Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial hosts art installations across the emirate

The inaugural Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial has been launched (Nov. 15) with an array of art installations and activities over the weekend, manifesting Abu Dhabi emirate’s desire to celebrate creativity and culture. Crowds of visitors from all ages and backgrounds flocked to downtown Abu Dhabi and Al Ain to take part in its debut, a key pillar of the Public Art Abu Dhabi initiative, organised by the Department of Culture and Tourism — Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi). Running till April 30, 2025, the exhibition explores the idea of ‘public’ within the special context of Abu Dhabi. Over the launch weekend, visitors explored the eight Biennial routes, discovering works by more than 70 artists from across the UAE and the world. Together, these works reflect how Abu Dhabi’s public life is shaped by the city’s environmental conditions, communal way of living, indigeneity, architecture, and city planning.

The Biennial routes are designed to encourage the public to prospect by foot or car, and discover iconic Abu Dhabi locations in new ways. The Abu Dhabi Corniche Route is a one-hour walking route featuring works by Wael Al Awar, Oscar Murillo, Farah Al Qasimi, Bik Van der Pol, Tania Candiani, Sammy Baloji, UT-R Studio and Nicholas Galanin. The Abu Dhabi Public Parks Route is another one-hour walking route that spans Urban Park, Formal Park, Lake Park and Recreation Park. It features works by Abdullah Al Saadi, Hashel Al Lamki, Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Kader Attia, Khalil Rabah, Seema Nusrat, Rami Kashou x Artisans of the UAE, Paweł Althamer, Nathan Coley, Athar Jaber and Allora & Calzadilla.

Afra Al Dhaheri work titled D-constructing Collective Exhaustion.

The Abu Dhabi Bus Terminal Route is a 30-minute walking course featuring works both inside and outside the terminal by Hussein Sharif, Zeinab Alhashemi, Henrique Oliveira, and Eko Nugroho. The Downtown Abu Dhabi Route is a one-hour walking beat featuring works by Azza Al Qubaisi, Superflex, Lucia Koch, Nathan Coley, Mohammed Al Hawajri and Radhika Khimji. The Carpet Souq Route is a 40-minute driving path featuring works by Christopher Joshua Benton, Khalil Rabah, Eddie Clemens, Yeesookyung and guBuyoBand. The National Theatre Route is a 30-minute driving circuit featuring works by Afra Al Dhaheri and Kabir Mohanty, located at Umm Al Emarat Park and the National Theatre.

The Cultural Foundation Route is a 30-minute walking route featuring works by Mohamed Al Astad, Ayesha Hadir, Wael Shawky, Mircea Cantor, Nnenna Okore and Load na Dito. The Al Ain Oasis Route, which includes Hili Archaeological Park and Al Jahili Fort, is a 45-minute driving route featuring works by Rawdha Al Ketbi, Shaikha Al Ketbi, Alex Ayed, Nathan Coley, and Yeesookyung. Along the way, visitors are invited to pause and appreciate the city’s sights and sounds, as well as try home-grown F&B concepts at designated zones between routes and locations. Ground zero of food, celebration and activities for all ages, each hub taps into Abu Dhabi’s cultural landscape.

Barzakh by Wael Al Awar.

The hubs, transforming public spaces with performances, pop-up restaurants, and shops, give guests a chance to take a piece of the Biennial home. They are located in the Carpet Souq, Lake Park, Formal Park, Corniche Beach, and Urban Park. There is also a diverse array of community engagement activities planned throughout the Biennial, open for the public, including talks, film screenings, interactive experiences, workshops, children’s activities, tours, and wellness events.

On November 15, visitors were treated to a musical show at Abu Dhabi Corniche, presented at the Travelling Stage created by artist Tania Candiani. The next day, guests enjoyed a performance from Emirati artist Afra Al Dhaheri at the National Theatre, exploring the roles of time and presence in her practice. Visitors were treated to other activities, including the one on November 19, when sound artist Safeya Alblooshi presented her experiments with found sound in a participatory performance at Abu Dhabi Corniche; November 22, as multidisciplinary artist and curator Ntshepe Tsekere, offered a listening session, performance and talk, reflecting the philosophy of Globalisto — the interplay of sound, memory, and identity in diasporic communities for audiences aged 15 and above; and November 23, when guBuyoBand hosted an interactive workshop at Cultural Foundation, where participants shared local folktales and stories, used to collectively paint an abstract visualisation of a landscape based on their conversations. On November 24, poet and writer Deepak Unnikrishnan will host a workshop for audiences aged over 18 at the Abu Dhabi Main Bus Terminal.

Seema Nusrat's work titled Floating Fragments.

The Biennial is one of three pillars of the Public Art Abu Dhabi initiative, announced by DCT Abu Dhabi in March 2023. The initiative includes annual direct commission works, the biannual Manar Abu Dhabi light art exhibition (the first edition ran Nov. 15, 2023 to January 30, 2024), and the Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial. Commissions for public art for the emirate is included along with community engagement efforts. An investment of over 35 million US dollars is dedicated to the initiative annually. The Biennial will unveil a second wave of art installations and activities beginning January 2025. It will inaugurate the second phase of the exhibition with works by Latifa Saeed, Atelier Aziz Al Qatami, Anga Art Collective, Arquitectura Expandida, Daniel Buren, Alia Farid, Ayesha Hadhir, Emily Jacir and Mobile Akademie Berlin and Rami Kashou x Artisans of the UAE.