Latest news with #PublicArtAbuDhabiBiennial
Al Etihad
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Al Etihad
Emirati artist Zeinab Alhashemi sparks reflection as concrete meets nature in her Abu Dhabi Bus Terminal artwork
30 Apr 2025 00:25 SARA ALZAABI (ABU DHABI)Amid rapid urban growth, pockets of nature continue to flourish — and Emirati conceptual artist Zeinab Alhashemi captured just that in her artwork 'Equilibrium.''Equilibrium' was among the installations showcased as part of the Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial, which concludes on April 30. This year's series brought together more than 70 artists from the UAE and who have been to the Abu Dhabi Bus Terminal recently must have seen the unique concrete installations that have been topped by a layer of grass. This, Alhashemi said, highlights the link between nature and urban development.'My work explores the contrast between the UAE's rapid industrialisation and the resilience of natural elements,' Alhashemi told Aletihad.'By using materials like concrete and steel—symbols synonymous with the industrial boom — I reflect on the country's architectural transformation and urban growth. At the same time, integrating elements like grass highlights nature's quiet persistence amidst this expansion. This duality mirrors my art practice, which often examines how human interventions reshape natural landscapes, encouraging viewers to reflect on the balance between progress and preservation.'Alhashemi's work consistently explores both the tension and harmony between the natural and the artificial. She uses materials like cement and metal to represent human progress, and elements like grass or coral to reflect nature's rapid urbanisation of the UAE significantly influences her vision and material choices.'Urbanisation is both an inspiration and a subject in my work. The rapid transformation of cities like Abu Dhabi reflects a fascinating intersection of tradition and progress,' she said.'By integrating natural elements, I question what is lost or preserved in this process, inviting viewers to contemplate their relationship with the spaces they inhabit.'Her installations, such as the one inspired by Abu Dhabi's Bus Terminal, aim to create a thoughtful dialogue on the coexistence between industry and the Alhashemi, location is never just a backdrop — it is a collaborator. The physical and cultural context of each site deeply influences her approach.'Each site carries its own history, cultural significance, and environmental context, which I deeply research before beginning a piece.''Equilibrium' draws inspiration from Abu Dhabi's brutalist heritage but also incorporates natural elements that speak to the city's ongoing urban and environmental evolution, Alhashemi said.'My aim is to create installations that resonate with the public's surroundings, inviting them to connect with the space on a deeper level.'Creating art in public spaces brings unique challenges—logistical, climatic, and cultural. For Alhashemi, however, the harsh weather, the limitations, and audience diversity are not hurdles but opportunities for innovation. Global Appeal Though inspired by the UAE's urban landscape, Alhashemi's work resonates globally. Its themes — nature vs industry, tradition vs modernity—are selection plays a key role in driving this dialogue. For Alhashemi, every choice is intentional.'I select materials that carry symbolic weight —concrete for strength and industrialisation, steel for transformation over time, and grass for nature's persistence. I enjoy pushing these materials beyond their traditional roles,' she 'Equilibrium', for example, concrete becomes 'a canvas for life' with the living grass on top of it, encouraging interaction and blurring the line between natural and artificial, she uses her art to spark reflection on the environment, hoping it leads viewers to greater awareness and, ultimately, action.'Participating in the biennial is an incredible honour and a milestone in my career. It signifies the growing recognition of public art's role in shaping cultural identity and fostering dialogue,' she said.'The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi has been instrumental in supporting artists like me, offering platforms that celebrate contemporary practices while honouring the UAE's heritage. Their vision aligns with my own, allowing me to contribute to Abu Dhabi's evolving cultural landscape in meaningful ways.' The biennial, she added, not only celebrates art but also 'amplifies the voices of Emirati artists, showcasing our unique perspectives to a global audience.'
