• Rashid Rana: It Lies Beyond

    Volte Art Projects Warehouse 13, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

    Rashid Rana characteristically challenges our perceptions of scale through the intermingling of both small and large imagery, exploring and revealing patterns and similarities. In It Lies Beyond (above), the imposing proportions invite viewers to immerse themselves in the intricate imagery [ ... ]

  • Gazelli Art House: Jawhar

    Jossa by Alserkal Warehouse 45, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

    A pop-up exhibition for Alserkal Art Week by London-based Gazelli Art House. The group show aims to spotlight pressing environmental concerns and features Recycle Group; Libby Heaney; Kalliopi Lemos; Aida Mahmudova; Elnara Nasirli; Aidan Salakhova; and Matteo Zamagni. Recycle Group [ ... ]

    Free
  • Juma Al Haj: The Return

    Warehouse 46 Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

    A short run for this pop-up solo exhibition by the Emirati artist, noted for his calligraphy-like abstracted text in paintings and drawings. His abstract notations appear unconscious, though his process is in fact method-based, calculated and always originating from his [ ... ]

    Free
  • Reviewing Landscape

    Elmarsa Gallery 23 Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    A group exhibition of landscapes from a genuinely eclectic list of painters – Alexis Delahogue (France, d.1936), Ammar Farhat (Tunisia, d.1987), Antoine ‘Mayo’ Malliarakis (Egypt, d.1990), Atef Maatallah (Tunisia, b. 1981), Baya Mahieddine (Algeria, d.1998), Cécile Bougourd (France, d.1941), Hedi [ ... ]

    Free
  • Clifford Ross: Hurricane Waves

    Leila Heller Gallery Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    The singular goal of the American multimedia artist’s solo show is work that relates to the sublime in nature. This exhibition is a collection of dramatic photographs depicting the power of the ocean manifesting through its ever-changing forms during storms [ ... ]

    Free
  • Maxi Cohen: The Poetry of Water

    Leila Heller Gallery Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Maxi Cohen’s first solo show in the UAE is a collection of water art captured in the UAE that includes paintings, large format photographs, multimedia works, immersive installations, mixed-reality, and video furniture. For 25 years Cohen’s engagement with water, as [ ... ]

    Free
  • Diane Tuft: Frozen in Time

    Leila Heller Gallery Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    The mixed media artist’s solo show is a collection of photographs documenting the expansive beauty of our planet and the dire situation that it continues to face if we do not provide a sustainable environment for its future. Diane Tuft [ ... ]

    Free
  • Alserkal Art Week

    Alserkal Art Week
    Alserkal Avenue Al Quoz 1, Dubai

    This year’s Alserkal Art Week runs from Monday 20 November to Sunday 26 November at Alserkal Avenue. It’s been refocussed at short notice on Gaza and related issues, in particular with a major exhibition in Concrete. The full programme is [ ... ]

    Free
  • Monday Night Comedy: This Is Impro

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

    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. Classic Courtyard stuff. It's free, but you need to put your [ ... ]

    Free but donations welcome
  • A Musical Journey: Jordi Savall in Conversation

    NYUAD Campus, Conference Centre NYUAD Campus, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    The -award-winning Catalan-Spanish musicologist, music maker and conductor Jordi Savall is in town for a concert with a special focus on the Hispanic and Mediterranean musical heritage. Here he joins Maurice Pomerantz, Senior Director of NYUAD Institute and Professor of [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Art & Music Night

    Theatre of Digital Arts Souk Madinat Jumeriah, Dubai

    An immersive evening at the Theatre of Digital Art – digitised projected art ("the masterpieces of the greatest artists of the 20th century") is accompanied live by Soren Lyng Hansen on cello, double bass and piano. He is very good, [ ... ]

    AED 150
  • Wednesday Night Impro: Maestro

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

    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 [ ... ]

    Free but donations welcome
  • In the Dusky Path of a Dream: Notes from Abstracting the Real

