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Gulf Today
26-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Gulf Today
Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial turns the capital into an open-air gallery
The second phase of the Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial which has transformed Abu Dhabi emirate into an open-air gallery, runs till April 30. The Biennial has unveiled a series of new site-responsive installations, as part of a wider programme featuring works by more than 70 artists from the UAE, the region and the world. Set up at sites like the Corniche, public parks, the historical Hili Archaeological Site, the serene Al Ain Oasis, the vibrant Cultural Foundation, and the bustling Carpet Souq, the installations by local and international artists reflect on community, environment, and cultural heritage. Artworks include Migration Granary (2024), by Anga Art Collective, which is an architectural complex symbolising the resilience and hardship of historical and contemporary pressures of migration. Constructed from local materials, the granary in Hili Archaeological Park, Al Ain, offers an intimate space for reflection on migration. The space relating to migration's challenges connects with Al Ain's historical significance as a site of human settlement and movement. Anga Art Collective explores the cultural and geographic urgencies of Assam, India. The Cultural Foundation, Abu Dhabi. Urban Negotiation (2024), by Arquitectura Expandida, saw several of its members – Ana María López Ortego, Harold Guyaux, and Viviana Parada Camargo – participating in a nine-week residency (Jan. 10 – Mar. 12), transforming an existing shop in downtown Abu Dhabi into their studio. Together, they crafted a wooden ping pong table, which travelled through neighbourhoods across Abu Dhabi, sparking encounters and dialogues with communities. The shop, which was open from 8pm to 2am till March 12, was a place where the public could interact with the ping pong table, serving as a 'communication device'. Arquitectura Expandida is an activist collective based in Bogotá focused on urban peripheries, community organisation, and equitable public space management. Playful Traditions (2024) by Ayesha Hadhir is a public art park that combines cultural heritage with playful learning, creating an engaging space for children. The park features three traditional elements of the UAE: a dhow (sailing vessel) transformed into an interactive playground; a water fountain for playing where children can learn about local fish such as the hamour; and a gargour (traditional fishing trap), whose dome is reimagined as an area to spark creativity. Ayesha Hadhir is a visual artist specialising in immersive installations that incorporate textiles, human-made and natural materials, and the landscapes of the UAE. The bus terminal is one of the sites of the Biennial. Deep Spaces (2024) by Lúcia Koch, conceived for Abu Dhabi's urban environment, consists of a series of interventions where photographs are inserted into existing advertising panels rented for the Biennial's duration in densely populated areas in the city centre, including Hamdan Street and Electra Street. Apparently advertising no product or brand, the nature of the images or their raison d'etre, is ripe for questioning. Lúcia Koch is an interdisciplinary artist working across photography, video, architectural interventions, and large-scale installations. Crown by Rand Abdul Jabbar is situated parallel to Abu Dhabi's Corniche Road near Etihad Square - a formative site in the artist's childhood that is home to iconic sculptures such as the dalla (coffee pot) and medkhan (incense burner). Crown is an ode to 'making home' in Abu Dhabi, creating a space where contemporary representations of identity are linked to notions of collective learning and growth. Let's Not Wait to Fill Our Cups with Time (2024) by Nnenna Okore reflects on Abu Dhabi's unprecedented development over the past fifty years, exploring how time and space efficiency has transformed the arid desert into a vibrant metropolis. Sophia Balagamwala's artwork titled Other Maps and Guides. Hundreds of multicolour, circular hessian elements are integrated into a mesh system enveloping the façade of the heritage watch tower in Heritage Park, signalling that progress is possible when time is used wisely, while highlighting sociocultural diversity. Nnenna Okore is a contemporary artist whose practice intersects visual art, ecological research, and sustainable material use. In Other Maps and Guides (2024) by Sophia Balagamwala, the artist merges real and imagined events relating to nationhood, history, and mapping, drawing on archives, stories, myths, and the behaviours of flora and fauna. Other Maps and Guides presents four publications with images of charcoal drawings including linocut prints and digital illustrations reflecting on the migration of people, plants, birds, and fish that shape lives. Sophia Balagamwala is an artist and curator who explores the interplay between historical events, memories, and fiction. Nest (2024) by Tarik Kiswanson is his first public artwork, a white, cocoon-shaped sculpture that hovers weightlessly on a building façade in Abu Dhabi's city centre. The work takes up the artist's interest in levitation as both psychological metaphor and physical phenomenon. Its oblong form, a leitmotif in Kiswanson's practice, recalls transformative states in nature (egg, chrysalis, seed) and alludes to refuge and becoming, embodying a nascent state of possibility. Nest also underscores the need for reconstruction and renewal amid the ruptures of history. Al Mahatta by Atelier Aziz Al Qatami is part of the long-term refurbishment of the Abu Dhabi Bus Terminal by the Atelier; their project Al Mahatta transforms the mezzanine's former wedding hall into a space for talks, exhibitions, dining and gathering. Preserving the modernist aesthetic, the intervention retains much of the original floor plan. During the Biennial, an interim site-specific sound installation in the atrium evokes the atmosphere of twentieth-century public spaces, offering a preview ahead of the full renovation. Atelier Aziz Alqatami, a Kuwait City-based architecture office led by Aziz Al Qatami and Khalid Al Gharaballi, addresses Gulf architectural challenges, using local materials and forms.
