Public Art Abu Dhabi unveiled its first installation, a multimedia piece called WAVE by the Seoul-based collective d’strict.
Photo: Department of Culture and Tourism — Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi is the latest city aiming to put itself on the contemporary art map with the launch of a new biennial next year centred on public art. The new biennial—known as the Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial—is a key strand of an umbrella initiative (Public Art Abu Dhabi) funded annually via a $35m package provided by the emirate’s Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT). The biennial will be curated by Reem Fadda—director of the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation and Abu Dhabi Cultural Programmes—and the independent curator Galit Eilat.
Fadda says that the public art aspect will make this particular biennial stand out in a packed events calendar. “You're going to walk in the city and see art. People don't know the work the Department of Culture and Tourism has been doing. For example, there's been a ten-year project involving mapping modern heritage elements of the city, from its buildings to their small cafes, to the old shops, which we call urban treasures.”
The issue of what remains permanent in the city post-biennial is under discussion. “Once we get into projects that are permanent, that's a different discussion and that also requires certain guidelines and conservation,” Fadda says. “We're not flooding the city suddenly with hundreds of public sculpture," adding that discussion will involve "community stakeholders" as well as "governmental and private stakeholders".
The aim is for the biennial to dovetail with other key art events in the region such as the established Sharjah Biennial. “The whole point is that we are absolutely building on the regional offering, looking at what Sharjah has been doing or Saudi Arabian cities such as Riyadh. We're trying to complement these.”
Another aspect of Public Art Abu Dhabi is Manar Abu Dhabi, a platform for light works (Manar is Arabic for "light" or "guiding light"). Fadda says: “It's a yearly platform of light with various activations culminating in a six-week presentation. This particular platform is specific to Abu Dhabi itself as a city. People don't realise this but it's an archipelago. People don't think about Abu Dhabi in these terms. It has such a beautiful natural landscape. It'll be a light project that reflects the beautiful vista of Abu Dhabi through the lens of art.”
A third strand of Public Art Abu Dhabi encompasses a series of annual “direct commissions” across the city’s urban landmarks. “There are art projects that we want to do specifically in the tunnels, in roundabouts, in the corniche side, in the very public arena—projects that have more permanency to them as well in terms of direct commissioning,” Fadda says.
Commissions will not be awarded to Emirati artists alone. “Abu Dhabi's always prided itself on being very dedicated to the Global South, we’re very dedicated to its UAE artists, to the regional artists. But we're also international and we've always involved artists from all over the world,” she says.
The launch of Public Art Abu Dhabi is marked by the WAVE, a public digital media work by the Seoul-based artistic collective d’strict which was unveiled yesterday near the Cultural Foundation. “It's basically a wraparound screen that shows you a wave crashing into a confined glass vitrine. The old historic Abu Dhabi has this entire side open onto the corniche. We thought this is a beautiful piece to start with as a public art work.”
This push for an extensive contemporary art platform in the emirate is driven by the state which sees w potential of “supporting the creative industries at large through public art”, says a project statement.
“There's a new kind of governance to this entire initiative. There's dedication of a government budget towards it as well. The idea is really to strategise on creating a larger impact, building on all the things that have been happening,” Fadda adds.
She stresses also that for the past 14 years Abu Dhabi has been “shaping and driving silently” the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi which is due to open on Saadiyat Island in 2026. “I've been involved with [the Guggenheim] for the past 14 years, building the contemporary art collection. The Public Art Biennial and larger public art initiative are the cherry on the top.”
