Countdown to Guggenheim Abu Dhabi

Welcome back to AL-MONITOR Dubai.

Guggenheim Abu Dhabi announced its official opening date last week, bringing a renewed sense of hope and optimism to the upcoming busy autumn season in the United Arab Emirates. Elsewhere, we highlight the first solo show of Indian Dubai-based artist Shan Castelino at Leila Heller Gallery in Dubai, presenting abstract canvases that reflect the influential power of nature over human life; a group show of artists from the Middle East and North Africa exploring the use of the color orange as a hue that reflects the complexities of memory and shared regional narratives; and a tasty Turkish culinary getaway in Bluewaters.

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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: Guggenheim Abu Dhabi

A rendering of the completed Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. (Courtesy of Guggenheim Abu Dhabi)

After years of anticipation, the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi has finally revealed its opening date. At the end of July, it was announced that the Frank Gehry-designed museum would welcome the public inside its doors beginning from Dec. 11. When it does, it will become the largest museum in the Guggenheim network.

Inside, 30 galleries will present a collection of modern and contemporary art spanning the 1960s to the present, including works by Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat, alongside a strong, dedicated focus on art from the United Arab Emirates, the wider Gulf and Arab world. The museum will also feature works by underrepresented voices across West Asia, Africa and South Asia.

“Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is a defining moment in our cultural journey,” said His Excellency Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism, in the museum’s opening press release.

“The museum is shaped by the Emirate’s long-held conviction that culture is the most enduring bridge between peoples and a building block for forward-looking societies. It brings new perspectives to modern and contemporary art, shining a light on art from all around the world.”

The museum’s opening further strengthens Abu Dhabi’s position and growth as a leading global capital for art and culture. It will join a growing community of museums and cultural institutions in the Saadiyat Cultural District, including Louvre Abu Dhabi, Zayed National Museum, Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi and teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi.

Part of the Guggenheim constellation of museums in New York, Venice and Bilbao, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi intends to bring a distinct identity shaped by Abu Dhabi’s legacy as a region that has been at the crossroads of culture and trade for millennia. As the museum prepares to open its doors, the next big cultural opening is also underway: The Dar Al Funoon, another of Gehry’s final projects, is intended for completion in 2030.

Date: Dec. 11

Location: Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat Cultural District, Saadiyat Island

Find more information here. 

2. Word on the street: Blue Door

A delicious, artfully presented Turkish dish at Blue Door at Delano Dubai. (Courtesy of Blue Door)

Dubai has plenty of Turkish restaurants to choose from, but this one is exceptionally pretty and romantic. Located inside Delano Dubai in Bluewaters, an upscale man-made island near Jumeirah Beach Residence, the experience feels akin to being somewhere along the Turkish coast, far away from Dubai.

Specializing in coastal Anatolian and Turkish cuisine, the interiors are decorated in a Mediterranean blue and white palette, while dishes are highly praised. Be sure to start with the mezze platter to get a taste of Turkish specialties, the citrus-cured sea bass or octopus. Turkish classics include the beef-stuffed manti or dumplings in yogurt sauce and the fresh pide. For grills, try the smoky platters of lamb chops, Adana kebabs and rib-eye steak. If you still have room for dessert, the Katmer, a flaky pastry with pistachio and clotted cream, is a favorite.

Location: Delano Dubai, Bluewaters

Find more information here. 

3. Dubai diary

Shan Castelino. “The Garden that Refuses to Fade.” 2024. (Courtesy of the artist and Leila Heller Gallery)

• ‘To Love Boldly, To Love Wildly’

For Dubai-based artist Shan Castelino, nature never breaks — it only transforms, and in its transformation, it becomes one of humankind’s greatest masters. These observations and beliefs are reflected in her first solo exhibition in Dubai at Leila Heller Gallery, titled “To Live Boldly, To Love Wildly.” On display is a new body of paintings that explores resilience, memory, transformation, and the enduring dialogue between humanity and the natural world.

While the finished work is what the spectator beholds, Castelino, originally from India, wants her viewers to know that each work begins with a memory. Having grown up and spent much time amid dense forests, monsoon rains, winding rivers and the resulting, ever-changing landscape, the artist explains that she experienced nature not simply as an environment but as a friend, refuge and teacher. Through the swirling colors and layers of paint and the expressive brushstrokes, botanical forms gradually emerge, as do nods to bodies of water and lush forests. Here, nature becomes a dreamy and comforting metaphor for the human condition. 

Date: Until Sept. 7

Location: Leila Heller Gallery, Alserkal Avenue

Find more information here. 

• ’Tangerine Dreams’

A collective exhibition at Ayyam Gallery in Dubai focuses on the emotional and cultural power of the color orange. Titled “Tangerine Dreams,” it presents a diverse group of artists from the Middle East and North Africa, with works by Tammam Azzam, Thaier Helal and Abdalla Al Omari, spanning the mediums of painting, photography and mixed media while exploring ideas related to memory, transformation, landscape and identity. The artworks shift in tonality and expression from bold and energetic to more somber and contemplative, while redefining orange as a hue that reflects the complexities of memory and shared regional narratives. 

Date: Until Sept. 18

Location: Ayyam Gallery, Alserkal Avenue

Find more information here.

• ‘Body Quotidian’

This collaborative exhibition features the recent work of Laila Majid and Inaan Zafar, exploring the human body through the media of sculpture and photography. Curated by Raja’a Khalid, assistant curator at the Sharjah Art Foundation, the works on view move between everyday domestic scenes and abstraction, reflecting how our bodies shape the way we experience the world. While Majid’s works focus on familiar domestic elements and slow material transformations, Zafar’s dream-like works reflect ideas regarding mortality, decay and memory. Together, the artists explore how physical forms adapt and transform alongside digital technology.

Date: Until Sept. 20

Location: Gallery 6, Al Mureijah Square, Sharjah

Find more information here