The street art transforming Abu Dhabi

The artwork that stayed with Abu Dhabi resident Ahmed Jamal was not found in a gallery. It appeared across a bus shelter, where astronauts and images of space transformed an ordinary wait into something memorable. He recalls how moments like this make the city feel more expressive and attentive to the people who move through it. 

“Art in public spaces breaks up plain buildings, makes commuting fun and gives streets a distinctive personality,” he says. “It makes you feel closer to your city, and it shows that Abu Dhabi cares about the details and the people who live there.” 

Jamal often notices murals at Madinat Zayed Shopping Centre, too. These encounters are part of Abu Dhabi Canvas, a programme that treats the surfaces that people pass every day as potential places for creativity. A utility box, crosswalk or delivery rider hub may serve a practical purpose, yet each one also contributes to the visual character of a street. 

Since the Department of Municipalities and Transport (DMT) launched Abu Dhabi Canvas, more than 400 installations have appeared at over 130 locations across Abu Dhabi City, Al Ain and Al Dhafra. Together they cover nearly 7,800 square metres and feature contributions from more than 100 home-grown artists. The scale is impressive, but the programme is best understood through individual encounters. Most people discover the works while going about their day, allowing art to become part of the journey rather than a destination. 

Graffiti artist and educator Ramy El Zaghawy has seen that reaction firsthand. His murals appear on Khaleej Al Arabi Street, Al Falah Street, in Al Bateen, and at Madinat Zayed Shopping Centre. While painting, he often finds that people stop to watch, take photographs and later share images of themselves beside the finished pieces. 

His work draws from his Emirati heritage without repeating it in a traditional form. A resting camel draped in Sadu fabric, horses in neon colour and a falcon framed by foliage and geometric patterns all reinterpret familiar symbols through a contemporary lens. Their scale and placement shift how they are experienced. 

“I hope my murals spark recognition and curiosity,” El Zaghawy says. “I see public space as a place where art meets people in the middle of their routines. The street is the ultimate open-air gallery. Turning quiet walls into living pieces that people interact with every day gives the work its meaning.” 

This everyday context gives Abu Dhabi Canvas a wider role. Public art can help people to recognise a route more easily, give neighbourhoods a visual anchor and allow local artists to shape the city’s identity. The work does not change the function of a bus shelter or utility box, but it changes how someone feels when passing it. 

“The programme is designed to strengthen the relationship between residents and the places they use most,” says Noor Mohamed Shamma, Acting Executive Director of the Marketing and Communications Sector at DMT. “Giving artists room to interpret the emirate in their own way helps to create surroundings that feel intentional and rooted in the city’s story.” 

Some installations have been developed with the Mubadala Foundation, the Authority of Social Contribution – Ma’an and the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge. These partnerships have brought the work into new settings and expanded opportunities for artists to reach audiences outside traditional cultural venues. 

The choice of subject also shapes the programme’s impact. Artists have responded to themes of Emirati culture, mobility, sustainability and community life. Seen together across the emirate, the works do not form a single narrative. Instead, they allow many interpretations of Abu Dhabi to co-exist in shared public space. 

At a time when cities compete for residents, talent and investment, these details matter. People experience a city through its small moments as much as its major projects, and a street that feels cared for and recognisable can influence whether someone feels at home there. 

These ideas will form part of LIVEX 2026, DMT’s Liveability and Investment Exhibition, taking place at ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi from 29 September to 1 October