• LAST CHANCE Nat Bowen: Chromology

    Bassam Freiha Art Foundation Cultural District Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi

    Known for works of glossy, abstract resin poured on to acrylic, Bowen creates luminous, aqueous fields that transform colour into a language of emotion and presence. With this show, says the gallery, "viewers are invited into an intimate space of [ ... ]

    Free
  • Slava’s Snowshow

    Slava’s Snowshow
    New Covent Garden Theatre Mall of the Emirates, Dubai

    The second week for one of the best seasonal shows around – a whimsical blur of laughter, awe, and magic that has already been seen by more than 12 million theatregoers in80 countries around the world, including a near sellout [ ... ]

    From AED 200
  • Al Quoz Creative Entrepreneurship Forum: day one

    Al Quoz Creative Entrepreneurship Forum
    Al Khayat Avenue 10 19 Street, Al Quoz, Dubai

    Dubai Culture's two-day information and edutainment event for the cultural and creative sector, showcasing the investment and development prospects offered in particular by Al Quoz Creative Zones and aimed as always at “entrepreneurs, startups, investors, and professionals interested in the [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Stitching Palestine: dir Carol Mansour (2017)

    Maraya Art Centre Al Qasba, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

    As part of its current SILA: All That Is Left To You exhibition, Maraya Art Centre is hosting two film screenings that extend the exhibition's exploration of Palestinian memory, resistance, and cultural legacy. Carol Mansour's documentary features 12 Palestinian women [ ... ]

    Free
  • Bedouins of the Wind: dir Danish Farhan (2024)

    Etihad Museum 1 Jumeirah St, Dubai

    This 49-minute documentary, shot on location in Al Dhaid, provides an intimate portrait of the world of Bedouin culture – camel racing, falconry, the unseen life rooted in the desert. The protagonist Abdulaziz Al Tunaiji trains camels for the nation’s [ ... ]

    Free
  • TGIFunny Comedy Night

    TGIFriday's at the Rove Hotel Downtown 312 Al Mustaqbal Street, Dubai

    Dubomedy gigs are usually pretty good, especially when the price is free (with a minimum spend of AED 25 – let us know if you can find anything to buy here at that price) and a "fantastic" (their judgement) bill [ ... ]

    Min spend AED 25
  • Faces and Voices of Malta: A Mediterranean Odyssey

    Cultural Foundation Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum Street, Abu Dhabi

    Traditional music from Malta comes to the Cultural Foundation's outdoor amphitheatre, presented in partnership with the Embassy of Malta. The evening will showcase the art of għana, a distinctive style of Maltese folk music that probably has its roots in [ ... ]

    AED 75
  • Laaroussa Quartet

    Al Qasimiyah School Sheikh Saqr Bin Khalid Al Qasimi St, Sharjah

    A symphony of dance, music and documentary, exploring how roots and heritage shape our lives. For one hour, four dancers, a singer and a violinist elevate the crafting of clay dolls into a living archive of memory and expression. Through [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Ahmed & Sing It! feat. Andrew Gentilli

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

    A two-act evening of improvised spells, scenes, and songs, entirely based on audience suggestions and featuring the Courtyard Playhouse's two Ahmeds for bilingual improv and then a full-length improvised musical extravaganza For the second half they're joined by guest performer [ ... ]

    Free
  • The UAE Youth Orchestra & Choir: Bridging Worlds Through Harmony

    Cultural Foundation Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum Street, Abu Dhabi

    Fresh from a recent tour to China, the Youth Orchestra is back in Abu Dhabi with a geuinely international programme – starting with the beautiful UAE melody ‘Dar Zayed’ (soloist Rashed Al Marzooqi), the concert with feature traditional pieces from [ ... ]

    AED 50
  • Cineolio’s Cinenights

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

    Founded by 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, celebrating [ ... ]

    AED 30
  • Le royaume | The Kingdom: dir Julien Colonna (2024)

    Alliance Française Dubai Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Colonna's debut features brings an interesting angle to the mafia movie: Le royaume shows the Corsican underworld through the eyes of the 15-year-old daughter of a clan head. Caught up in a war between rival factions and on the run, [ ... ]

    AED 35
  • Winck

    The Fridge Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Dubai's very own Brazilian pop star Luisa Winck launches her new album Eternity at The Fridge, a powerful blend of R&B, Brazilian soul, and cinematic vocals.

