Ras Al Khaimah channels the art of memory with month-long cultural festival

The National

29-01-2025

This page was produced by The National in partnership with Ras Al Khaimah Art 2025 Festival. Memory shapes who we are and how we live, but our recollections change with each retelling. That's fertile ground for artists to explore and excavate, which goes a long way to explaining why more than 1,500 submissions were sent in to the Ras Al Khaimah Art 2025 Festival. The month-long event begins on Friday, January 31, and runs until the end of February. From artworks, light installations and film screenings to expert panels, crafts workshops and restaurant pop-ups, the action takes place at Jazeera Al Hamra Heritage Village, the region's only surviving pearling village, south of Ras Al Khaimah city and just 90km from Dubai. The festival is the largest event in the emirate's cultural calendar. A record number of visitors are expected at its 13th edition this year, following on from more than 54,000 attendees last year. Almost half of them travelled from outside Ras Al Khaimah to be inspired and entertained – from the wider UAE and internationally. A record 51 Emirati artists submitted work to exhibit at the event, an indication of how much art is shaping the nation's landscape. In total, more than 100 local and international creatives are showcasing their own meditations on the recollection of moments, places, people, and beyond – personal and collective. As Suqrat bin Bisher, Director of Ras Al Khaimah Art 2025 Festival says, the theme offers an opportunity to explore the echoes of individual and collective consciousness, unearthing the stories, traditions, and moments that shape our identities. 'This year's festival is a celebration of nostalgia and discovery, a tribute to the beauty and complexity of memory as an enduring source of creativity. Together, we honour the past, illuminate the present, and inspire the dreams of tomorrow,' he says. Memory as muse: how artists interpret the 2025 theme Curation, then, revolves around personal journeys, connections and catharsis. 'I believe that those who engage in visual creation, as in my case photographs, somehow always want to fix their memories on something material to relive them in the future. When memories become distant, images help us to keep our history, our encounters and experiences alive,' says festival guest curator Alfio Tommasini. You'll see what he means in the Garden of Self-Reflected Memories. The immersive art installation brings the past alive in a 'house of light' that mirrors the ancient architecture of Al Jazeera Al Hamra. Elsewhere, Anja Bamberg offers a grim reality check about plastic pollution with her water-themed walkthrough installation, Suspended Threads, created using discarded 2,000 plastic water bottles. 'There is too much plastic in the ocean and this excessive plastic waste is lethal for our environment, the marine life and ultimately humanity itself as we ingest microplastic through the food chain,' she says in an interview with The National. 'The central question would be: Can plastic be replaced? I hope the installation encourages people to think about alternative materials and sustainable solutions to reduce plastic consumption.' Among the Emiratis showing at the festival is aircraft engineer and artist Suaad Alshamsi. She uses oil, mixed media, acrylic and stones to highlight the role women have played in shaping the UAE. Every woman she's met has inspired her and all the memories she has gathered she's translated into her art: 'My mother, my grandmother, my friends… the new generation knows nothing about great women in the past,' she says. Elsewhere, a series of exhibitions and interactive displays in partnership with the Marinko Sudac Foundation bring new art and historical artefacts to Ras Al Khaimah. Italian artist Baldo Diodato uses imprinting techniques to document how humans interact with urban spaces, while Linda Nieuwstad from the Netherlands presents a larger-than-life flower installation as part of a Dutch exhibit on sustainability. Among the museum pieces on show, a collection of previously unseen manuscripts, sailors' journals, handwritten poetry and personal notes from Ras Al Khaimah luminaries offer a window into the emirate's history. Maps of the region that would become the UAE, created by British surveyors and hydrographers over more than 250 years, are part of an exhibit dedicated to the late author and naturalist Peter Hellyer. Four weekends of art, workshops and events Events this year span four jam-packed weekends. Beginning this Friday, here are the calendar's highlights at Al Jazeera Al Hamra Heritage Village: Edible art takes the stage Like art, the best food can be a multisensory experience. Ras Al Khaimah Art 2025 Festival blurs the lines between the two with a series of cultural dining experiences worth travelling to. Two pop-ups showcase the emirate's sustainability credentials. Antica Australis fuses rustic Italian fare with Emirati and Australian flavours – made using sustainably farmed and locally grown ingredients wherever possible. There are two seatings each Saturday, at 1pm and 7pm, and one on Sundays at 1pm. From Dh400 a person. Then there's Belly of the Beast, a one-of-a-kind culinary adventure starring chefs Anouchka Horn and Neil Swart. The menu remains a surprise until you're at the event. That's on March 1. Both events are part of a wide range of culinary experiences integral to the festival's cultural immersion. Visitors can experience innovation in dining at the event or engage with the region's food traditions, such as at the Barasti Market's Emirati offerings. At the RAK Art Food Market, where vendors from across the UAE will put their own artistic twists on classic street eats from around the world. Heritage, art and culture on tour Several tours are organised each festival weekend, offering the opportunity to savour the emirate's best. Heritage tours walk participants through Ras Al Khaimah's rich history and culture at Al Jazeera Al Hamra Heritage Village. The free weekly art tours explore exhibitions and offer the opportunity to meet with local artists, while food walks visit the best historic eateries in the emirate's Old Town. This being Ras Al Khaimah, visitors can also hear about ghosts, genies and other cultural legends as part of the event's mystical tours. Some tours need to be booked in advance on the festival website. Indoor and outdoor film screenings from the UAE and Japan Catering to the film-crazy segment of the UAE is Vox Cinema with indoor and outdoor screenings all through the Ras Al Khaimah Art 2025 Festival. The cinema operator has a curated selection that celebrates culture and storytelling. Friday screenings take place under the stars at Al Jazeera Al Hamra Heritage Village, on Fridays, February 7, 14 and 21, while the Saturday sessions are at Al Hamra Mall on February 1, 15 and 22. If you're a film lover looking for a weekend escape, this one's for you. Programme highlights include two films by documentary filmmaker Ali Fuad, one of the festival's 2024 Film Grant Awardees. The resident's work explores the region's rich pearling traditions. There is also a schedule of compelling Japanese cinema. Organised in collaboration with the embassy of Japan in the UAE, they explore chess rivalries, digital scams and android-human relationships. Event details Ras Al Khaimah Art 2025 Festival begins on 31 January and runs until February 28. It takes place at Al Jazeera Al Hamra heritage village, with additional events being held around the emirate. For more details and to book events, tours or dining experiences, head to Rakart.ae