Al Etihad
14-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Al Etihad
Immerse yourself in the sights and sounds of pearl diving heritage along the Corniche
15 Apr 2025 01:30 SARA ALZAABI (ABU DHABI)As part of the first edition of the Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial, Farah Al Qasimi's exhibition, entitled "Homesickness", brings together sound, sculpture and memory to honour the legacy of pearl diving in the Emirates - a deeply rooted tradition that has shaped the region's cultural and economic display along the Corniche, the installation features five shimmering oyster forms, each concealing a speaker that plays a layered chorus of synthetic soundscape is based on Tob, Tob Ya Bahar — a chant historically sung by the wives of pearl divers — a choice that carries both emotional and symbolic Biennial showcases site-specific installations and performances across Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, exploring how public spaces, influenced by the environment, architecture and community life, shape the emirate's by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), the initiative, being held under the theme "Public Matter" and with the participation of over 70 UAE-based and international artists, is running until April initiative also aims to enhance cultural infrastructure, community engagement, and wellbeing through large-scale installations, sculptures, and performances across multiple outdoor to Aletihad, Al Qasimi said: "I made this particular piece for Abu Dhabi, and I don't think it would have the same resonance anywhere else. I try to be as conscious as possible of context and location, but more and more, my practice is shifting beyond the hyper-local."The project reflects her cross-cultural perspective, shaped by living between Dubai and New York. "Abu Dhabi was pretty globalised when I was growing up," she said. "But I also spent a lot of time in the US with my mother's family, so my upbringing was naturally informed by many different cultures and social dynamics. I do not think it is a conscious balancing, but rather an extension of my natural worldview."Gender and identity also play an integral role in her art. "Every artist is informed by their identities whether it is foregrounded in the work or not," she noted. "Many of the people I photograph are other women, because there are shared experiences we have that I feel inherently comfortable translating into an artwork. For example, in this biennial piece, I chose to highlight the wives of pearl divers rather than the divers themselves."Although visually striking, the piece remains rooted in the documentary; an approach Al Qasimi feels naturally lends itself to addressing present-day concerns. "My work is rooted in the documentary, so by nature, it is addressing contemporary issues unfolding around me," she too, plays a quiet but essential role. The use of iridescent paint and LED lights adds a modern layer to a traditional subject, while also reflecting shifting modes of visual communication. "I use a digital camera," she said, "and I am very aware of how our relationship to image-making is shifting with social media."Asked about the impact of globalisation in the wider Biennial, she pointed to Lawrence Abu Hamdan's work. "I have not yet seen all the works," she admitted, "but I have really appreciated seeing the general public engage with his rhythmic work."Ultimately, Al Qasimi hopes her practice contributes to a broader conversation around cultural globalisation. "I hope that my work will function in a way that transcends the specificity of a singular place, and that it may contain surprising familiarities to people that will invite them to rethink their relationship to the broader world," she added.
Al Etihad
14-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Al Etihad
This art installation in Abu Dhabi calls on everyone to slow down, breathe
15 Apr 2025 01:25 SARA ALZAABI (ABU DHABI)Amid Abu Dhabi's rapid rise as one of the world's top cities, artist Afra Al Dhaheri offers a reminder in her latest work for the Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial: Slow by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), the biennial runs until April 30, exploring the evolving concept of "public" in the city and examining how public spaces - influenced by the environment, architecture, and community life - shape Abu Dhabi's an experience made of wooden structures, tangled ropes, subtle lighting, and layered sound, Al Dhaheri's installation becomes a quiet space-a sanctuary from the overstimulation of modern "D-constructing Collective Exhaustion (2024)", it is a call to reconnect with the body and mind - to feel, breathe, and remember."Adapting to change is basically a theme that I have been working with. I reflect on how we adapt to this rapid change that we are enduring inevitably. And one of the solutions was to try and attempt slowing down time," Al Dhaheri told observed how in today's fast-paced environment, we often lose touch with the present: "Our span of memory is affected, we do not remember things clearly when they are close in time. Instead, our memories become clearer from when we were younger. And now, our memory has shifted from the brain to the phone."Through long, laborious creative processes, Al Dhaheri tries to stretch time, giving space for moments to settle and this piece, repetition plays a central role. The artist and her team spent two months untwisting commercially processed rope, taking it back to its raw, wool-like form."It does not require thinking, but it requires doing. And in doing in this repetitive manner, you can question or imagine this process. Repetition is a very important part of our culture, religion. There is persistence in it, there is calmness, like when you get a panic attack and they ask you to regulate your breathing," she for her, is also a way to revisit simpler gestures of life. It is not just about making art - it's about reawakening and its impact on identity are central undercurrents in her thought process, Al Dhaheri said."It is inevitable, we are witnessing it. We are living in a time where change is happening so rapidly. When urban development happens, it functions like a timeline; a visual record of how quickly the landscape is evolving," she said. Time and Fragility Speaking to Aletihad about the way she works with materials to express time and fragility, Al Dhaheri shared: "I think materials hold meaning. Every material we see that I use, myself or the audience might have their own personal association to it … So, it opens interpretation for people to exist within time and explore these interpretations."She added: "The time spent producing the work or exhausting the material becomes a time of making and a time of breaking down meaning and understanding."As for why she chooses specific materials, Al Dhaheri's process is often driven by curiosity."Sometimes the mediums choose me, I don't choose them. It takes a bit of learning and experimentation to understand what else can I do with this material," she recalled how working with concrete, rope, or plaster led to new insights about their strength, fragility, and symbolic power."I started working with rope as a representation for hair because it behaves similarly. But then, hair carries a lot of meaning - it can relate to privacy, religion, cultural norms. Out of this one material, you can have all these different meanings."Ultimately, Al Dhaheri hopes her work offers something lasting - not just for now, but for the future. "My work sometimes will be accessed a certain way nowadays. But I do think that it holds a lot of meaning for the future. I always imagine historians in the future looking back, and wonder how this work can be a look back for them to understand that there were attempts to slow down, to think differently, to engage both body and mind-and not just the eyes."
