Juma Al Haj captures a nation in crisis through art

Welcome back to AL-MONITOR Dubai.

Following the first missile strikes on the United Arab Emirates, Emirati artist Juma Al Haj was commissioned to document the personal and collective experience of his country amid conflict. The works he created are now on view at Iris Art Projects in Abu Dhabi, offering innovative expressions that capture the historic moment. Elsewhere, we highlight the recipients of the 11th edition of the Van Cleef & Arpels Emergent Designer Prize — Joud Malhas and Rachel Antoun — and their winning work, imbued with references to Emirati heritage and hospitality. For foodies, a new restaurant has opened at Vida Creek Beach Hotel in Dubai Creek Harbour, serving elevated comfort food in a vibrant, stylish setting.

If you want to receive this newsletter or our other new weekly City Pulse newsletters — for Doha, Istanbul and Riyadh — sign up here.

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: Juma Al Haj

Juma Al Haj next to his work “Black Cloud, Red Line.” 2026. (Photography by Ismail Noor for Seeing Things, provided by the artist and Iris Projects_JAH152 #3

Just 24 hours after the reported missile attack on his homeland, Emirati artist Juma Al Haj felt compelled to go to his studio and create art. He titled his first piece “UAE Was Targeted.” He did not yet realize that this first work would go on to launch a series documenting unprecedented moments in the history of the UAE as the country rapidly responded to an unfolding geopolitical crisis.

The works, made on layered surfaces, incorporate visceral mark-making and fragmented scripts and are now on view as part of the exhibition “Interoception” at Iris Art Projects. They document personal and collective responses and translate them into expressions of resilience and disruption. The captivating artworks also reveal Al Haj’s new artistic explorations, incorporating new approaches to layered painting.

“While ‘Interoception’ is not the exhibition we had originally envisioned, it emerged from a deeply personal response to a period of uncertainty and has developed into a significant new body of work,” said Maryam Al Falasi, founder of Iris Art Projects in the exhibition’s press release. “The exhibition highlights the important role artists play in recording the emotional and human dimensions of historical events.”

Date: Until Aug. 6

Location: Iris Art Projects, Abu Dhabi

Find more information here. 

2. Word on the street: The Barrel Gastrobar & Restaurant

Mouth-watering burgers and fries at the newly opened The Barrel at Vida Creek Beach, Dubai. (Photo courtesy of The Barrel)

The Barrel Gastrobar & Restaurant opened its doors at Vida Creek Beach Hotel in Dubai earlier this month, helping establish a new upscale-casual  dining destination in the neighborhood. Blending a welcoming ambiance of a traditional British gastropub with high-end dining, the restaurant reflects the growing prominence of the Dubai Creek Harbour area and has already become a popular spot for its relaxed vibe and comfort-food menu. Be sure to try the beer-battered fish and chips, crispy calamari, smash burgers and hearty salads. For dessert, the warm Sticky Date Toffee Pudding is particularly noteworthy.

Location: Vida Creek Beach, Dubai Creek Harbour

Find more information here.

3. Dubai diary

Joud Malhas and Rachel Antoun. (Photo courtesy of Van Cleef & Arpels)

• Joud Malhas and Rachel Antoun win Van Cleef & Arpels Emergent Designer Prize

The 11th edition of the Van Cleef & Arpels Emergent Designer Prize has named its winners: Joud Malhas, a Palestinian-Jordanian spatial and interior designer and Lebanese creative Rachel Antoun. The prize, organized by jeweler Van Cleef & Arpels in collaboration with Dubai design incubator Tashkeel, continues its mission to support and foster creative talent across the Arab world. Each year, it invites designers from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait to propose functional works that interpret a designated theme through materiality, form and innovation. This year’s theme, Blooming Poetry, called for bold, thoughtful designs rooted in local culture, sustainability and storytelling.

Malhas and Antoun’s winning concept, “Where There Is Uns,” captivated the jury with its thoughtful storytelling and sensory experience. Inspired by the Bedouin practice of lighting fires to welcome travelers with shelter, warmth and guidance, the light installation incorporates cardamon husks to reference the traditional offering of Arabic spiced coffee with cardamom and repurposes the husks into bioplastic sheets. These semi-transparent layers are suspended above the lamp’s travertine-ring base, creating a gentle and elegant contrast.

“Winning the Van Cleef & Arpels Middle East Emergent Designer Prize, in partnership with Tashkeel, alongside my partner Rachel Antoun, is deeply meaningful,” Malhas told Al-Monitor. “It validates the way I perceive design as something multidimensional, shaped by materiality, cultural memory, storytelling and its ability to evoke emotion.” 

As part of the award, the winners will participate in weeklong courses at the Dubai campus of L’ÉCOLE, the School of Jewelry Arts, supported by Van Cleef & Arpels. This will be followed by a five-day immersive experience at L’ÉCOLE’s Paris campus at the iconic Hôtel de Mercy-Argenteau, along with visits to partner museums across the city. The winning piece will be unveiled to the public later this year in a dedicated exhibition.

Find more information here.

• ‘Collage Art Exhibition’

Taking place in Dubai’s newest independent bookstore and cultural hub Kutubna Cultural Center, this exhibition presents works by a group of artists from 24 countries, showcasing over 70 artworks across physical and digital media that reflect the artistic practice of collage. Exploring themes of identity, migration, belonging, resilience and the tension between tradition and modernity, the works draw on methods pioneered by early 20th-century collage artists such as Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso.

The exhibition marks a unique occasion to explore contemporary collage in the UAE and beyond.  On view are works by Emirati artist Mariam bin Hammad, Batool Khalifa, Egyptian artist Mohammad Danyl Zaheer from Afghanistan, Vera Volodina of Russia and Alberto de Blobs, a Barcelona-based graffiti writer, painter and mural artist, among others.

Date: until Aug. 31

Location: Kutubna Cultural Center, Madina Avenues Shop 17A, Dubai

Find more information here.

• ‘Unfolding’ by Moza Al Falasi

In this exhibition Emirati artist Moza Al Falasi channels her grief over the loss of her parents and, more recently, her husband through visual art and photography. Marking her first solo exhibition, the works explore memory and the emotions associated with loss. The works on show are the culmination of Al Falasi’s journey through the yearlong Tashkeel Critical Practice Program, which was launched in 2014 and provides UAE-based artists with 12 months of funding, studio access and mentorship.

Date: until June 26

Location: Tashkeel, Nada Sheba 1, Dubai

Find more information here.