Globe and Mail
17-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Globe and Mail
Inaugural Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial launches second phase with new artwork unveilings across the emirate
The Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial runs until 30 April 2025 across Abu Dhabi The second phase presents installations by local and international artists including Tarik Kiswanson, Ayesha Hadhir, Arquitectura Expandida, Rand Abdul Jabbar and others The biennial includes eight key routes to explore, alongside a vibrant programme of activities ABU DHABI , UAE , Feb. 17, 2025 /CNW/ -- The inaugural Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial kicked off its highly anticipated second phase with nine new unveilings and installations at iconic locations across the emirate. Running until 30 April, the Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial has transformed Abu Dhabi into an emirate-wide celebration of art, culture and community. The exhibition features site-specific installations by more than 70 artists from the UAE and around the world, including 40 new commissions, thoughtfully exhibited throughout the downtown areas of Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. Following a spectacular launch in November, new unveilings by Anga Art Collective, Arquitectura Expandida, Ayesha Hadhir, Lúcia Koch, Rand Abdul Jabbar , Nnenna Okore , Sophia Balagamwala , and Tarik Kiswanson kicked off the Biennial into full gear this past weekend along with an ongoing piece by Atelier Aziz Al Qatami, which will continue to take shape at the Abu Dhabi Bus Terminal. New installations by Hussein Sharif , Emily Jacir , Rami Kashou x Emirati Artisans, Alia Farid and Latifa Saeed will further activate the exhibition's eight routes throughout the remaining months of the Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial. A participatory performance by Mobile Akademie Berlin will round out the Biennial celebrations in April. The installations are distributed across the Abu Dhabi Corniche Route, Abu Dhabi Public Parks Route, Abu Dhabi Bus Terminal Route, Downtown Abu Dhabi Route, Carpet Souq Route, National Theatre Route, Cultural Foundation Route and Al Ain Oasis Route. The easy-to-follow routes can be explored on foot or by car. As part of the second phase, a public programme for visitors will activate the various Biennial sites including the Abu Dhabi Bus Station, a modern-heritage building in the city centre. Events include talks, curator-led tours, screening at the Cultural Foundation of Wael Shawky's Drama 1882 (2024) – which premiered at the Venice Biennale – and collaborative public performances with artist Christopher Joshua Benton and the community at the Carpet Souq. Reem Fadda, Director of Culture Programming at DCT Abu Dhabi, said: "The launch of the Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial marks a milestone in Abu Dhabi's artistic scene. The artworks we unveiled as part of the second phase of the inaugural Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial present a wide range of perspectives on the concept of 'public,' within our distinct cultural context. Together, these installations explore the complex relationships between environment, community, urbanity and indigeneity and how these elements define public spaces within Abu Dhabi and Al Ain ." Clémence Bergal, Public Art Abu Dhabi Director at DCT Abu Dhabi, said: "The Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial is one of the three pillars of the wider Public Art Abu Dhabi initiative. The breadth of artists and artworks on display is a testament to Abu Dhabi's long-term efforts to integrate art into the fabric of society, and ultimately to make it accessible and available to all. The event also highlights the programme's contribution to the preservation of significant architectural and urban spaces, for the wider community. With every installation, we are harnessing the power of public art to advance the creative legacy, cultural infrastructure and quality of life within Abu Dhabi through placemaking and collective memory." For more details and the latest timings and locations, please check the Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial website at and social media channels. Full press kit and high-res images available in Google Drive. The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) drives the sustainable growth of Abu Dhabi's culture and tourism sectors and its creative industries, fuelling economic progress and helping to achieve Abu Dhabi's wider global ambitions. By working in partnership with the organisations that define the emirate's position as a leading international destination, DCT Abu Dhabi strives to unite the ecosystem around a shared vision of the emirate's potential, coordinate effort and investment, deliver innovative solutions, and use the best tools, policies and systems to support the culture and tourism. DCT Abu Dhabi's vision is defined by the emirate's people, heritage and landscape. We work to enhance Abu Dhabi's status as a place of authenticity, innovation, and unparalleled experiences, represented by its living traditions of hospitality, pioneering initiatives and creative thought. For more information about the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi and the destination, please visit: and About Public Art Abu Dhabi Public Art Abu Dhabi is the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi)'s new initiative under its ongoing commitment to commissioning public art for the emirate. Integral to this initiative is its community engagement efforts. The initiative advances the creative legacy, cultural infrastructure, liveability, and wellbeing of the UAE capital's residents through placemaking and collective memory. An investment of over 35 million US dollars is dedicated to the initiative annually, to support the emirate's wider creative industries through public art.
