Abu Dhabi night sky lit up by light art exhibition

Manar Abu Dhabi features sculptures, projections and immersive works

The exhibition will run at locations around Abu Dhabi, including Lulu Island, until the end of January. Photo: Jonathan Haysom

The Abu Dhabi skyline was lit up by a laser display near the World Trade Centre on Wednesday.

The display was part of Manar Abu Dhabi, a new outdoor exhibition of light art, which promises to show the capital in a whole new way.

The event aims to turn the city into a public art exhibition.

Its theme is Grounding Light and it features sculptures, projections and immersive works by different artists.

The event is part of the Public Art Abu Dhabi initiative announced by the Department of Culture and Tourism earlier this year.

It will run for three months at Corniche Road, Lulu Island, Samaliayah Island, Fahid Island, Jubail mangroves, Saadiyat Island and the Eastern mangroves.

There are more than 35 new commissions by local, regional and international artists.

The works include light pieces by Emirati artist Mohammed Kazem, renowned Palestinian artist Samia Halaby, Emirati poet and artist Nujoom Al Ghanem, Tunisian visual artist Nadia Kaabi-Linke, Mexican-Canadian electronic artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer and Japanese international art collective teamLab.

“Manar Abu Dhabi, as a concept was always about nature, it was always about letting the earth speak to us, allowing that to be the thing that enlightens our experience,” co-curator Reem Fadda, who is also the artistic director of Public Art Abu Dhabi, told The National.

“The theme came from the idea of the earth around us in Abu Dhabi, that natural beauty, that ecology specifically speaking to us.”

Manar Abu Dhabi 2023 – in pictures