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

    A group show for 27 Indian artists in this new art space on Al Reem Island; they are presenting works that examine the role that memory and identity plays in connecting the past and the future. “We constantly encounter situations [ ... ]

    Free
  • DIFC Art Nights

    DIFC Gate Village Dubai

    An open air exhibition of works on the theme of ‘Expressions for Sustainable Change’ has been selected from an open call; they join the DIFC galleries' late-evening opening on 23 and 24 November. It all makes for a pleasant amble, [ ... ]

    Free
  • NYU Abu Dhabi MFA Open Studios

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

    The NYU Abu Dhabi MFA in Art and Media programme is throwing its doors open (briefly) to coincide with Abu Dhabi Art; you're invited to meet MFA students and faculty, learn more about the MFA course (including scholarships), and see [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Silent Objects | An Interactive Storytelling Session by Shereen Saif

    Ishara Art Foundation Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

    Taking as its point of departure a folktale that inspired Sudarshan Shetty’s artwork ‘A Song A Story’, Shereen Saif's workshop invites participants to uncover stories layered in everyday objects. Touching on history, memory and silences, the workshop is a companion [ ... ]

    Free but pre-register
  • Russell Peters: Act Your Age World Tour

    Etihad Arena Yas Island, Abu Dhabi

    Russell Peters, recently honoured as one of Rolling Stone's 50 Best Comics of All Time, is in town with his new stand-up special ("a night of outrageous laughs from start to finish"). It will also be filmed, which does sometimes [ ... ]

    From AED 165
  • Laughter Factory: ‘The Good, the Bad and the Filthy’ Tour

    Hyde Hotel Dubai Marasi Drive, ​Business BayBusiness Bay, Dubai

    The second weekend for the November standups – Kate Barron from Canada ("after a lifetime of being told she is too big, too loud and too vulgar, by everyone from strangers to teachers, she decided to step on stage and [ ... ]

    AED 160
  • Masood Boomgaard: Self-Help Singh

    Theatre by QE2 Queen Elizabeth 2, Port Rashid, Dubai

    The rather good South African / Indian comedian is back in Dubai with his alter ego, Self-Help Singh, alternative life coach and de-motivational speaker (who apparently “first appeared to Boomgaard in a vision after he fell and hit his head [ ... ]

    From AED 125
  • Tanweer Sacred Music Festival

    Mleiha Archaeological Centre Sharjah

    Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi’s latest initiative is a three day festival (24-26 November) that aims to rediscover and celebrate traditional sacred music. Envisioned as “a testament to tradition, wisdom, and the power of togetherness”, it “aims to bring people closer [ ... ]

    From AED 554
  • Focal Point 2023

    FOCAL POINT 2023
    Sharjah Art Foundation, Bait Obaid Al Shamsi Arts Square, Sharjah

    The sixth edition of Sharjah Art Foundation’s Focal Point art book fair – the region’s only art book fair, we think – features local and international publishers with book launches, talks, workshops and musical performances during its run (24 to [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-booking is required
  • Focal Point 2023

    FOCAL POINT 2023
    Sharjah Art Foundation, Bait Obaid Al Shamsi Arts Square, Sharjah

    The sixth edition of Sharjah Art Foundation’s Focal Point art book fair – the region’s only art book fair, we think – features local and international publishers with book launches, talks, workshops and musical performances during its run (24 to [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-booking is required
  • Boeing-Boeing

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

    Marc Camoletti's farce, which first played in 1960, was a smash hit in his native country and (in the English translation by Beverly Cross and Francis Evans) on Broadway and the West End; it went to Hollywood too in 1965, [ ... ]

    AED 120
  • Jethro Tull: Seven Decades

    Dubai Opera

    Dating all the way back to the late 1960s, the darlings of quirky prog rock are still on the road with the Seven Decades tour. As with many long-lived bands, Jethro Tull has gone through many changes in its roster; [ ... ]

    from AED 295
  • Laughter Factory: ‘The Good, the Bad and the Filthy’ Tour

    Radisson DAMAC Hills Hessa Street Dubailand, Dubai

    Last couple of gigs for the November standups – Kate Barron from Canada ("after a lifetime of being told she is too big, too loud and too vulgar, by everyone from strangers to teachers, she decided to step on stage [ ... ]

