Dirwaza Curatorial Lab hosts a range of events that create spaces for dialogue and cultural exchange within the UAE and the Arabian Gulf. Our exhibitions, talks, workshops, and programs reflect our commitment to narrative reclamation and challenging inherited definitions.
Here, you can find a list of our upcoming events. Join us as we explore the evolving landscape of the contemporary art and cultural scene in the region.
Public Art Abu Dhabi x Dirwaza Curatorial Lab : Talk Series
A collaboration between Public Art Abu Dhabi and Dirwaza Curatorial Lab will bring on a series of eight intimate conversational talks that engage the Biennale’s participating artists with other artists, local experts, and curators. Through dynamic dialogues with the artists and creatives, the programming aims to include the public audience as additional members of the talk to push forward a shared conversation. The talks will explore the artist’s research and practice, specifically speaking on their work exhibiting in the Biennale whilst also reflecting on the paired individual’s practice. Additionally, through this series, the talks aim to further understand the definition and role of public art through its participants.
Upcoming
- Human Developments and Natural Environments
Date & Time: 16 March at 9:00 PM (Add to calendar)
Participants:Zeinab Al Hashemi and Mays Albaik
Moderated by: Munira Al Sayegh
Location: Abu Dhabi’s Carpet Souq
The conversation aims to examine how the artists’ practices can map complex relationships between physical spaces, environmental systems, and personal narratives. By bridging industrial landscapes, ecological systems, and personal histories, these artists offer nuanced perspectives on human interaction with surrounding environments.
- Living Environments Through Cityscapes
Date & Time: 21 March at 9:00 PM (Add to calendar)
Participants: Wael Al Awar, Meitha Al Mazrooei and Oorvi Sharma
Moderated by: Hessa Al Nuaimi
Location: Carpet Souk, Abu Dhabi
How can architecture and urban design move beyond extraction and expansion to instead support ecological and cultural resilience? This public talk takes Wael Al Awar’s piece Barzakh as a departure point to discuss cityscapes within a world where nature, culture and architecture are inextricably linked.
Architect and founder of waiwai, Wael Al Awar will speak on material innovation and environmental adaptability in public space, reflecting on the potential for architects to work with—rather than against—natural systems. In dialogue, Meitha AlMazrooei, editor, researcher and founder of WTD magazine, will consider how regional histories and narratives shape contemporary design. The discussion will also be joined by Oorvi Sharma, architect and writer, bringing forth questions of architectural processes in relation to preservation, cultural engagement, and interdisciplinarity.
Past
- Public Art Through a Curatorial Lens: A conversation with PAAD’s Curators.
Date & Time: 2 February at 6:00 PM
Participants: Carmen Hassan, Amal Al Khaja, and Mona Al-Jadir
Moderated by: Hessa Al Nuaimi
Location: Formal Park
This talk is centered around the curatorial work and process of the Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennale. The speakers include the curatorial team: Carmen Hassan, Amal Al Khaja, and Mona Al-Jadir. The talk will provide a perspective of the work and contribution to the development of the Biennale from different aspects of educational, curatorial, and artistic processes. Participants will have the opportunity to further understand the Biennale from the team behind the scenes.
- Changing Stations in Built Environments
Date & Time: 10 February at 4:30 PM
Participants: Aziz Al Qatami & Khalid Al Gharaballi, Alamira Reem Al Hashimi and Yasmeen Al Rashdi
Moderated by: Dania Al Tamimi
Location: Abu Dhabi’s Main Bus Terminal
This conversation will explore the relationship between the permanence and transience of public spaces, specifically examining Abu Dhabi’s Main Bus Terminal as a case study in social architecture and communal gathering. The discussion brings together artists and architects Aziz Al Qatami and Khalid Al Gharaballi with local professionals in urban studies and modern heritage Alamira Reem Al Hashim and Yasmeen Al Rashdi. Through the lens of historical documentation and contemporary interventions, speakers will examine how movement patterns, social interactions, and architectural design intersect to create spaces that are simultaneously fixed and fluid. The talk will investigate how public infrastructure, particularly transport hubs, serve as more than mere transit points but become a door to collective memories, sites of community formation, and spaces where the temporary and permanent aspects of social spaces affect the movements around.
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