What defines a city? Travel anywhere in the world, and what lingers in the mind in the weeks and years after is its culture – museums, public art installations and singular events. Through art, we discover a city’s true spirit.
And across the UAE capital this week, art is in the hearts and minds of both residents and visitors alike. At Manarat Al Saadiyat, the annual Abu Dhabi Art is running until Sunday, a bustling festival that showcases regional and international talent and treasures both old and new. And across the emirate, the first Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial has launched, featuring installations and events that will be on show until April.
Years ago, Abu Dhabi’s leaders listed art as a key pillar of the emirate’s future, and ever true to their word, their dream has become a reality. The Saadiyat Cultural District is nearing completion, with the Zayed National Museum, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi and teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi each set to launch, joining Louvre Abu Dhabi.
But these institutions, each with a distinct mission, will only form part of the emirate’s artistic identity. Events such as Abu Dhabi Art and the biennial define the contemporary pulse of the regional art world – and continue an intricate conversation with the global scene.
And as platforms, they’re more vital than ever. At Abu Dhabi Art for instance, artists from Palestine and Lebanon are exhibiting their work at a time when their cultures are under direct threat from Israeli attacks. The UAE is a haven for both the artists and their works during time of strife, helping to nurture and amplify voices that might otherwise be silenced.
Maliha Tabari, founder of the Tabari Artspace, has curated an exhibition at the festival focused on artists from the Levant with that aim in mind.
“Routes to Roots is about storytelling and preservation,” she told The National. “It is an active effort to ensure that future generations can encounter and engage with the positive and abundant heritage of the Levant.”
Creativity cannot thrive without institutional support – galleries, museums, as well as public and private initiatives. And art is under threat not only in areas plagued by conflict – without benefactors, artists can’t afford to pursue art. Across the world, funding is drying up, and even established voices are struggling to continue their passions. Increasingly, those luminaries are turning to the UAE as a bastion of support.
But Abu Dhabi is not only a leading voice in the global and regional art scene for this reason. Increasingly, it is the UAE’s own artists that are catching the world’s attention. And each year, an increasing number of brilliant Emirati creatives emerge, in part because they are given the tools to develop their brilliance.
And the seeds for generations to come are now planted across the emirate. Public art, eminently accessible in both the city of Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, could act as an inspiration for the many children who will discover it both actively and passively. Art workshops at Louvre Abu Dhabi may be their next step, letting their imaginations run wild. And in the years to come, they’ll come of age in a rich landscape, with myriad opportunities to both create, display and interact with the art world.
Art has come to define Abu Dhabi in both the global and local imaginations. And as the emirate’s events and institutions continue to rise in quality and significance, its spirit will soar ever higher.
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Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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UJDA CHAMAN
Produced: Panorama Studios International
Directed: Abhishek Pathak
Cast: Sunny Singh, Maanvi Gagroo, Grusha Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla
Rating: 3.5 /5 stars
if you go
The flights
Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes.
When to visit
March-May and September-November
Visas
Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.
Fifa Club World Cup:
When: December 6-16
Where: Games to take place at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi and Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain
Defending champions: Real Madrid
Fines for littering
In Dubai:
Dh200 for littering or spitting in the Dubai Metro
Dh500 for throwing cigarette butts or chewing gum on the floor, or littering from a vehicle.
Dh1,000 for littering on a beach, spitting in public places, throwing a cigarette butt from a vehicle
In Sharjah and other emirates
Dh500 for littering - including cigarette butts and chewing gum - in public places and beaches in Sharjah
Dh2,000 for littering in Sharjah deserts
Dh500 for littering from a vehicle in Ras Al Khaimah
Dh1,000 for littering from a car in Abu Dhabi
Dh1,000 to Dh100,000 for dumping waste in residential or public areas in Al Ain
Dh10,000 for littering at Ajman's beaches
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
Price, base: Dh1,731,672
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm
Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm
Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
SPECS
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