    AED 70
  • Wednesday Night Impro: Pink Maestro Charity Night

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

    The Courtyard's most popular evening of elimination improv, this time in partnership with the Al Jalila Foundation and in support of their campaign Be a Lifeline for Women with Cancer by Majlis Al Amal for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Ten [ ... ]

    Free
  • Daniel Arsham: What Remains

    Perrotin Gate Village Building 5, DIFC, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    A solo show by the American artist Daniel Arsham, known for his works of 'fictional archaeology' expressed through sculpture, architecture, drawing, and film – what he calls “future relics of the present.” Arsham will transform the gallery into a sonic [ ... ]

    Free
  • Halloween Special – Theatresports: Battle of the Houses

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

    Competitive improv: teams representing the legendary wizarding houses from Harry Potter franchise face off in a fast-paced tournament of wit, wizardry, and wild imagination. Expect magical mayhem, enchanted audience suggestions, and fierce loyalty as Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin go [ ... ]

    Free
  • Evgeny Grinko

    Zabeel Theatre Jumeirah Zabeel Saray, Palm Jumeirah West Crescent, Dubai

    A former noise-rock indie musician and largely self-taught, Grinko's piano compositions are genuinely quite special – blending neoclassical tunes, cinematic atmosphere, and (usually) an air of delicate melancholy. With millions of fans around the world and numerous viral hits, Grinko [ ... ]

    From AED 190
  • LAST CHANCE Monif Ajaj: Shams

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

    New ink drawings on paper and acrylic paintings on canvas from the French-based Syrian artist that offer viewers a journey through colour, symbolism, and contemplation. These are works that "reflect on the mystical power of nature, its geometry and order, [ ... ]

    Free
  • LAST CHANCE Heritage, Memory & The Body

    Artbooth Gallery Centro Capital Center, Al Khaleej Al Arabi Street, Abu Dhabi

    A group exhibition for four distinguished Palestinian women artists – Rania Amoudi, Dina Matar, Fatima Abu Rumi, and Marwa Alnajjar – that offers a powerful counterpoint to static portrayals of femininity and nationhood. Grounded in place yet transcending borders, the [ ... ]

    Free
  • LAST CHANCE Banafsheh Hemmati: Body Geometry

    Satellite Gallery DIFC, Dubai

    The first solo exhibition in the UAE for the Tehran-based artist-designer presents a collection of the artist’s jewellery and wearable sculptures. Body Geometry is a research-based project, where the design process is presented as well as the finished pieces. As [ ... ]

    Free
  • Searching for Love

    YourSpace, Aljada Sharjah

    A lyrical duet that weaves together music and poetry, Searching for Love transports audiences to the streets of Cairo to examine themes of love, alienation and longing. Director and writer Nanda Mohammad joins composer and violinist Mohamed Sami to offer [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • The Wind Will Carry Us: dir Abbas Kiarostami (1999)

    Efiɛ Gallery 2 Al Khayat Art Avenue, First Al Khail Street, Dubai

    Kiarostami wrote and directed this deceptively simple but highly affecting film about a journalist posing as a city engineer who arrives in a Kurdish village to document the locals' mourning rituals in anticipation of the death of an old woman. [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Ibrahim Maalouf & the Trumpets of Michel-Ange

    Cultural Foundation Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum Street, Abu Dhabi

    A unique cross-cultural experience by the acclaimed French-Lebanese trumpeter and composer Ibrahim Maalouf. Known for his innovative quarter-tone trumpet, Maalouf seamlessly bridges Arab traditions with jazz, classical, and contemporary influences; this concert promises a programme of well-loved works like "True [ ... ]

    From AED 250
  • Halloween Special – Theatresports: Battle of the Houses

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

    A second bout of competitive improv between teams representing the legendary wizarding houses from Harry Potter. The audience cheers, scores, and helps decide who will triumph ... As always at Courtyard improv events it's free, but you need to put [ ... ]

