Abu Dhabi Festival will present the Middle East’s first outdoor Children’s Biennale at Umm Al Emarat Park from 6 November to 6 December, transforming the Abu Dhabi green space into an interactive art experience designed to encourage creativity, curiosity and environmental awareness among young visitors.
Held under the
patronage of Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister,
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Founding Honorary Patron of Abu Dhabi Festival,
and Sheikha Shamsa bint Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, Chairperson of the
Higher Committee of the Ataya Initiative, the event is the flagship initiative
of the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation (ADMAF).
Titled ‘How the World
Feels’, the Biennale is presented in partnership with National Gallery
Singapore, Umm Al Emarat Park and Salayel Hospitality.
It will feature eight
interactive installations exploring touch, sound, movement and light, alongside
family activities, workshops and school tours organised as part of the UAE’s
2026 Year of Family.
Curated by Dana
Almazrouei, seven newly commissioned installations will showcase works by UAE
artists Alia AlShamsi, Aya Afaneh, Hana El-Sagini, Moza Almatrooshi, Moza
Almazrouei, Meera Almazrooei, Nada Almosa in collaboration with UT-R Studio,
and Sarah Afaneh.
Set among the park’s
trees and open spaces, the installations will explore ecology, biodiversity,
Emirati culture and heritage, encouraging children to discover their
surroundings through hands-on experiences.
The programme also
celebrates Umm Al Emarat Park’s role in bringing communities together through
education, recreation and connections with nature.
An international
dimension comes through Indonesian artist Eko Nugroho’s Kenangan Kunang-Kunang
(Memories of Fireflies), an immersive installation inspired by traditional
Eastern Javanese lanterns.
Originally commissioned by National Gallery
Singapore for its 2019 Gallery Children's Biennale, the work marks the
institution’s first collaboration in the region and aims to strengthen cultural
exchange between the UAE and Singapore.
"Children are not
just visitors to this park — we want them to be its custodians," says
curator Dana Almazrouei. "We wanted to ask the kind of questions adults
often stop asking: what stories lie beneath the soil? How does sound travel through
a park? Working with each artist, we thought first about how a child would
experience the piece, and what they might carry with them afterwards.
"Play is how
children come to understand the world. As historian Johan Huizinga observed,
play creates temporary worlds shaped by shared rules and imagination, and
that's what we hope this park becomes. It isn't just a way to make art
accessible; it's how children think, discover and build their own stories,
together."
The public programme
will include artist-led workshops on 6, 7, 13 and 14 November, from 6.30pm,
featuring drawing, weaving, lantern-making, sound exploration and collaborative
activities.
Morning guided tours
will also be available for schools throughout the exhibition.
Additionally, a panel
discussion titled From Place to Belonging: How Art Shapes the Way We Feel the
World will take place on 20 November at AGORA: A Dance of Umbrella Forests, the
Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial’s main hub in Mina Zayed.
The initiative aims to
position Abu Dhabi as a destination for innovative cultural experiences for
young audiences, while bringing families together and inspiring future
generations of artists and creative thinkers. -TradeArabia News Service