• Carpets of Eden, Gardens of Fantasy

    Leila Heller Gallery Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    This exhibition of carpets designed by artists and curated by Behrang Samadzadegan is described by the gallery as "a territory where artists navigate unbridled fantasies ... Like architects of dreams, they go beyond the surface, delving into the unseen, weaving [ ... ]

    Free
  • Eco(ed) Visions

    A group show, curated by Sanaz Askari, that brings together artists whose works explore nature's sanctuary amidst the urban sprawl, forging an intimate connection. The starting point is Mark Foster Gage's proposal that urbanisation has transformed architectural edifices into the [ ... ]

  • Alserkal Art Week

    Alserkal Avenue Al Quoz 1, Dubai

    The always enjoyable Alserkal Art Week, a taster for Art Dubai that has become established in the own right, runs this time from 25 February to 3 March. All the Alserkal Avenue galleries seem to be committed, along with guest [ ... ]

    Free
  • Gone With the Wind: dir Victor Fleming (1939)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Olivia de Havilland and Hattie McDaniel star in one of the classic American movies. It won 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. A genuine bucket-list movie, another good pick by the inestimable Cinema Space, and good [ ... ]

    Free
  • Lawrence Brownlee

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

    For this Abu Dhabi Festival appearance the American bel canto tenor will sing operatic selections from Rossini to Verdi, to the piano accompaniment of Fabio Centanni.

    AED 100
  • The Phantom of the Opera

    The Phantom of the Opera
    Dubai Opera

    Continuing its policy of attracting established blue-chip touring performances, Dubai Opera is running Broadway Entertainment Group's production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's critically acclaimed musical for a three-week run. The story is based on Gaston Leroux's classic novel of a musical [ ... ]

    From AED 350
  • Laura Lappi: Metamorphosis

    Firetti Contemporary Unit 29, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

    The first solo exhibition in the MENA region for the Finnish artist. Her work draws inspiration from ancient basilicas, cathedrals, and other Scandinavian wooden structures. Using wood as her primary medium, Lappi establishes a direct connection to her homeland and [ ... ]

    Free
  • A Love Letter to Beirut

    Sotheby’s Dubai DIFC Gate Village Building No3, Unit 01, Level B2, Dubai

    Sotheby's has an upcoming London auction devoted to artists from or inspired by Lebanon's capital, and Dubai is getting a preview in the form of a selection of the works that will be in the sale. The full complement includes [ ... ]

    Free
  • Dubomedy’s Graduation Showcase

    Melrose Paramount Midtown, Al Mustaqbal Street, Dubai

    Graduates of Dubomedy's Winter Stand-up Workshops take the stage to perform new stand-up material. It's free, but you're advised to preregister as space is limited ...  

    Free
  • Germany Year Zero: dir Roberto Rossellini (1948)

    Manarat al Saadiyat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    Amid the ruins of war-torn Berlin immediately after the Second World War, 12-year-old Edmund struggles to support his ailing father; he gets caught up in black market schemes and falls to a Nazi-sympathising former teacher – with tragic consequences. The [ ... ]

    Free
  • The Phantom of the Opera

    The Phantom of the Opera
    Dubai Opera

    Continuing its policy of attracting established blue-chip touring performances, Dubai Opera is running Broadway Entertainment Group's production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's critically acclaimed musical for a three-week run. The story is based on Gaston Leroux's classic novel of a musical [ ... ]

    From AED 350
  • Rachid Koraïchi: An Ode to Intertwined Histories

    Elmarsa Gallery 23 Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    A solo exhibition with examples of many of the disciplines and media that made up Koraïchi's practice, all "showcasing his abiding fascination with the creation of deeply layered seams within the spiritual, political and intellectual". Koraïchi often speaks of belonging [ ... ]

    Free
  • Ana Mazzei: How to disappear

    Green Art Gallery Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    The Brazilian artist has been given regular solo shows at Green Art Gallery every couple of years, and they're always interesting. Her widely (and sometimes wildly) experimental practice appropriates different materials, connecting to the environments in which she works; art, [ ... ]