    AED 160
  • Down to Earth 2023

    The Jameel’s annual day-long festival for culture enthusiasts, the eco-conscious and sustainability is back, just days ahead of COP28's opening. Expect activities for all ages themed around botanical, sustainable and eco-conscious living with hands-on workshops, tours, talks and demonstrations, plus [ ... ]

    Free
  • Mohannad OrabI: Coloured Shadows

    Urbanist Art Gallery Box Park, Al Wasl Road, Dubai

    Collage art by the Dubai-based Syrian artist whose work reflects his interest in spontaneity, the liberation of forms and colours, and the creation of art without specific guidelines. To 20 December.  

    Free
  • Focal Point 2023

    FOCAL POINT 2023
    Sharjah Art Foundation, Bait Obaid Al Shamsi Arts Square, Sharjah

    The sixth edition of Sharjah Art Foundation’s Focal Point art book fair – the region’s only art book fair, we think – features local and international publishers with book launches, talks, workshops and musical performances during its run (24 to [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-booking is required
  • Boeing-Boeing

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

    A second evening for Marc Camoletti's farce, adapted into English by Beverly Cross and Francis Evans) and now it's getting the Dubai treatment with a H72 production at The Junction. It has a classic farce plot: swinging bachelor Bernard is [ ... ]

    AED 120
  • Global Notes: Natalie Perez & Amira Fouad

    Dubai Opera Studio Downtown Dubai, Dubai

    Another impressive booking for the Global Notes series: the impressive young French mezzosoprano Natalie Perez is accompanied for this recital of songs and classical ariass by Amira Fouad on piano.      

    AED 265
  • Jim Gaffigan: Barely Alive

    Dubai Opera

    American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer brings his Barely Alive tour to Dubai. He's a hard worker – his ninth stand-up special premiered on Netflix in December and was nominated for a Grammy, his tenth comedy special will be [ ... ]

    From AED 250
  • Laughter Factory: ‘The Good, the Bad and the Filthy’ Tour

    Dukes The Palm Palm Dubai, Dubai

    The final gig for the November standups – Kate Barron from Canada ("after a lifetime of being told she is too big, too loud and too vulgar, by everyone from strangers to teachers, she decided to step on stage and [ ... ]

    AED 160
  • Boeing-Boeing

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

    A final pair of performances for Marc Camoletti's swinging 60s farce, adapted into English by Beverly Cross and Francis Evans) and now it's getting the Dubai treatment with a H72 production at The Junction. Swinging bachelor Bernard is simultaneously engaged [ ... ]

    AED 120
  • Focal Point 2023

    FOCAL POINT 2023
    Sharjah Art Foundation, Bait Obaid Al Shamsi Arts Square, Sharjah

    The sixth edition of Sharjah Art Foundation’s Focal Point art book fair – the region’s only art book fair, we think – features local and international publishers with book launches, talks, workshops and musical performances during its run (24 to [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-booking is required
  • Pablo Reinoso: Lines in Motion

    Waddington Custot Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    The first solo exhibition in the region for the French-Argentinian artist features a selection of existing and brand-new works first shown at Abu Dhabi Art that provides a comprehensive survey of Reinoso’s sculptural practice. The show highlights the whimsical world [ ... ]

    Free
  • Rima Chahine: Euphoria

    The Warehouse Goshi Warehouse 57, Al Quoz 3, Dubai

    The Dubai-based Canadian artist's third solo show is a series of her signature abstracts, featuring striking use of colour and aiming to leave the viewer with "feelings of exaltation, elation and joyousness". Says the artist: "the remedy for self-fixation – [ ... ]

    Free
  • Focal Point 2023

    FOCAL POINT 2023
    Sharjah Art Foundation, Bait Obaid Al Shamsi Arts Square, Sharjah

