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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for magpie
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DTSTART:20230101T000000
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260116
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260209
DTSTAMP:20260418T065851
CREATED:20260112T180856Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260112T180856Z
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SUMMARY:Ras Al Khaimah Art 2026 Festival 
DESCRIPTION:In the last few years the Ras Al Khaimah Art Festival has grown into a solid contributor to the UAE’s arts and culture scene\, with a community-oriented twist to the mix of exhibitions\, performances\, workshops and film screenings. There’s always a theme – this year it’s ‘Civilizations’\, a catch-all which should be able to accommodate just about any kind of culture – but the characteristic feature is the community engagement and the strong sense of RAK itself being part of the festival. \nIt has an excellent site at Al Jazeera Al Hamra Heritage Village\, which is where most of the exhibitions and events happen – exhibitions are open for the whole of the festival (16 January to 8 February)\, but performances and other one-offs occupy the three weekends. \nThis first weekend sees guided art and heritage tours\, several workshops – including calligraphy\, light art\, traditional agriculture\, and a two-day Photowalk and Film Photography masterclass – and live performances. They kick off with AlMaydee’s soulful soft rock (Friday\, 9-9.45pm) and the Saturday stage gets Luiza (jazzy pop\, great voice) followed by the AFCENT Band (that’s the official US Air Forces Central ensemble with a signature mix of pop\, rock\, and big band jazz). \nElsewhere in the village there’s Alana Hicks with a one-woman show titled Voices in the Dark (“a thoughtful exploration of identity\, culture\, and the threads that bind us: Saturday 6pm) and James Scarr with his excellent Mime Show (Sunday 6pm). \nNew for 2026 is The Hidden Table\, a curated culinary programme that expands the festival into gastronomy by positioning food as a form of cultural storytelling; the first two weekends get Chama\, an open-fire dining experience by Portuguese chef Tiago Pazzini with no fixed menu (“each evening is guided by seasonality\, elemental cooking\, and instinct\, allowing cuisine to unfold as a live\, creative expression”). The final weekend it’s Restaurant Pine\, the creation of Northumberland chefs Cal Byerley and Ian Waller to celebrate “the rhythm of the seasons [and] a modern echo of ancient land”. \nChama will cost you AED 350 but entrance to the festival and most of the other happenings are free\, including the live music. Preregistration is required for the spaces-limited events like the workshops; check out the full first-weekend programme here.
URL:https://magpie.ae/event/ras-al-khaimah-art-2026-festival/
LOCATION:Al Jazeera Al Hamra\, Ras Al Khaimah
CATEGORIES:Community event,Festival
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DTSTART;TZID=Asia/Dubai:20240202T100000
DTEND;TZID=Asia/Dubai:20240202T233000
DTSTAMP:20260418T065851
CREATED:20240131T180355Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240131T180355Z
UID:10007534-1706868000-1706916600@magpie.ae
SUMMARY:Ras Al Khaimah Art
DESCRIPTION:Ras Al Khaimah Art\, the new incarnation of the Ras Al Khaimah Fine Art Festival\, opens to the public at 9pm on Friday 2 February. As ever\, it’s at the Al Jazeera Al Hamra Heritage Village\, which has increasingly been developed with houses holding exhibition and meeting spaces for the festival. \nThe festival is curated by the award-winning Swiss photographer and artistic director Alfio Tommasini with them ‘In Motion’. Tommasini’s curatorial statement speaks of the 2024 Festival seamlessly integrating “motion\, culture\, and perception”. Elsewhere he writes: “Amidst this evolving scene\, movement becomes an opportunity to discover new cultures\, reconnect with forgotten histories\, and celebrate uniqueness. This Festival unveils more than art – it reveals a story flourishing in this remarkable place\, a testament to our human journey.” \nThat is symbolised by Ephemeral Whispers (above)\, a kinetic art installation on the tower of Al Jazeera Al Hamra Fort; this speaks of unity\, but also suggests the dynamic nature of human interaction. It’s a fabric-based work that uses traditional and contemporary materials from several cultures\, suspended like tapestries and serving as a visual metaphor for the marketplaces that throughout history have provided a rich heritage of human experience. \nThis is also echoed in The Souq\, an international contemporary art exhibition that aims to explore the human experience – “our interactions\, movements\, and existence on Earth … Delving into gender\, culture\, and spirituality\, it aims to transport visitors on a profound ‘Human Condition’ tour\, encapsulating the highs and lows of our earthly journey”. \nThe main exhibitions are in the houses of Al Jazeera Al Hamra\, the bayts. There are nine housing the open call exhibits – photography\, 2D art and sculptures from around three dozen artists. In addition\, seven of the bayts will be showing special exhibitions – one of which is for the Festival’s artist in residence\, the Chilean-born multimedia artist Indira Urrutia Zuniga. \nThe US Mission to the UAE is taking another of the houses for guest artist Kim Carolino\, whose exhibition Possible Forms is described as “a meditation on the expansion and contraction of time while moving forward through a linear construction of reality”. The Foundation of the Croatian collector and psilanthropist Marinko Sudac has two bayts\, one for the 3D paintings of Radomir Damnjanovic Damnjan and the other for the “arte programmata” of Italian artists Lucia di Luciano and Giovanni Pizzo. \nBayt 5 has the interesting sounding Pearls of Motion\, an AR exhibition by W3rlds Metaverse that “weaves a narrative of movement\, seamlessly blending the rich heritage of the region with contemporary digital art”. And Daniel Rode’s installation in Bay 6\, for the German Embassy and Goethe Institut\, highlights the beauty of the present in his exhibition Erstmal bin ich hier (For Now I am Here); concealing letters in a foreign language\, Rode’s work creates a deliberate barrier between it and the viewer that the artist sees as a fertile field for interpretation around “the profound beauty of the ordinary”. \nAs well the curated exhibitions\, the 12th edition of the festival will also host a variety of workshops\, from wire knitting and resin ocean art to photography and ceramics; Live Performance Saturdays with music and stand-up comedy; a programme of six talks on culture\, innovation\, and sustainability subjects; and Friday Film Nights featuring documentary and fiction shorts. \nThe RAK Art Festival has always been distinguished by its themed weekends with hands-on activities\, workshops and performances – a Pet-Friendly Weekend on 9-11 February\, the Family & Community Weekend on 16-18 February\, and the Cultural Weekend for traditional activities and crafts on 23-25 February. \nThe festival site is free to enter and is open 10am to 11.30pm from 2 to 29 February. \n 
URL:https://magpie.ae/event/ras-al-khaimah-art/
LOCATION:Al Jazeera Al Hamra\, Ras Al Khaimah
CATEGORIES:Art,Family/kids,Festival
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