The first-ever edition of the Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial, a cornerstone of the Public Art Abu Dhabi initiative by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) has concluded, solidifying its place as a major addition to the region’s cultural calendar.
From November 2024 to April 2025, the Biennial proved incredibly popular, welcoming over 2.8 million visitors from all backgrounds, who explored more than 60 site-specific installations from local, regional, and international artists, located along the eight Biennial routes spanning Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. The routes were designed to encourage the public to explore Abu Dhabi on foot or by car, and rediscover familiar and iconic parts of the city in new ways.
The exhibition was accompanied by a diverse programme of over 300 activities, which included talks, tours, workshops, performances, wellness activations and more. Programming catered to visitors from all age groups, as they reflected on Abu Dhabi’s unique public realm through the lens of four main pillars: environment, community, urbanity, and heritage.
The Biennial offered a thoughtful tribute to the cultural contributions of Abu Dhabi’s diverse population, and the many ways in which the public interacts with spaces throughout the emirate. This was reflected through a carefully curated selection of site-specific works by local, regional and international artists such as Ayesha Hadhir, Christopher Joshua Benton, Farah Al Qasimi, Kabir Mohanty, Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Tarik Kiswanson, Latifa Saeed, Wael Al Awar and more.
The inaugural Biennial successfully engaged celebrated landmarks such as the Abu Dhabi Bus Terminal, which was activated through works by Henrique Oliveira, Zeinab Alhashemi, Daniel Buren, Eko Nugroho and a long-term project by Atelier Aziz Al Qatami. In this way, the event simultaneously activated historically and culturally significant locations across Abu Dhabi, while also making art easily accessible to the community.
The Biennial is one of three pillars of the Public Art Abu Dhabi initiative, which was announced by DCT Abu Dhabi in March 2023. The initiative also includes annual direct commissions of works and the biannual Manar Abu Dhabi light art exhibition, which first ran from 15 November 2023 to 30 January 2024. The initiative seeks to advance the creative legacy, cultural infrastructure, livability, and wellbeing of the UAE capital’s residents through placemaking and collective memory. Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial will be followed by the second edition of Manar Abu Dhabi, which attracted 650,000 visitors during its first edition.
