Art to enjoy in the UAE this weekend: Painting at Louvre Abu Dhabi and classic films

Plus, visit Dubai's newest cultural centre and the latest Made in Tashkeel exhibition

Made in Tashkeel is running at FN Designs in Dubai’s Alserkal Avenue until Tuesday. Pawan Singh / The National

This weekend offers a wealth of ways to become immersed in art, including watching classic films at Cinema Akil and hand-painting at Louvre Abu Dhabi.

Here are four things to try.

Book an Easel at Louvre Abu Dhabi

Running every Sunday until September 22, Louvre Abu Dhabi’s Book an Easel programme invites adults to try their hand at painting, no matter their experience level.

The activity, which costs Dh150, includes an easel, paint, canvas and all the art materials needed to get visitors' creative juices flowing. The course includes a 30-minute skill development activity as a warm-up, before painters take on the easel at the museum’s Art Studio. The workshop is open to 15 participants weekly, and booking ahead is advised.

Kutubna Cultural Centre

Kutubna Cultural Centre is a bookstore at its core, but since marking a soft opening last year, it has blossomed into something larger. The centre is now formally celebrating its opening through One Hundred Years of Painting: Arab Art from 1916 to 2017, an exhibition that is running until October 13. It features 27 paintings drawn from two collections of Arab art in Dubai, the International House Group collection and Al Noon Residence collection.

These include paintings by Amine El Bacha, Shakir Hassan, Saliba Douaihy, Fateh Moudarres, Georges Sabbagh and Najat Makki.

Cinema Akil's summer of classic film

Cinema Akil's Summer of Classics programme is presenting 17 titles from around the world. And while there's a good chance visitors may have seen some of them, it's less likely they would've been watched on the big screen within the past 10 years.

This weekend, Cinema Akil is presenting the 1965 mystery The Sleeping Car Murders by Costa-Gavras. The film follows a group of people on an overnight train from Marseilles to Paris who become embroiled in a murder investigation.

Other films in the line-up include Mike Newell’s 1994 film Four Weddings and a Funeral centres on the misadventures of a steadfast bachelor who contends with love across several social occasions; and Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1987 classic The Last Emperor will also be playing. The Oscar-winning film is dedicated to the final monarch of China's Qing dynasty.

Claude Sautet’s The Things of Life, meanwhile, is a 1970 romantic drama that revolves around a car accident, ricocheting between events surrounding it. Finally, M Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense, arguably the finest title of the master thriller’s oeuvre, will be also playing. The film tells the story of a child psychologist who treats a young boy who regularly encounters the dead.

Made in Tashkeel

For those diffident about trying out the easel, perhaps there's inspiration to be found at the returning Made in Tashkeel exhibition. The show features 100 artists associated with the art institution.

Many of the artists are presenting more than one work, meaning the exhibition at FN Designs in Dubai’s Alserkal Avenue is brimming with art. The walls are decked floor-to-ceiling with paintings and photographs, risoprints and AI-generated images. Installations are sprawled across the floor, whereas smaller sculptures are curated on top of the centre tables.

There is a sense of awe at the sheer number of works on display, not to mention the wide array of mediums they cover. The exhibition is an annual mainstay event by Tashkeel. It is especially significant for emerging talents in the country, giving them a chance to present their work and gain much-needed exposure. Like every year, there are gems to be discovered and promising talents to look out for.