Now you can tour the Portrait of a Nation II: Beyond Narratives exhibition anytime, anywhere. In a first-of-its-kind event, the digital launch of the landmark exhibition allows you to visit—and revisit—more than 100 artworks by 62 pioneering and emerging artists that shaped the nation’s visual arts landscape.
This panel discussion served as a platform for insightful conversations and valuable perspectives, emphasising the importance of cultural diplomacy and cross-cultural dialogue. Attendees had the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the UAE’s vibrant art scene and its profound impact on the international art community.
The show takes its title from the error message that flashes up when Al Qasimi attempts to boot up her old family computer: Abort, Retry, Fail? This machine connected the artist and her family to the world in the late 90’s and early 2000s, and until recently, served as a portal through which the artist could attempt an escape from reality, revisiting the games that kept her occupied as a child: as a pirate, a gunslinging biker, or a tiny ball bouncing off the edges of the screen.
The panel discussion, held on 6 October at the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in London, UK, was attended by various dignitaries, including Her Excellency Huda Alkhamis-Kanoo, Founder of the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation, and Founder and Artistic Director of Abu Dhabi Festival, and Sheikh Khalid Saud AlQasimi, Deputy Chief of Mission at the UAE Embassy in the UK, diplomats and decision-makers in the fields of culture and the arts as well as media representatives.
The panel discussion, held on 6 October at the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in London, UK, was attended by various dignitaries, including Her Excellency Huda Alkhamis-Kanoo, Founder of the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation, and Founder and Artistic Director of Abu Dhabi Festival, and Sheikh Khalid Saud AlQasimi, Deputy Chief of Mission at the UAE Embassy in the UK, diplomats and decision-makers in the fields of culture and the arts as well as media representatives.
In partnership with the Embassy of Japan to the UAE, Abu Dhabi Festival will showcase 42 prints produced by 10 prominent Japanese contemporary painters, including Yayoi Kusama, Masanari Murai and Yasukazu Tabuchi, who explored a wide range of possibilities through prints and expanded the range of expression in contemporary art using the print medium in the 1970s.
Riwaq Al Adab Wal Kitab aims to strengthen and support the Emirati publishing industry by presenting the achievements of Emirati and Arab writers. The initiative seeks to foster creativity among local writers and to preserve and celebrate the beauty of the Arabic language in literature and its role as a key element of national identity.
Portrait of a Nation II: Beyond Narratives, the jewel of Abu Dhabi Festival 2022, has come to a close but the story of the nation’s artistic development as it transpired over 50 years lives on through the innovative launch of the virtual exhibition, its book companion, Portrait of a Nation II and an upcoming world tour.
Portrait of a Nation II, the book companion to Abu Dhabi Festival 2022’s flagship Portrait of a Nation II: Beyond Narratives exhibition, guides readers through the remarkable transformation of the UAE’s art history, tracing the path chartered by 62 pioneering artists who have shaped the UAE’s visual arts scene as it unfolded over the past 50 years.
Vanguard flamenco dancer and choreographer María Pagés premieres her feminine vision of Carmen. Hailed all over the world as one of the finest contemporary flamenco shows, it is a new take on the gypsy cigarette girl from Mérimée’s novella who was made famous by Bizet and the storyteller of the Arabian Nights.
Acclaimed Algerian filmmaker Salem Brahimi documents the inspiring story of Algerian Olympic champion Hassiba Boulmerka’s rise in the 1990s as a symbol of courage and resistance against death threats from religious extremists and oppression. Echoing the struggle of young Muslim women in some places to be allowed to jog and engage in sports, the film ultimately raises questions about the place of women in our societies.
In a concert highlighting the unique quarter tonal Arabic musical system and the beauty of Arabic poetry in song, rising Syrian-American musician and composer Faraj Abyad will take audiences on a journey through Arab musical history and will explore vocal and instrumental improvisation and their relation to contemporary jazz.
In partnership with Ewa’a Shelter for Women and Children, a series of talks were hosted at the Expo 2020 Women’s Pavilion with international experts on humanitarian issues involving violence towards women. Aimed at strengthening awareness of violence and abuse, the talks explored what we can do as individuals, as a nation and as a community to make changes for a more violence-free world.