    Free
  • LAST CHANCE Edges of Perception

    Waddington Custot Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    A group show of paintings, sculptures, and photographs by a number of well-known contemporary artists that explore contrasts of material, form, and colour. The artists: Kenia Almaraz Murillo Nick Brandt Ian Davenport Hubert Le Gall Umberto Mariani Landon Metz Marc [ ... ]

    Free
  • Fertile Dreams

    Tabari Artspace Gate Village Level 2, DIFC, Dubai

    The group show brings together artists from the MENA region and its diaspora whose practices engage fertility as a generative force tied to questions of origin, transformation, and the cycles that govern land and self. Across drawing, painting, ceramics, textiles, [ ... ]

    Free
  • Printed Matter

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

    A group exhibition of photography and mixed media works by El3attar Film Collective – Cynthia Zahar, Georges Yammine, and Mohammad Al Hawajri. Through preserving and reconfiguring found materials, stories, and images, each artist tackles themes of memory, war, and change. [ ... ]

    Free
  • Rays, Ripples, Residue

    421 Arts Campus Mina Zayed, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    This major exhibition marks the ten-year anniversary of 421 Arts Campus via a chance to reflect on emergent artistic practices in the UAE, their possibilities, and challenges for the future. Featuring video, performance, installation, and multimedia works, it invites conversations [ ... ]

    Free
  • Sites in Conversation

    [various Sharjah locations]

    A two-day symposium of readings, discussions, and shared meals as part of that unfolds across Sharjah as part of Sharjah Architecture Triennial's DAAS programme. DAAS is Decolonizing Architecture Advanced Studies, a programme with no fixed curriculum but instead an environment [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Poetry in Action: The Poets’ Quest

    Cultural Foundation Qasr al Hosn, Abu Dhabi

    A time travelling adventure, where poetry saves the world as Blake journeys through time to win back his true love Grace ... The show demonstrates how to master rhyme, rhythm, and imagery while rooting for Blake’s quest to win back [ ... ]

    AED 100
  • Poetry in Action: Muse It Or Lose It

    Cultural Foundation Qasr al Hosn, Abu Dhabi

    This high-energy comedy explores poetry through live performances, linking classic literature with contemporary works and showcasing techniques like metaphor, symbolism, and why words matter — with plenty of laughs along the way. One of a series of shows today and [ ... ]

    AED 100
  • Poetry in Action: Words Of War

    Cultural Foundation Qasr al Hosn, Abu Dhabi

    A dynamic performance showcasing Wilfred Owen's most powerful poems, including “Dulce et Decorum Est” and “Anthem for Doomed Youth.” The show explores poetic techniques like imagery, irony, and rhythmic schemes while reflecting on the brutal realities of World War I. [ ... ]

    AED 100
  • Halloween Special – Theatresports: Battle of the Houses

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

    A third and final evening of competitive Halloween improv between teams representing the legendary wizarding houses from Harry Potter. The audience cheers, scores, and helps decide who will triumph ... As always at Courtyard improv events it's free, but you [ ... ]

    Free
  • LAST CHANCE Abdelkader Benchamma: Rumors from the Skies

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

    For his third solo exhibition here, the French-Algerian artist has taken inspiration from Kometenbuch (The Comet Book), a 16th-century Flemish treatise depicting comets and fantastical apparitions; Benchamma suggests how astronomy and astrology, science and folklore, continue to overlap in shaping [ ... ]

    Free
  • LAST CHANCE Mahmoud El Safadi: Personal Sea

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

    Exhibiting for the first time in Dubai, Lebanese artist Mahmoud El Safadi is showing a collection of miniature paintings on playing cards, a series of works that reflect on the Mediterranean as a site of memory, inheritance, and continuity – [ ... ]

    Free
  • LAST CHANCE Sophie-Yen Bretez: The Unsaid Remains Remembered

    JD Malat Gallery ACT 2 Tower, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Blvd 13A ,Downtown Dubai, Dubai

    A solo exhibition by Paris-based artist Sophie-Yen Bretez for a new body of work that captures moments when one space becomes another, when times overlap, and when memory persists as life shifts forward. This “dramaturgy of passage” is expressed through [ ... ]

