UAE arts scene balances resilience with renewal

Welcome back to AL-MONITOR Dubai.

A new collaborative exhibition, “Deja Vu,” has opened at Alserkal Avenue’s OMA-designed Concrete, supporting UAE galleries and regional artists amid ongoing challenges from the Iran war. Elsewhere, we spotlight a show of mesmerizing natural landscapes by Puerto Rican-born multidisciplinary artist and textile designer Solimar Miller in Downtown Dubai, as well as the opening this month of Iris Bar — the popular Beirut-born hotspot — now in Dubai Harbour.

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Happy reading,

Rebecca

P.S. Have feedback or tips on Dubai's culture scene? Send them my way at contactus@al-monitor.com.

1. Leading the week: Deja Vu at Concrete

Amir Khojasteh. A Man Burning. No. 2. 2023. Oil on canvas. 200x180cm. (Courtesy of Carbon 12 Gallery and the artist)

A 14-day selling exhibition titled “Deja Vu” will open this Saturday, April 25, at Alserkal Avenue’s multidisciplinary space, Concrete, featuring over 50 artists represented by 20 of the UAE’s leading contemporary art galleries. The collective initiative was launched to support UAE-based galleries and regional artists amid the challenges brought on by the Iran war.

The show’s title is inspired by Lebanese artist Raed Yassin’s neon work “Deja Vu” (2016), reflecting — like the other works on display — the absurdity of repeated cycles of historical destruction. It is divided into three sections: The Uncanny, exploring the gap between the real and the perceived, the conscious and the imagined; Linguistic Slippage, looking at how language becomes an unreliable tool for correspondence, connection and factual record in the face of conflicting narratives; and Historical Absurdity, making reference to Karl Marx’s classic assertion in “The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte” (1852) to show how history repeats itself “first as tragedy, second as farce.”

The exhibition features works by more than 50 of the region’s contemporary artists, including Samira Abbassy, Sadik Alfraiji, Nabil Anani, Ammar Al Attar, Mirna Bamieh, Lubna Choudhary, Samuel Fosso, Anahita Razmi, Larissa Sansour, Mithu Sen, Seher Shah, Slavs and Tatars, Lantian Xie, and Raed Yassin, among others. 

Participating galleries include Gallery Isabelle, The Third Line, Green Art Gallery, Lawrie Shabibi, Ayyam Gallery, Carbon12, 1x1 Art Gallery, Grey Noise, Zawyeh Gallery, Efie Gallery, Taymour Grahne Projects, Aisha Alabbar Gallery, Waddington Custot, Leila Heller Gallery Dubai,  Firetti Contemporary, Satellite, Iris Projects, NIKA Project Space, Tabari Artspace, and Total Arts.

Date: Until May 8

Location: Concrete, Alserkal Avenue

Find more information here.

2. Word on the street: Iris Bar

A view of the new Iris Bar at Dubai Harbour. (Courtesy of Iris Bar)

One of Dubai’s most popular hangouts, Iris Bar, originally from Beirut, has opened a new location in Dubai Harbour this month. Founded in 2011 by Addmind Hospitality, the venue was conceived as an elevated, tropical-modern lounge and nightlife hotspot, and has since built a loyal following in both Beirut and Dubai. The bar is known for its cocktails and a creative, high-quality menu focused on Japanese-inspired sushi and international bites. It also offers a popular brunch. Be sure to try the fresh oysters, ceviche, lobster and sashimi and salmon ikura rolls. 

Location: Dubai Harbour Bay, Dubai Harbour

Find more information here.

3. Dubai diary

Solimar Miller. Echoes. 2026. (Courtesy of the artist)

• ‘Continuum of Light’ by Solimar Miller 

The Foundry in Downtown Dubai is presenting “Continuum of Light,” a solo show by Dubai-based artist Solimar Miller, a Puerto Rican-born multidisciplinary artist and textile designer who has lived and worked in the Gulf metropolis for over 20 years. Known for documenting the UAE’s indigenous trees through sketches and silk-screen prints, Miller here turns to dreamy mixed-media landscapes of desert interiors and coastal mangroves that reflect her adopted home. Each work, created on cotton and silk velvet, captures the quiet progression of light throughout the day. Landscape is approached not as a fixed image but as a continuous field shaped by atmosphere, natural materials and human perception.

Date: Until May 5

Location: The Foundry, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard, Burj Khalifa, Dubai 

Find more information here.

• Still We Create: A Living Memory Collective: An Open Call for Creatives in the UAE

Maryam Al Falasi, founder of Iris Projects, has launched an open call inviting artists, writers, poets, photographers and designers across the UAE to contribute to a collective exhibition and publication documenting the reality on the ground amid the uncertainty and challenges brought on by the Iran war. Titled Still We Create: A Living Memory Collective, the initiative is open to all, including children, and seeks to capture this evolving period through artistic expression. Selected works will be exhibited and published in a book in late 2026. Participants may submit one work in any medium — including photography, drawing, text, illustration or mixed media — and in any language.

“As an Emirati working within the creative industries, and with a deep commitment to archiving, I recognise the urgency of documenting this moment in our recent history,” said Falasi in a statement announcing the project.

Date: Submissions open until May 18 

Find more information here.

• Alserkal Avenue to host Art Month

Alserkal Avenue is hosting Art Month in May, expanding its traditional Alserkal Art Week into a monthlong program, gathering artists, cultural practitioners and multidisciplinary collectives from across the region. The initiative will coincide with Art Dubai and intends to help sustain cultural engagement and create opportunities for dialogue and connection among the city’s creative community during these challenging times.

The program is inspired by Indian artist Shilpa Gupta’s work “Still They Know Not What I Dream,” which was commissioned by Alserkal Arts Foundation and installed in 2025 in The Yard, a main gathering space in Alserkal Avenue. For Alserkal Art Month, the artist has created a new iteration of the work, “Still A Sky We Hold,” which will feature alongside other exhibitions, public art, the collaborative show “Deja Vu” at Concrete and a program of talks, workshops, performances and open studios.

Date: Until May 18

Location: Alserkal Avenue, Al Quoz 1

Find more information here