Beginning with a visual art exhibition, literature festival and musical performance, Abu Dhabi Festival is partnering with the Middle East Institute in an innovative ongoing collaboration to strengthen US-UAE cultural ties. In 2022, this diverse range of activities includes an exhibition of contemporary art by leading Middle Eastern artists whose work explores the impact of climate change on their communities and natural environment, and the need for greater sustainability.
Grammy-award-winning Catalan-Spanish conductor and musician Jordi Savall vividly performs the finest music of the Spanish Golden Age alongside his vocal ensembles La Capella Reial De Catalunya and Hespèrion XXI in this exquisitely crafted program spanning 500 years of Arabic cultural and historic roots in Andalusia.
Abu Dhabi Festival with the Emirates Youth Symphony Orchestra brings Vivaldi’s masterpiece to life in a wonderful concert featuring gems of baroque music on the occasion of COP 28. This concert features Vivaldi’s Four Seasons; a jewel of the composer’s extraordinary ability to illustrate moods as diverse and contrary as violent winds or birdsong, fox hunts, Harvest celebration and joy!
The Abu Dhabi Festival and the Middle East Institute’s Arts and Culture Center and are proud to present the Washington, D.C. premier of the New York Arabic Orchestra at The Barns at Wolf Trap under the artistic direction of award-winning and Grammy-nominated violinist, composer, and educator Layth Sidiq.
The show takes its title from the error message that flashes up when Al Qasimi attempts to boot up her old family computer: Abort, Retry, Fail? This machine connected the artist and her family to the world in the late 90’s and early 2000s, and until recently, served as a portal through which the artist could attempt an escape from reality, revisiting the games that kept her occupied as a child: as a pirate, a gunslinging biker, or a tiny ball bouncing off the edges of the screen.
The panel discussion, held on 6 October at the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in London, UK, was attended by various dignitaries, including Her Excellency Huda Alkhamis-Kanoo, Founder of the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation, and Founder and Artistic Director of Abu Dhabi Festival, and Sheikh Khalid Saud AlQasimi, Deputy Chief of Mission at the UAE Embassy in the UK, diplomats and decision-makers in the fields of culture and the arts as well as media representatives.
The panel discussion, held on 6 October at the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in London, UK, was attended by various dignitaries, including Her Excellency Huda Alkhamis-Kanoo, Founder of the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation, and Founder and Artistic Director of Abu Dhabi Festival, and Sheikh Khalid Saud AlQasimi, Deputy Chief of Mission at the UAE Embassy in the UK, diplomats and decision-makers in the fields of culture and the arts as well as media representatives.
Riwaq Al Adab Wal Kitab aims to strengthen and support the Emirati publishing industry by presenting the achievements of Emirati and Arab writers. The initiative seeks to foster creativity among local writers and to preserve and celebrate the beauty of the Arabic language in literature and its role as a key element of national identity.
Acclaimed Algerian filmmaker Salem Brahimi documents the inspiring story of Algerian Olympic champion Hassiba Boulmerka’s rise in the 1990s as a symbol of courage and resistance against death threats from religious extremists and oppression. Echoing the struggle of young Muslim women in some places to be allowed to jog and engage in sports, the film ultimately raises questions about the place of women in our societies.
Vanguard flamenco dancer and choreographer María Pagés premieres her feminine vision of Carmen. Hailed all over the world as one of the finest contemporary flamenco shows, it is a new take on the gypsy cigarette girl from Mérimée’s novella who was made famous by Bizet and the storyteller of the Arabian Nights.
In a concert highlighting the unique quarter tonal Arabic musical system and the beauty of Arabic poetry in song, rising Syrian-American musician and composer Faraj Abyad will take audiences on a journey through Arab musical history and will explore vocal and instrumental improvisation and their relation to contemporary jazz.