    Free
  • Manjit Bawa: I Was Born a Poet …

    Volte Art Projects Warehouse 13, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

    Paintings and drawings by Manjit Bawa (1941-2008), a modernist master of 20th-century Indian figuration whose work is distinguished by expressive line and colour. To 30 April. The exhibition marks the inauguration of Volte Art Projects’ new Alserkal Avenue space under [ ... ]

    Free
  • Chiaroscuro

    ICD Brookfield Place Al Mustaqbal Street, DIFC, Dubai

    A group exhibition of 20 artists and designers in the central atrium of ICD Brookfield Place, curated by Michèle Lamy and presented in collaboration with Carpenters Workshop Gallery. The exhibition “finds inspiration in the city’s starkly contrasting landscape as it [ ... ]

    Free
  • Elastic Visions

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

    A group exhibition curated by Faridah Folawiyo, showcasing artists of African origin across the world and examining how artists from Africa and the diaspora see the restrictive concepts of Eurocentric cultural superiority. The show aims to stretch audiences’ limits and [ ... ]

    Free
  • Charmaine Chanakira: Taking L’s

    Mestaria Gallery Unit 35, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

    The latest work from the Zimbabwean artist is described by the gallery as "a vibrant celebration of life's unexpected lessons, captured through a fusion of neo-expressionism, Japanese Manga, Pop Art, and African art influences ... Her art – alive with [ ... ]

    Free
  • Farah Al Qasimi: Toy World

    The Third Line Alserkal Avenue, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    The Third Line's fourth solo exhibition with Farah Al Qasimi, Brooklyn based but Abu Dhabi born, is a collection of still and moving images in colour and – for the first time – black and white too. “Black and white [ ... ]

    Free
  • Elham Shafaei & Sara Al Haddad: Threads of Existence

    Aisha Alabbar Gallery Warehouse C19, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai

    Two UAE-based artists reflect on "identity and the eternal quest for belonging within the ebb and flow of time ... the longing for connection amid the bittersweet journey of loss. Sara Al Haddad creates delicate yarn and fibre works that [ ... ]

    Free
  • Kenia Almaraz Murillo: Invitation to a Mystical Dreamland

    Waddington Custot Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    The first solo exhibition in the region for the Bolivian artist is a group of six new and five existing works that represent "a journey into a dreamlike universe where her dreams blend vivid memories with powerful symbolic language". The [ ... ]

    Free
  • Mohammed Kazem and Vikram Divecha: Rest

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

    Two of the most distinctive Dubai-based artists with works that explore the intricate relationship between labour, rest, and the ever-evolving urban landscape of the UAE. "Considering the dynamics of human existence, alternating between cycles of depletion and restoration, the exhibition [ ... ]

  • Faisal Samra: Immortal Moment II – Coping with the Shock

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

    A solo exhibition with the second body of work from Faisal Samra’s Immortal Moment project, artworks created through the accumulation of instances that push the viewer to question the opportunities of a single moment. In the first chapter of this [ ... ]

    Free
  • Alserkal Lates

    Alserkal Avenue Al Quoz 1, Dubai

    Alserkal Lates takes place in the middle of Alserkal Art Week, so there should be more than two dozen exhibitions in Avenue galleries open till 10pm (half of them taking the opportunity to open on the night) – with the [ ... ]

    Free
  • Kirill Gerstein

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

    The Russian-American concert pianist promises an energetic, interesting and imaginative Abu Dhabi Festival recital spanning various musical traditions. Programme: Chopin Polonaise-Fantasie in A flat major, Op.61 Fauré Nocturne No.13 in B minor, Op.119 Poulenc Three Intermezzi (FP71/118) Liszt Polonaise in [ ... ]

    AED 100
  • The Phantom of the Opera

    The Phantom of the Opera
    Dubai Opera

    Continuing its policy of attracting established blue-chip touring performances, Dubai Opera is running Broadway Entertainment Group's production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's critically acclaimed musical for a three-week run. The story is based on Gaston Leroux's classic novel of a musical [ ... ]

    From AED 350
  • Funeral Home Comedy

    Ting Irie, Mamsga al Saadiyat Mamsha Al Saadiyat, Cultural District, Abu Dhabi

    Abu Dhabi's regular comedy night at an undoubtedly great location ("the UAE’s first Jamaican Restaurant & Lounge"). The AED 95 charge includes two drinks. ...    

