Cultural Foundation: A legacy of art, heritage, and innovation in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi: In 1971, in the same year the United Arab Emirates came into being, its leaders passed a law to build something that was not a palace, a fortress or a monument to power. They chose to build a house for the mind.

The Cultural Foundation in Abu Dhabi became the country’s first cultural and arts centre, dedicated from the very beginning to the creation and appreciation of the arts and literature.

Behind the decision stood a vision. The late His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Founding Father of the UAE, understood that a young nation needs more than roads and institutions. It needs a place where heritage is nurtured and where ideas can take root.

How the design came to life

In 1973, an international competition was held to find a design worthy of that ambition. The brief was a difficult one: a building true to Arab-Islamic style yet filled with aspiration for the modern age. The winning proposal came from The Architects’ Collaborative, the firm founded by Walter Gropius, who also founded the Bauhaus, the movement that sought to unite all forms of artistic expression.

It was fitting company for a house of the arts. The design was shaped as three wings gathered around a central courtyard, and it was carried forward by a young Iraqi architect, Hisham Al Ashkouri, invited to lead the project by TAC principal Louis McMillen. Trained in Baghdad and inspired by figures such as Louis Kahn, Marcel Breuer, Le Corbusier and Gropius himself, Al Ashkouri helped bring the design to completion by 1975.

When the doors opened in 1981, the building housed the nation’s first national library, a performance auditorium and an exhibition centre. It was the beginning of a long line of groundbreaking programmes that celebrated local and regional culture, showcased a wide range of art forms and encouraged exchange across borders.

Over time, the building itself became part of the story, a modern heritage landmark, and after a full renovation between 2008 and 2018 it was ready to begin a new chapter.

A house full of motion

Since reopening in 2018, the Cultural Foundation has been a place of constant making. Its renovated 900-seat theatre presents a world-class contemporary performing arts programme.

Its exhibition spaces champion the artists, curators and collectives of the UAE, and an annual Art Residency gives artist's studio space and resources to create and show their work.

The old library has been reborn as the Abu Dhabi Children’s Library, a 5,250-square-metre world designed as a life-size pop-up book, where the landscapes of the Emirates come to life.

On stage and in the atrium

The coming months show how wide the house opens its doors.

In the atrium, artist Shaikha Al Mazrou presents 'Two Horizons', a solo exhibition exploring materiality, gravity and spatial tension from 12 November 2026 to 15 July 2027. Existing works and new commissions transform the space into an immersive sculptural landscape, and visitors are invited to feel the changing relationship between art and space.

On the stage, the programme moves from the intimate to the epic. 'Thikra: Night of Remembering' by Akram Khan Company, from 20 to 21 November, created with visual artist Manal AlDowayan, brings an all-female ensemble together in a blend of Bharatanatyam and contemporary dance, with an original score by Aditya Prakash and dramaturgy by Blue Pieta

Younger audiences can meet 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar', a theatrical production that uses puppetry, visual effects and music to follow the little caterpillar’s transformation into a butterfly on 6 November or 'S4K’s Macbeth', a child-friendly musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s tale of ambition, in partnership with Shakespeare 4 Kidz on 15 Novemeber.

Music finds its place too. 'Jalsat Nights' returns with Emirati artist Muaded Al Kaabi on the 6 November, winner of the Najm Al Khaleej title in 2006 and a member of the UAE National Orchestra, who blends traditional Emirati sound with modern arrangements. Entry is free.

The outdoor spaces turn nostalgic with 'The Rage 90’s', a free celebration of the decade built from retro retail, food and beverage concepts, arcade games, live performances and film screenings for visitors of all ages.

From 11 December 2026 until 14 January 2027, 'Emirati Film Month', in partnership with ImageNation, presents a curated selection of Emirati feature films, shorts and documentaries, spotlighting the diverse stories of the country’s filmmaking community. Tickets will be announced soon.

Where hands learn to make

Beyond the stages and galleries, the Cultural Foundation is a place to learn.

Al Marsam Al Hor, the oldest art education centre in Abu Dhabi, is a dynamic studio for teenagers and adults of every skill level. Its programme includes guided painting sessions with artists such as Mohamed Al Astad, Amjad Gharezeddin and Jina Sharif, and ceramics with Heba Maged.

Silk painting with Tamara offers a chance to play with colour, flow and movement on offers a chance to play with colour, flow and movement on fabric. There are courses in jewellery making with Boubaker Boukhari, sewing with Jaklin AlMaher, comics and illustration, candle making, and digital Arabic calligraphy and Islamic geometric art with Ali Mamdouh. For those who simply need space to create, the Open Studio on the second floor welcomes drop-in sessions from AED 30.

Bait Al Khatt, the House of Calligraphy, is devoted to the patient discipline of traditional Arabic script. Led by Emirati calligrapher and artist Mohammed Mandi, and with classes also taught by Ali Mamdouh, it offers courses in the basics of Arabic calligraphy and in Islamic geometric patterns, an art form that fuses motifs, geometry and calligraphy into complex and beautiful designs.

The Children’s Art Centre offers monthly courses in painting, drawing and pottery for ages 5 to 14, while the free Abu Dhabi Children’s Library nurtures young readers through story sessions, clubs and the “1,000 Books Before Kindergarten” initiative.

“Perform in Cultural Foundation” gives young and emerging performers a place to rehearse and grow, and a free guided tour leads through the architecture, exhibitions and creative spaces.

A promise still kept

More than half a century after the law that created it, the Cultural Foundation still keeps the promise made in 1971.

It is a place where culture is not preserved behind glass but lived, taught, performed and handed on, and where the vision of His Highness Sheikh Zayed continues to be answered with timeless culture, one generation after another.