    The sixth edition of Sharjah Art Foundation’s Focal Point art book fair – the region’s only art book fair, we think – features local and international publishers with book launches, talks, workshops and musical performances during its run (24 to [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-booking is required
  • Hekayah | The Story

    NYUAD East Plaza Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    What does 'home' mean to you? Your country, your city, your family? Abu Dhabi is conventionally but accurately described as melting pot of people from all over the world, and if anything NYU Abu Dhabi represents even more of a [ ... ]

    Free
  • Monday Night Comedy: This Is Impro

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

    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. Classic Courtyard stuff. It's free, but you need to put your [ ... ]

    Free but donations welcome
  • Focal Point 2023

    FOCAL POINT 2023
    Sharjah Art Foundation, Bait Obaid Al Shamsi Arts Square, Sharjah

    The sixth edition of Sharjah Art Foundation’s Focal Point art book fair – the region’s only art book fair, we think – features local and international publishers with book launches, talks, workshops and musical performances during its run (24 to [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-booking is required
  • Small Island Big Song: Our Island

    NYUAD East Plaza Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Musicians from islands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans sing of their concerns for the changing seas. The concert brings together artists from Taiwan, Madagascar, Mauritius, Tokelau/Aotearoa (New Zealand), and Rapa Nui (Easter Island), performing songs they have co-written; the [ ... ]

    AED 105
  • Wednesday Night Impro: Maestro

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

    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 [ ... ]

    Free but donations welcome
  • Jade Kim & Kai: SOMEDAY | Love and Labyrinths

    Volery Gallery Maze Tower - 5201, Dubai International Financial Center, Dubai

    A dual exhibition for two interesting Asian artists – Jade Kim from South Korea and Kai from Japan. Jade Kim's practice is based around the animated character MIN, an embodiment of his wife, whose personality and characteristics inspire his paintings [ ... ]

    Free
  • Julian Charrière: Melting Point

    For COP28, the noted climate-engaged Swiss-French artist is presenting an important show in collaboration with Art of Change 21, a non-profit organisation on art and environment which has curated exhibitions and events at each COP since 2015; and Alserkal Initiatives, [ ... ]

  • Snarky Puppy

    Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Genre-blurring musical collective Snarky Puppy is in town for one night only. Playing together since 2004 and led by bassist Michael League, Snarky Puppy combines a variety of jazz idioms, rock, world music, and funk that has won it five [ ... ]

    From AED 150
  • La Scala Theatre Orchestra: A Concert for Tomorrow

    Dubai Opera

    Extravagantly priced Dubai debut for the orchestra of Milan's Teatro alla Scala in Milan. The gala concert apparently "aims to unite audiences in a powerful display of solidarity and hope in support of the global effort to protect the planet and [ ... ]

    From AED 440
  • Dubai Motorcycle Film Festival 2023

    Warehouse Four Al Quoz, Dubai

    The third DMFF is an evening at Warehouse Four, with more than 20 short films from ten countries (including a couple from the UAE) at 7.30pm. Courtesy of Café Rider, there's a BBQ before that, from 5.30 on; it's included [ ... ]

    AED 65
  • Global Notes: Anna Fedorova & Nicholas Santangelo Schwartz

    Dubai Opera Studio Downtown Dubai, Dubai

    The Global Notes series of concerts presented by Dubai Opera and Encore Performing Arts continues with another excellent pick, a recital by the brilliant young Ukrainian pianist Anna Fedorova and her partner Nicholas Santangelo Schwartz (cello, double bass).  The programme [ ... ]

    AED 265
  • Gypsy Kings

    Dubai Opera

    The Gipsy Kings have been around since the 1970s, bringing the sounds of progressive pop-oriented flamenco music to a worldwide audience selling more than 14 million of their 'new flamenco' albums around the globe (their ninth studio album, Savor Flamenco [ ... ]

    From AED 295
  • Monday Night Comedy: This Is Impro

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

    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. Classic Courtyard stuff. It's free, but you need to put your [ ... ]

    Free but donations welcome