    AED 95
  • Simple Minds: Global Tour 2024

    Coca-Cola Arena City Walk, Dubai

    This eight-month-long Simple Minds tour genuinely is global (they started in January in New Zealand: Dubai is a stop between Australasia and Europe) and they expect to play to over one million people worldwide, showcase their eighteenth studio album Direction [ ... ]

    From AED 195
  • Trevor Noah: Off the Record

    Etihad Arena Yas Island, Abu Dhabi

    Trevor Noah’s current world tour called in at Dubai last October, and now another UAE date has been added. Noted for his sharp wit and intelligent commentary on people, politics, racism and nationalism, and occasionally himself, he’s also good at [ ... ]

    From AED 250
  • Pieter Obels and Hermann Nitsch: Momentous Convergence

    Opera Gallery DIFC, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

    You wouldn't normally put these two artists together; but the gallery describes this show as “a platform that showcases a compelling dialogue between their distinct artistic visions”, one that “celebrates abstract and profound concepts while highlighting the intriguing harmony between [ ... ]

    Free
  • Jamal Bassiouni: The World of Mirrors

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

    A solo exhibition for the noted Egyptian artist's vivid and poignant paintings exploring ancient Egyptian beliefs regarding enlightenment and the afterlife. As the artist puts it: “In The world of Mirrors we say what is above is what is below, [ ... ]

    Free
  • Flavio Lucchini: Hair

    Oblong Contemporary Art Gallery Al Khayat Art Avenue, Al Quoz, Dubai

    An exhibition of 23 works by the Italian art director/publisher of high fashion magazines. They're highly graphic in style, with bold lines and strong colours, and as the title implies they consider women through the hair, the only precise detail [ ... ]

    Free
  • Toni Morrison Felowship Inauguration

    Africa Hall Al Manakh, Sharjah

    Toni Morrison's novels have reshaped American literature, exploring themes of identity, the human experience, and cultural understanding with remarkable depth. The Africa Institute is inaugurating its Toni Morrison Senior Fellowship in African Diaspora Literature and Cultural Studies with a two-day symposium [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Xposure International Photography Festival 2024

    Expo Centre Sharjah Sharjah

    The eighth and biggest edition of what is arguably the world’s largest in-person photography festival (20,000+ visitors last year) runs 28 February to 5 March in Expo Centre Sharjah. More than 400 photographers from over 50 nations will be showing [ ... ]

    Free
  • 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
  • The Phantom of the Opera

    The Phantom of the Opera
    Dubai Opera

    Continuing its policy of attracting established blue-chip touring performances, Dubai Opera is running Broadway Entertainment Group's production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's critically acclaimed musical for a three-week run. The story is based on Gaston Leroux's classic novel of a musical [ ... ]

    From AED 350
  • Moataz Nasr: Bottle Neck

    Burj Al Arab Dubai

    New and existing 3D work by the Egyptian artist, whose practice aims to explore the intersection of tradition and globalisation and the impact of political and economic development. The title Bottle Neck reflects “the overload of information that creates a [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Workshop: Emel Mathlouthi – Music Matters

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

    Emel Mathlouthi, the Tunisian songwriter, composer, guitarist, and singer, is in Abu Dhabi for a concert at the weekend. In this interactive workshop for local musicians and songwriters she aims to explore the importance of music as an act of [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Àma Gloria: dir Marie Amachoukeli (2023)

    Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi Reem Island, Abu Dhabi

    A last summer of nanny-child togetherness is detailed in this small but acutely affecting story, a debut made dazzling by an astonishingly intricate performance from its six-year-old star Louise Mauroy-Panzani. The opening film in a short Francophone season (with English [ ... ]

