Abu Dhabi: The 14th edition of the Abu Dhabi Festival will headline US jazz icon Wynton Marsalis, popular fado singer Mariza, five- time Grammy Award winner Tomatiti, Saudi singer Mohammad Abdo, and Chinese-American cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the organising committee announced on Thursday.
The festival, which will commence on March 1, 2017 and run for a month, will be spread over 30 venues, with 16 productions and over 70 events.
The festival’s 2017 Country of Honour is Saudi Arabia and the event will highlight the lifetime contribution and achievements that Saudi artists and luminaries have made to arts and culture, namely, Saudi intellectual and poet Prince Badr Bin Abdul Mohsen Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud and iconic singer Mohammad Abdo.
Organised by the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation (ADMAF) the line-up was announced at a launch event in the capital today (Thursday).
ADMAF announced that the festival theme will be ‘Culture and Tolerance’ and will present the cultural excellence of eight countries and the creativity of over 160 Emiratis alongside around 200 international artists.
Other acts include Mozart and Son, China’s National Centre for the Performing Arts Orchestra, The Festival Recital Series, Mohammad Fairouz, and Germany and Belgium: The Syrian Expat Philharmonic Orchestra.
The launch event was attended by Hoda Al Khamis-Kanoo, founder of ADMAF and artistic director of the festival, Shaikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Minister of State for Tolerance, Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, Secretary-General of the Environmental Agency and Saleh Al Oumari, Deputy Head of Mission, Minister Plenipotentiary for the embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the UAE.
Speaking about the theme of the festival, ‘Culture and Tolerance’, Al Khamis-Kanoo explained, “Culture and tolerance are two notions that seem to go hand-in-hand so well, that one might wonder if it even is relevant to offer them as a theme. However, if one looks at the world surrounding us, this bond needs to be reaffirmed.”
“More importantly, in its showcase of leading artists from the region and from the world, we have chosen this year to concentrate on people whose work and concerns are closely linked to the notion of Tolerance,” Al Khamis-Kanoo said.
The festival will include 19 educational and community initiatives across the seven emirates.
As part of the event’s advocacy for art therapy, the fifth edition of Silent Voices will showcase visual arts development by survivors of human trafficking, in partnership with Ewa’a Shelters, and Festival in the Park will offer a string of cultural activities for all the family to enjoy, just to name a few of the programmes.
The festival will continue the 21st ADMAF Creativity Award, the 14th Abu Dhabi Festival Visual Arts Award and the 5th Christo and Jeanne Claude Award as prestigious platforms where the UAE’s emerging creatives compete for first place.
Abu Dhabi Festival 2017 highlights
Mohammad Abdo: One Moonlit Evening, March 14 at Emirates Palace
Royal Opera House: Mozart & Son, March 17 at Emirates Palace
Tomatito – Soy Flamenco, March 23, at The Arts Centre at NYU Abu Dhabi
China’s National Centre for the Performing Arts Orchestra, March 24 and 25, at Emirates Palace
Wynton Marsalis in Concert, March 27, at Emirates Palace
Mariza in Concert, March 29, at Emirates Palace
The Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma, March 31, at Emirates Palace
