Abu Dhabi hosts Middle East’s first outdoor children’s biennale celebrating art and nature

Abu Dhabi: From 6 November to 6 December, Umm Al Emarat Park in Abu Dhabi will host the Middle East’s first outdoor Children’s Biennale.

The event is organised by Abu Dhabi Festival, which is run by the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation. It is held in partnership with National Gallery Singapore, Umm Al Emarat Park and Salayel Hospitality.

The theme is “How the World Feels”. Children are invited to touch, listen and move through the park’s trees and open spaces, and to discover the stories hidden there.

Eight installations

The Biennale features eight interactive installations. Seven are new works by artists from the UAE, and the eighth is by Indonesian artist Eko Nugroho.

The seven new works were created by Alia AlShamsi, Aya Afaneh, Hana El-Sagini, Moza Almatrooshi, Moza Almazrouei and Meera Almazrooei, and Nada Almosa, who worked with UT-R Studio and Sarah Afaneh. They explore themes such as nature, biodiversity and Emirati culture and heritage. The curator is Dana Almazrouei.

Nugroho’s work, “Kenangan Kunang-Kunang” (“Memories of Fireflies”), is an immersive installation inspired by traditional Eastern Javanese lanterns. It was first shown in Singapore in 2019 and is now being presented in the UAE for the first time. It is National Gallery Singapore’s first collaboration in the region.

“Children are not just visitors to this park – we want them to be its custodians,” curator Dana Almazrouei said.

She said each artist was asked to consider how a child would experience the work and what the child might take away from it.

Workshops and tours

The Biennale is part of the UAE’s 2026 Year of Family, and the programme includes activities for families and schools.

Schools can book morning guided tours throughout the exhibition period. On 6 and 7 November and 13 and 14 November, families can take part in artist-led workshops from 6:30 pm. They include drawing, weaving, lantern making and sound exploration.

On Friday, 20 November, a panel discussion titled “From Place to Belonging: How Art Shapes the Way We Feel the World” will be held at the Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial’s main hub in Mina Zayed.

The Biennale also marks more than ten years of Umm Al Emarat Park as a gathering place for families and communities.

The event is held under the patronage of Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Sheikha Shamsa bint Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Nahyan.