At this year’s edition of Art Dubai, A.R.M. Holding continues to push the boundaries of what art can do in public life — from nurturing young creatives to reimagining how we live, learn, and gather. As the fair’s main partner for the fifth year running, A.R.M. Holding reinforces its commitment to cultural infrastructure through both art-led community initiatives and visionary developments like Huna Residences.
One of the flagship projects is the A.R.M. Holding Children’s Programme, which returns for its fifth edition with The Future of Water — a region-wide art and education programme that transforms schoolrooms into studios and ecosystems. Over 6,400 students across 80 schools in the UAE will take part in 320+ creative workshops running from April to June 2025, learning how to build miniature water ecosystems using transparent vessels, found objects, and mixed-media. The results? Beautifully messy, tactile creations that reflect on our shifting relationship to water — one of the region’s most vital, and most vulnerable, resources.
For the first time, the programme is co-led by two incredible artists: Lagos-based sculptor and poet Peju Alatise, and Dubai-based artist and educator Alia Hussain Lootah. The duo bring together perspectives from Nigeria and the UAE to explore how creativity can spark cross-cultural dialogue and deeper ecological understanding — and turn even a simple workshop into a space for reflection and imagination. Their collaborative approach invites children to ask meaningful questions about sustainability, culture, and the world they want to grow up in.
Meanwhile, on the fairgrounds, A.R.M. Holding is offering a taste of its design-forward philosophy through Huna Residences — a lifestyle-focused development where art and everyday living go hand in hand. At Art Dubai, a new site-specific sculpture by Swedish artist Jacob Dahlgren has been unveiled as part of the Huna sculpture park, joining works by Dia Al Azzawi and Nadim Karam. Titled Early One Morning, Dahlgren’s pink, interactive installation invites visitors to engage playfully with abstraction in public space — a living artwork that, much like Huna itself, is designed to be used, inhabited, and experienced.
Inside A.R.M. Holding’s Majlis, the fair’s dedicated Huna Lounge hosts an engaging talks programme, featuring names like architect Carl Gerges, designer Karine Tawil, and composer Faraj Abyad. Topics range from the intersections of fashion and architecture to art, music, and sustainability. Alatise and Lootah will also take to the stage to share insights from their educational work — underscoring the throughline that connects A.R.M. Holding’s diverse initiatives: art as a catalyst for community, culture, and change.