-Thursday gig. The door price includes one drink.
A Comedy Kix n evening "packed with stand-up comedy, good vibes, and plenty of laughs". The AED 90 door price includes two drinks.
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is preparing the local audience for its 11 December opening with a series of events at Manarat al Saadiyat “for the public to engage with artists, ideas and conversations that are shaping the new museum”. This one [... more]
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is preparing the local audience for its 11 December opening with a series of events “for the public to engage with artists, ideas and conversations that are shaping the new museum”. This one is an interactive artwork [... more]
The name riffs off Vantage Point, Sharjah Art Foundation’s biennial open-call photography exhibition; aiming to support the work of local photographers, Vantage Point Editions offers an opportunity to see and buy work from from 20 UAE-based photographers who exhibit a [... more]
Iris Murdoch's Booker winner The Sea, The Sea (1978) is arguably her best book, a novel of obsession, memory, and self-deception. Another interesting and accessible choice from what is arguably Dubai's most interesting book club ...
How could this stage adaptation of the near legendary Graham Linehan / Arthur Mathews TV series not be seriously funny? Dubai Drama Group says "the show captures everything fans adore about the cult classic: razor-sharp dialogue, joyfully absurd situations, and [... more]
Mad Cat Comedy’s regular standup night at Xandros in Signature 1 Hotel, TECOM. The cover charge of AED 80 includes one drink.
Two further performances for this stage adaptation of the near legendary Graham Linehan / Arthur Mathews TV series. Dubai Drama Group says "the show captures everything fans adore about the cult classic: razor-sharp dialogue, joyfully absurd situations, and characters who [... more]
Al Hashemi’s practice examines what it means to remain human within increasingly automated systems of production and consumption – especiallyy seen through urban life in the Emirates. Al Hashemi works across ceramics, printmaking and painting, “investigating the systems through which [... more]
A survey of works by the French artist, "one of the most restless practitioners of his generation" as the gallery has it. Since the early 1960s Venet unusually broad range of media has included tar poured on to canvas and [... more]
Barcelona Flamenco Ballet does exactly what the name says – applies the style of flamenco in dance and music to create spectacular and passionate performances, typically by reinterpreting iconic works. This one is described as BFB's "most ambitious and revolutionary [... more]
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.
An exhibition featuring more than 40 works by 16 photographers (of different nationalities, but all based in the UAE) that seek to find beauty and meaning in the small moments of everyday life, personal rituals, routines, brief encounters, simple gestures [... more]
You can't fault the UAENO's ambition in naming this programme – the title almost precludes discussion. It includes three admittedly classic works, but there must surely have been a strong case for others (we'd have gone for the Symphony No.41 [... more]
Dubomedy’s main man is always good value, though the ticket price here does reflect his growing stature. Expect an evening of probably inappropriate jokes, lots of banter with the audience, and a general feel-good vibe. All seats must be pre-booked [... more]
A Dubai date to follow its Abu Dhabi opener for the exciting Barcelona Flamenco Ballet – the iconic Prokofiev ballet reinterpreted as flamenco. This show is described as BFB’s “most ambitious and revolutionary project” to date, addressing universal themes like [... more]
The AD’Art artist collective with an exhibition celebrating the Sorbonne’s 20th anniversary – new works exploring heritage, knowledge transmission, and cultural dialogue, through "diverse and personal artistic perspectives". The collective : Anne-Caroline Schoeller Anne-Marie Lacroix Raffy Annunziata Tricarico Camille Lamelliere [... more]
In a cotton-farming village in Sudan, teenage Nafisa is raised on heroic tales of British colonisers. But when a young businessman arrives from abroad with a new development plan and genetically engineered cotton, Nafisa becomes the centre of a power [... more]
A deeply personal portrait of childhood, family fractures, and the fragility of recollection from award-winning filmmaker Sophy Romvari, who drew on her own experiences for her feature debut – a deeply personal portrait of childhood, family fractures, and the fragility [... more]
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is preparing the local audience for its 11 December opening with a series of events “for the public to engage with artists, ideas and conversations that are shaping the new museum”. The mini-package closes with artist Rachid [... more]
A performance workshop with Youness Atbane in advance of the UAE premiere of his work Untitled 14km on 1 and 2 October: "through collective experimentation, participants will explore how everyday objects can be displaced from their usual functions to generate [... more]
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 …
"An exhibition exploring the perception and relationship between the viewer and the artwork ... an invitation to discover what may appear when we take the time to look beyond the surface." The two French artists offer a dialogue between the [... more]
Funeral Home Comedy, a newish name on the standup circuit, has added to the comedy options in Abu Dhabi – well, on Yas – with a a full night of laughs from top names (Roxy, Obaid, Ash Ahmed and Luca) [... more]
Monaiseer’s solo show examines history through cycles, repetition and flows, while testing the unstable boundary between imagination and reality. The title references the current status of the Doomsday Clock and its measurement of humanity’s proximity to catastrophe; notions of war, [... more]
The UAE premiere of a multidisciplinary work by the Moroccan artist Youness Atbane that combines dance theatre, performance, and installation in a satirical examination of how contemporary art engages with questions of identity – particularly what is framed as “Arab [... more]
Mohamed Abdelwahab was one of the voices who helped shape the musical heritage of the Arab world, a pioneering composer who blended traditional Arabic melodies with Western influences and so helped to redefine the sound of Arabic music today. This [... more]
A standup open mic where fresh and regular comics take the stage; newbies are getting three minutes, the more established comics get six. There's a minimum spend of AED 70.
Two interconnected exhibitions, both curated by Mo Reda and supported by the Department of Painting and Printmaking at VCUarts Qatar. Together, The Ongoing Performance of Melancholia and Songs in Solitude mark the culmination of a two-month residency at Bayt AlMamzar; [... more]
The projects exhibition for seniors of Zayed University's College of Arts and Creative Enterprises – usually among the best student/grad work you see in the UAE. Covers animation, graphic design, interior design and visual arts. To 8 October.
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