Manar Abu Dhabi returns for its second edition, bringing 22 site-specific light artworks to Jubail Island, Souq Al Mina, and, for the first time, Al Ain’s UNESCO-listed Al Qattara and Al Jimi Oases. Following its debut in Al Ain on 1 November and its Abu Dhabi opening on 15 November, the exhibition runs until 4 January 2026, highlighting 15 Emirati and international artists from 10 countries who explore light as both a guiding medium and a poetic force. Curated by Khai Hori with Alia Zaal Lootah, Munira Al Sayegh, and Mariam Alshehhi, this edition of Manar Abu Dhabi unfolds under the theme The Light Compass, reflecting the Gulf’s ancestral relationship with illumination.
At Jubail Island, visitors encounter large-scale light installations and performances by artists including Shaikha Al Mazrou, DRIFT, Pamela Tan, Lachlan Turczan, Christian Brinkmann, Kirsten Berg, Ezequiel Pini, and Encor Studio. In Al Ain, seven site-specific works by Maitha Hamdan, Ammar Al Attar, Christian Brinkmann, Khalid Shafar, Abdalla Almulla, and Rafael Lozano-Hemmer guide audiences along the Al Qattara and Al Jimi Oasis Trails. At Souq Al Mina, KAWS:HOLIDAY Abu Dhabi in collaboration with AllRightsReserved presents a luminous companion sculpture, combining scale, light, and imagination.
The public programme runs alongside the exhibition, offering a series of eight talks exploring intersections between art, technology, and public space. Highlights include Public Art & the Al Ain Landscape, where artists Ammar Al Attar, Maitha Hamdan, and Khalid Shafar discuss site-specific practice; The Future of Art Without AI, considering artificial intelligence in creative practice with Khai Hori and Giulia Bini; and sessions on light, motion, perception, and sculpture in public space featuring Pamela Tan, Shaikha Al Mazrou, Kirsten Berg, and Abdalla Almulla.
Performances further complement the visual programme, with international acts such as Bedouin Burger, Haepaary, Ars Nova Napoli, and Tarek Yamani Trio bringing music and rhythm into dialogue with the installations. The exhibition also engages audiences through workshops and immersive experiences led by artists and partners, including photography, creative craft, and meditation, fostering interaction with both light-based artworks and the surrounding environment.
Manar Abu Dhabi 2025 transforms the emirate into a living canvas, inviting visitors to engage with light, landscape, and contemporary public art while exploring the evolving intersections of technology, perception, and human experience. Open daily from 5:30 PM to 12:00 AM, entry is free until 4 January 2026.
Location 1: Al Ain, UAE | 1 November 2025 until 4 January 2026
Location 2: Abu Dhabi, UAE | 15 November 2025 until 4 January 2026