Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi Announces Curatorial Team and Locations for Second Edition of Manar Abu Dhabi
- Gen de Art
- Sep 22
- 4 min read
Led by Artistic Director Khai Hori, Manar Abu Dhabi Returns This November to Illuminate the Emirate
Under the Theme ‘The Light Compass’
● Organised by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), the
second edition of the Manar Abu Dhabi will take place in Al Ain from November 1, 2025 to
January 4, 2026 and Abu Dhabi from November 15, 2025 to January 4, 2026.
● Under the theme ‘The Light Compass’, this edition is curated by Artistic Director Khai Hori
and will feature more than 19 light-based installations, including newly commissioned
works by Emirati and international artists.
● For the first time, Manar Abu Dhabi will extend to include Al Ain, with its locations in the
city open earlier to the public from November 1 2025.
● Jubail Island will be the heart of the exhibition as its central and most iconic venue.
● A dynamic public programme of talks, workshops, and performances will accompany the
exhibition, offering visitors opportunities to engage more deeply with the artworks.
● Manar Abu Dhabi is part of the Public Art Abu Dhabi initiative, DCT Abu Dhabi’s ongoing
commitment to enhancing the emirate’s urban fabric through public art.
● Further details, including the full artist lineup and accompanying programme, will be
shared in due course.
Abu Dhabi, UAE – September 22, 2025: Building on the success of its inaugural edition, Manar Abu Dhabi
will once again illuminate the archipelagos, mangroves and oases of the emirate of Abu Dhabi from 1
November 2025 to 4 January 2026 (Al Ain) and 15 November 2025 to 4 January 2026 (Abu Dhabi).
Organised by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), Manar Abu Dhabi is
a public light art exhibition that aims to foster creativity and celebrate the emirate’s landscapes.
Under the theme ‘The Light Compass’, this edition will feature over 19 newly commissioned works and
site-specific light sculptures, projections and immersive installations by Emirati and international artists.
Manar Abu Dhabi 2025 is curated by Khai Hori, Artistic Director, who was previously Deputy Director
of Artistic Programming at Palais de Tokyo in Paris, Senior Curator at the Singapore Art Museum, where
he oversaw Singapore’s national collection of contemporary art, and Senior Curator in the Curatorial
Development department at the National Heritage Board in Singapore. The exhibition is co-curated by Alia
Zaal Lootah, Curator; Munira Al Sayegh; Curator; and Mariam Alshehhi, Assistant Curator.
Drawing on the Gulf’s ancestral relationship with light, this edition of Manar Abu Dhabi brings together
contemporary artworks that respond to its presence, behaviour, and resonance across both natural and
technological forms and expressions. As the theme ‘The Light Compass’ suggests, light is situated as both
guide and medium, from contextualising its traditions of navigation in orienting seafarers and desert
nomads to instigating poetic modes of knowledge and communication through its ephemerality. Set across
Abu Dhabi’s diverse landscapes, Manar Abu Dhabi will unfold across mangroves, sandbanks, gardens and
urban edges, where artworks form a breathing constellation and become a living map shaped by reflection
and relation.
Jubail Island will serve as the centerstage for Manar Abu Dhabi 2025, anchoring this year’s expanded
edition. For the first time, the exhibition will extend to the city of Al Ain, alongside an exciting rollout
across other city locations, reflecting the exhibition's growing cultural footprint across the region. A
UNESCO World Heritage Site, Al Ain’s backdrop of lush oases and ancient archaeological sites offers a
dramatically different landscape from the coastal archipelagos and mangroves of the capital. Light-based
installations from Manar Abu Dhabi will engage with the unique terrains of Al Qattara and Al Jimi
Oases—green sanctuaries nestled within the city’s desert topography, sustained by ancient aflaj irrigation
systems—illuminating the enduring connections between water, land, and life. The installations in Al Ain,
part of Manar Abu Dhabi, will be on display from November 1 to coincide with the ongoing Traditional
Handicrafts Festival.
Khai Hori, Artistic Director, Manar Abu Dhabi 2025, said: “Manar Abu Dhabi brings audiences and
artists into imaginative encounters shaped by Emirati traditional knowledge and contemporary experience. With The Light Compass, this edition becomes a journey of navigation and discovery, inviting
us to see, sense, and connect with the landscapes and stories that light reveals.”
Alia Zaal Lootah, Curator, Manar Abu Dhabi 2025 added: “Manar Abu Dhabi will highlight the unique
nature of Abu Dhabi’s islands and oases, and will leave a lasting impression on residents and visitors alike
through installations employing various technologies and immersive experiences. By bringing together
artworks that reflect history, wayfinding, and guidance through light, the exhibition offers an experience
that is both meaningful and unforgettable, reflecting the emirate’s identity as a vibrant cultural capital.”
As part of Public Art Abu Dhabi’s ongoing commitment to enhancing the emirate’s public spaces through
art, a dynamic public programme of talks, workshops, and performances will accompany the
exhibition, offering visitors meaningful opportunities to engage with the artworks.
More information on the participating artists and programmes will be released later in 2025. For more
information, please refer to the Annex.
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About Manar Abu Dhabi
Organised by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), Manar Abu Dhabi is
a public light art exhibition that aims to foster creativity and celebrate the emirate’s landscapes.
About the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi:
The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) drives the sustainable growth of
Abu Dhabi’s culture and tourism sectors and its creative industries, fuelling economic progress and helping
to achieve Abu Dhabi’s wider global ambitions.
By working in partnership with the organisations that define the emirate’s position as a leading
international destination, DCT Abu Dhabi strives to unite the ecosystem around a shared vision of the
emirate’s potential, coordinate effort and investment, deliver innovative solutions, and use the best tools,
policies and systems to support the culture and tourism.
DCT Abu Dhabi’s vision is defined by the emirate’s people, heritage and landscape. We work to enhance
Abu Dhabi’s status as a place of authenticity, innovation, and unparalleled experiences, represented by its
living traditions of hospitality, pioneering initiatives and creative thought.