What's On
27-03-2025
- Entertainment
- What's On
9 fantastic things to do in Abu Dhabi this weekend: March 28 to 30
All the fun to be had in Abu Dhabi this Ramadan… As we bid farewell to Ramadan in the capital, we look back at these past four weeks and what a month it has been, come with the promise of great fun and even greater choices in the capital. And on that note, here are 9 things to do in Abu Dhabi this weekend. Friday, March 28 End the week on a foodie note The Keg Room is offering a delicious business lunch offering Monday through Friday. Guests can enjoy a choice of two delicious courses – starter and main or main and desert – and a drink for just Dhs85. From noon to 4pm, kick back and relax for a quick bite or a leisurely lunch. The Keg Room, Al Zeina, Abu Dhabi, Mon to Fri, noon to 4pm, Tel: (0) 56 410 4101, @ Discover stunning art across the city The second phase of the Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial will run till April 30, 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. Embrace the spirit of the season with pre- or post-Iftar journeys through the Corniche, public parks, the historical Hili Archaeological Site, the serene Al Ain Oasis, the vibrant Cultural Foundation, and the bustling Carpet Souq. Explore installations by local and international artists that reflect on community, environment, and cultural heritage along the routes outlined on the Public Art Abu Dhabi website. Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial, @publicartabudhabi Meet the new Seed & Bloom Cafe Seed & Bloom, homegrown café, has opened its doors at Al Raha Gardens Plaza, offering a space where organic, locally sourced ingredients, artisanal craftsmanship, and community spirit come together. The café also hosts interactive workshops and community events, fostering a space where guests can gather, learn, and grow together. Seed & Bloom, Al Raha Gardens Plaza, Abu Dhabi, daily, 8am to 11pm, Tel: (0) 56 377 3443, @seedandbloomcafe Dive into a world of wonder when the mystifying Pluma Circus comes to town this March, with jaw-dropping stunts, dazzling new acts, and mind-blowing visual effects that will leave you on the edge of your seat. This is the ultimate spectacle for when you want to enjoy huge stunts, big thrills and a fresh take on circus entertainment. Pluma, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, March 28 to April 6, from Dhs95, Saturday, March 29 Do weekend brunch at Mika Set sail on a journey to the heart of the Mediterranean with the Riviera Brunch at Yas Marina hotspot MIKA by Chef Mario Loi. Expect a range of sharing platters, served alongside your own Spritz cocktail, courtesy of MIKA's roaming sprizeria, a unique feature that brings the Mediterranean zest to your table. Yas Marina, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, Sat, 1.30pm to 4.30pm, Dhs299 soft, Dhs449 house, Dhs595 Champagne, Tel: (0)56 433 1422, @ Tuck into a family BBQ Every Saturday, Saadiyat Beach Golf Club hosts a Family BBQ Par-Tee, inviting all to enjoy a relaxed afternoon with great food and entertainment. Families can indulge in flame-grilled favorites fresh from the live BBQ on the lawn, enjoy entertainment, and keep the little ones engaged with kid-friendly fun, including a bouncy castle. Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, Mar 22, 1pm to 5pm, starts at Dhs199, Tel: (0) 56 660 8780, Be one with nature at Al Ain Zoo The largest zoo in the Middle East houses an enormous collection of snakes, reptiles, deer, exotic birds, and much more. You can even feed lions, enjoy a mountain biking experience around the zoo, take part in a lemur walk, or have breakfast with their giraffes. If you're on the lookout for edgier options, you can also go on a cheetah run at the Zoo Amphitheatre. Adding to your unforgettable Al Ain Zoo experience are several restaurants, cafes and shops to unwind after a day of memory-making. Al Ain Zoo, Nahyan the First St, Abu Dhabi, 9am to 6pm daily, Dhs31 adults, Dhs10 children. @alainzoouae Sunday, March 30 Try an iftar menu for the last time This Ramadan, 99 Sushi Bar & Restaurant Abu Dhabi celebrate welcomes you to savour a generous 12-course menu during the holy month of Ramadan, featuring some of the venue's classics. Embark on a unique journey of flavours with your loved ones, and begin with traditional dates and tea before you move on to their ceremonial capumiso soup and kobe edamame, wild mushroom gyozas, delicate sea bass and sea scallop ceviche, 99 wagyu maki, and robata wagyu skewers , plus 99's decadent mochi ice cream. 99 Sushi Bar and Restaurant, The Galleria Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi, Dhs299 per guest, Tel: (0)2 672 3333, @99sushibaruae Immerse yourself in local nature A bit of natural history for you, and quite a spectacular bit at that. The Al Wathba Fossil Dunes Reserve is located 45 kilometres outside Abu Dhabi city and is home to more than 1,700 fossil dunes. The dystopian-esque stone structures were formed with the force of wind and sediment deposits over four million years, according to experts. The reserve itself is visitor-friendly, with trails, benches, shading, light and sound shows and an amphitheatre. Images: Getty
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.