  • Hussein Nassereddine: You, Only, Inhabit My Years

    Alserkal Arts Foundation Common Room Warehouse 51, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

    Artist and writer Hussein Nassereddine, the Alserkal Arts Foundation's Fall 2025 resident, presents an afternoon of film and reading around poetics of time, repetition, and the limits of language. He will present his recent video work You, Only, Inhabit My [ ... ]

    Free
  • Poetry in Action: The Poets’ Quest

    Cultural Foundation Qasr al Hosn, Abu Dhabi

    A second performance for this time travelling adventure, where poetry saves the world as Blake journeys through time to win back his true love ... The show demonstrates how to master rhyme, rhythm, and imagery while rooting for Blake’s quest [ ... ]

    AED 100
  • Poetry in Action: Muse It Or Lose It

    Cultural Foundation Qasr al Hosn, Abu Dhabi

    A second performance for this high-energy exploration of poetry through live performances, linking classic literature with contemporary works and showcasing techniques like metaphor, symbolism, and why words matter — with plenty of laughs along the way. One of a series [ ... ]

    AED 100
  • Dubai Design Week 2025

    The region’s leading (only significant?) design festival returns for its 11th edition with the usual hectic mix of commissions, exhibitions, installations, talks and live events. Natasha Carella, DDW’s Director, said this year the programme was taking a more reflective approach [ ... ]

    Free
  • LAST CHANCE Afra Al Dhaheri: Restless Circle

    Sharjah Art Foundation, Al Mureijah Square Sharjah

    A selection of works by Afra Al Dhaheri that explore the structural effects of tension, repetition and time provides Sharjah Art Foundation's first show of Autumn. "Working with materials such as cotton rope, fabric, cement and hair, the artist emphasises [ ... ]

    Free
  • My Driver and I: dir Ahd Kamel (2024)

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

    The last in NYUAD Arts Center's fall film season, a series which explores history, identity, and belonging through Arab and international cinema, while offering audiences the chance to engage directly with filmmakers is inspired by the childhood of Saudi writer-director-producer [ ... ]

    AED 30
  • RaRa

    The Fridge Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    “To hear RaRa live is to feel you've snuck into one of Soul's best-kept secrets” says the blurb. “With her wickedly engaging stage presence and innate vocal gift, RaRa has the ability to break your heart with a song.” She’s [ ... ]

    AED 70
  • LAST CHANCE Marwan Bassiouni: New Western Views (Preview)

    Lawrie Shabibi Unit 21, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

    This first solo exhibition in the region for Bassiouni offers a first look at an ongoing international project that reframes landscape photography through the lens of lived Muslim presence in the contemporary West. Each of these photographs – taken from [ ... ]

    Free
  • LAST CHANCE Mona Al Khaja: Caravan of Colors

    Aisha Alabbar Gallery Warehouse C19, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

    A retrospective celebrating over four decades of work by the Sharjah-born artist. It traces Mona Al Khaja’s journey from her studies at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Cairo to her continued exploration of abstraction, symbolism, and colou, featuring works [ ... ]

    Free
  • LAST CHANCE Lala Rukh: The importance of staying quiet

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

    The first exhibition of the new iteration of The importance of staying quiet, a survey of Pakistani art, features photographic archives from Lala Rukh’s years at the University of Chicago (1974-76). It includes early works that carry a cinematic sense [ ... ]

    Free
  • LAST CHANCE Wassef Boutros-Ghali: A Retrospective (1965-2016)

    Leila Heller Gallery Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    In the canvases of Wassef Boutros-Ghali, colours informed by a knowledge of unrelenting Mediterranean sunlight flood the flat plane of the canvas; architectural forms emerge, collide and re-engineer themselves without a narrative. Boutros-Ghali’s art speaks to the pure and unrestricted [ ... ]

    Free
  • LAST CHANCE Morteza Khosravi: The Floating Table

    Leila Heller Gallery Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    Influenced by the likes of Lucian Freud and Egon Schiele, Khosravi's drawings and paintings suggest that he's looking for artistic ideas – "for him, how to encounter pieces is important than pieces itself". But does have a characteristic style of [ ... ]

    Free