In partnership with the Embassy of Japan to the UAE, Abu Dhabi Festival will showcase 42 prints produced by 10 prominent Japanese contemporary painters, including Yayoi Kusama, Masanari Murai and Yasukazu Tabuchi, who explored a wide range of possibilities through prints and expanded the range of expression in contemporary art using the print medium in the 1970s.
Portrait of a Nation II: Beyond Narratives, the jewel of Abu Dhabi Festival 2022, has come to a close but the story of the nation’s artistic development as it transpired over 50 years lives on through the innovative launch of the virtual exhibition, its book companion, Portrait of a Nation II and an upcoming world tour.
In partnership with Ewa’a Shelter for Women and Children, a series of talks were hosted at the Expo 2020 Women’s Pavilion with international experts on humanitarian issues involving violence towards women. Aimed at strengthening awareness of violence and abuse, the talks explored what we can do as individuals, as a nation and as a community to make changes for a more violence-free world.
Beginning with a visual art exhibition, literature festival and musical performance, Abu Dhabi Festival is partnering with the Middle East Institute in an innovative ongoing collaboration to strengthen US-UAE cultural ties. In 2022, this diverse range of activities includes an exhibition of contemporary art by leading Middle Eastern artists whose work explores the impact of climate change on their communities and natural environment, and the need for greater sustainability.
In a concert highlighting the unique quarter tonal Arabic musical system and the beauty of Arabic poetry in song, rising Syrian-American musician and composer Faraj Abyad will take audiences on a journey through Arab musical history and will explore vocal and instrumental improvisation and their relation to contemporary jazz.
Vanguard flamenco dancer and choreographer María Pagés premieres her feminine vision of Carmen. Hailed all over the world as one of the finest contemporary flamenco shows, it is a new take on the gypsy cigarette girl from Mérimée’s novella who was made famous by Bizet and the storyteller of the Arabian Nights.
Acclaimed Algerian filmmaker Salem Brahimi documents the inspiring story of Algerian Olympic champion Hassiba Boulmerka’s rise in the 1990s as a symbol of courage and resistance against death threats from religious extremists and oppression. Echoing the struggle of young Muslim women in some places to be allowed to jog and engage in sports, the film ultimately raises questions about the place of women in our societies.
Riwaq Al Adab Wal Kitab aims to strengthen and support the Emirati publishing industry by presenting the achievements of Emirati and Arab writers. The initiative seeks to foster creativity among local writers and to preserve and celebrate the beauty of the Arabic language in literature and its role as a key element of national identity.
Portrait of a Nation II, the book companion to Abu Dhabi Festival 2022’s flagship Portrait of a Nation II: Beyond Narratives exhibition, guides readers through the remarkable transformation of the UAE’s art history, tracing the path chartered by 62 pioneering artists who have shaped the UAE’s visual arts scene as it unfolded over the past 50 years.
Acclaimed Algerian filmmaker Salem Brahimi documents the inspiring story of Algerian Olympic champion Hassiba Boulmerka’s rise in the 1990s as a symbol of courage and resistance against death threats from religious extremists and oppression. Echoing the struggle of young Muslim women in some places to be allowed to jog and engage in sports, the film ultimately raises questions about the place of women in our societies.
In a concert highlighting the unique quarter tonal Arabic musical system and the beauty of Arabic poetry in song, rising Syrian-American musician and composer Faraj Abyad will take audiences on a journey through Arab musical history and will explore vocal and instrumental improvisation and their relation to contemporary jazz.
In partnership with Ewa’a Shelter for Women and Children, a series of talks were hosted at the Expo 2020 Women’s Pavilion with international experts on humanitarian issues involving violence towards women. Aimed at strengthening awareness of violence and abuse, the talks explored what we can do as individuals, as a nation and as a community to make changes for a more violence-free world.
Beginning with a visual art exhibition, literature festival and musical performance, Abu Dhabi Festival is partnering with the Middle East Institute in an innovative ongoing collaboration to strengthen US-UAE cultural ties. In 2022, this diverse range of activities includes an exhibition of contemporary art by leading Middle Eastern artists whose work explores the impact of climate change on their communities and natural environment, and the need for greater sustainability.
