Public Art Abu Dhabi to transform city with installations, light festival and biennale

Government aims to draw 'world's eyes' to Abu Dhabi and cement its capital of culture status

Public Art Abu Dhabi unveiled its first installation, a multimedia piece called Wave by the collective D'strict. Photo: Department of Culture and Tourism — Abu Dhabi

The Department of Culture and Tourism — Abu Dhabi has launched a public art initiative that will transform the emirate's public spaces and landscapes through commissioned works, a light festival and a biennial.

Public Art Abu Dhabi will embed works from both UAE and international artists within the city’s streets, parks and landmarks. The artworks will range in style and substance, including sculptures, installations, digital art, murals and architectural projects interventions, alongside performances and more ephemeral works. They will aim to reflect on the cultural identity of the UAE's capital.

“The artworks will appear across the city, from tunnels and roundabouts to bridges and parks,” Saood Abdulaziz Al Hosani, Undersecretary of DCT — Abu Dhabi, said during the initiative’s launch ceremony on Monday evening.

“Artists will take inspiration from Abu Dhabi and highlight our modern heritage and natural landscape. Abu Dhabi’s most valuable treasure is its people. That is why community engagement is so important."

Al Hosani said an annual investment of $35 million will be dedicated to the initiative.

"Public art is the way to progress our creative industry," he said. "We will support Emirati artists alongside international talents. Their work will reflect our diverse and multicultural society. Through public art, the world's eyes will be drawn towards Abu Dhabi."

Al Hosani said that every cultural institution within the emirate will, in some way, be associated with the initiative.

"We are committed to cementing Abu Dhabi's position as a capital of culture and destination for creativity," he said. "When we open all our museums, we will have art in every corner and in every park in Abu Dhabi."

The project launch was marked with an unveiling of its first public art installation, a multimedia piece displayed on the exterior wall of the Cultural Foundation. Featuring tides rolling and ebbing on a beach, Wave was conceived by the artistic collective D’strict and uses an illusory visual technique to evoke three-dimensional waves from the two-dimensional projection. The artwork was first shown at Coex K-Pop Square in Seoul, South Korea.

With more artworks set to be installed across Abu Dhabi in annual commissions, the initiative seeks to promote public engagement with art and to make it more accessible year-round.

Manar Abu Dhabi, meanwhile, will be an annual light art platform that will highlight the natural beauty of the city, from its islands and mangroves to its desert landscapes. The event will launch in November. The artworks will vary from light projections, sculptures and installations to performances oriented around the surrounding landscapes.

“Public art is a way for us to celebrate the beauty of our Emirates,” Al Hosani said. “We will bring light installations to areas of natural beauty, including our mangroves.”

The flagship event of Public Art Abu Dhabi will run every two years and transform the capital into an open-air arts festival. Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial will be co-curated by Reem Fadda along with independent curator Galit Eilat.

The event will mark its first event in November next year. It will take place across Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Dhafra, with an emphasis on modern heritage locations. The biennial will be dedicated to showcasing works by artists from across the region and the Global South. The first Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial will feature more than 30 commissions by 50 artists.

“We are bringing art for the public and in the public,” Fadda, director of Cultural Foundation and Abu Dhabi Cultural Programmes, said. “We want to engage a civic discourse, one that is rooted in our society.”

“We don’t want you to only come to our sites and our museums, we will bring art to you,” she said. “You will walk in the streets of Abu Dhabi and encounter art; you will find it across your everyday journey. You will recognise your city through the lens of art.”

Public Art Abu Dhabi will also work toward the conservation of key architectural and urban spaces. It will highlight their significance, whether historical, aesthetic or scientific. The initiative will work alongside DCT Abu Dhabi’s Modern Heritage Conservation Initiative, which identifies, safeguards and maintains sites that narrate the country’s more recent past.

"We want to ensure we protect and sustain Abu Dhabi's cultural heritage," Rita Aoun, Executive Director of Culture Sector at the department, said.

"We have inscribed 30 intangible heritage elements. We have mapped Abu Dhabi's historic environment record. We mapped historical buildings, cultural landscapes and modern heritage that allow us to understand the significance of a place, its history and social fabric. We have recorded 1,250 cultural landscapes and protected 64 historical buildings, including the Cultural Foundation."

The artworks that will come as part of Public Art Abu Dhabi will further highlight these key places, embedding "within its memory and be part of the city itself".

"The youth will interact with the public art strategy," she added. "Public art is not only about the final product, it's about the creative process. Through public art, we aim to foster a strong cultural identity that is deeply rooted in heritage and creativity. This is how we'll be able to protect the unique and defined cultural identity of Abu Dhabi, but also to be able to share it with the world."