Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial opens in Al Ain on 23 October, with 21 artists

The second Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial opens in Al Ain on 23 October, with the Abu Dhabi part following on 15 November. The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi says it runs until 15 February 2027, with works in four locations across the two cities.

The artistic director is Elvira Dyangani Ose, a former director of MACBA in Barcelona, and the theme is Home: A Glossary for a Communal Sense of Place, which treats home as something shared and changing rather than a fixed place.

Four artists show in Al Ain: Asunción Molinos Gordo, M'barek Bouchichi, Reena Saini Kallat and Roudhah Al Mazrouei. The Abu Dhabi list of 17 includes Yinka Shonibare, Ibrahim Mahama, Akram Zaatari, Kapwani Kiwanga, Nari Ward, Laure Prouvost, Iván Argote and the Emirati artists Khalid Albanna and Shama Al Hamed.

The exact sites, opening hours and the public programme had not been published when this was written; DCT Abu Dhabi lists them on the biennial's website, paad.ae. The first edition, in 2024 and 2025, placed its works in public spaces such as the Corniche and Al Ain Oasis. Al Ain is about an hour and a half's drive from Dubai.