    Free
  • PowerPointless

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

    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 [ ... ]

    Free, but donations welcome
  • The Phantom of the Opera

    The Phantom of the Opera
    Dubai Opera

    Continuing its policy of attracting established blue-chip touring performances, Dubai Opera is running Broadway Entertainment Group's production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's critically acclaimed musical for a three-week run. The story is based on Gaston Leroux's classic novel of a musical [ ... ]

    From AED 350
  • Katya Muromtseva: Over the Slopes of Speech

    NIKA Project Space Unit 11 Al Khayat Avenue, 19th Street Road — Al Quoz 1, Dubai

    The New-York based artist gets her first show in the UAE, featuring works she created in Dubai during her time at the NIKA Project Space Research and Residency programme – monumental watercolour triptychs that relate to the narratives and histories [ ... ]

    Free
  • John Harris and Trevor Waugh: Recollections

    Majlis Gallery Al Musalla Roundabout, Al Fahidi Neighborhood, Dubai

    "A poetic merging of two distinct artistic voices, each echoing the beauty and spirit of the Arabian landscapes ..." Watercolours explorating the natural and cultural landscapes of the UAE and Oman by two painters who have been integral members of [ ... ]

    Free
  • March Meeting 2024

    Sharjah Art Foundation -- Calligraphy Square Sharjah

    Sharjah Art Foundation’s annual convening of artists, curators, scholars and arts practitioners from around the world to discuss issues in contemporary art focuses this time on collectives whose practice intertwines artmaking and community building in various forms of collaboration that [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register
  • Big Bad Wolf Book Sale

    Dubai Studio City Dubai

    The self-styled "World’s Biggest Book Sale” is returning to Sound Stages, Dubai Studio City, from 1-10 March, open daily 10am to midnight with something like two million titles in various genres on sale at discounts of up to 75 percent [ ... ]

    Free
  • Les Enfants Perdus: dir Michèle Jacob (2023)

    Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi Reem Island, Abu Dhabi

    Four young siblings find themselves abandoned in a house in the woods in Belgian writer-director Michèle Jacob's creepily atmospheric suspense thriller. For much of its running time, The Lost Children has the ominous atmosphere of a slow-burn horror film; "the forest [ ... ]

    Free
  • Dina El Wedidi | Samora Pinderhughes

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

    The rich melodic culture of Egyptian music from Dina El Wedidi is set alongside the harmonically sophisticated sounds of American jazz mixed with RnB and post-rock by Samora Pinderhughes. It’s an intimate, cross-boundary double bill, the first of two this [ ... ]

    AED 105
  • Tom Jones

    Saadiyat Nights Jacques Chirac Street, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi

    Abu Dhabi's new open-air venue Saadiyat Nights is winding up its three-month programme with two big names -- tomorrow night sees John Legend, tonight we get Sir Thomas Jones Woodward OBE. He's into his 80s now, but the voice is [ ... ]

    From AED 245
  • Boogie Box x Warehouse Party

    JA The Resort Jebel Ali, Dubai

    Boogie Box has scheduled another of its superlative back-to-the-best-of-yesterday nights – yep, a six-hour warehouse rave in an actual warehouse. It’s another of the Box’s leftfield venue finds, this one The Hangar at JA The Resort, which is actually an [ ... ]

    AED 200
  • National Youth Orchestra Camerata and Soloists

    Dubai Opera Studio Downtown Dubai, Dubai

    The Global Notes series – the sponsored replacement for Amira Fouad's long-running Opera Studio recital programme, and now presented by Dubai Opera with Encore Performing Arts and Royal Grammar School Guildford Dubai – continues with the National Youth Orchestra in [ ... ]

    AED 265
  • Masterclass: Samora Pinderhughes – Approach to Composing and Creating Music

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

    Samora Pinderhughes and his ensemble are in Abu Dhabi for a concert this weekend. In this session for local musicians and songwriters, Samora will discuss his approach to composing and creating music and lyrics, and then work with participants on [ ... ]

    Free, but pre-register