The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) recently launched the Public Art Abu Dhabi programme in the UAE capital.
As part of the new initiative, artists will be commissioned annually to create permanent or temporary works marking tunnels, roundabouts, bridges and parks across Abu Dhabi. The programme also features the Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial opening in November 2024, as well as Manar Abu Dhabi, a public art platform presenting light art sculptures and installations in the city’s archipelagos and mangroves.
HE Saood Abdulaziz Al Hosani, Undersecretary of DCT Abu Dhabi, said: “Public art is where creativity and infrastructure meet, and Public Art Abu Dhabi represents our commitment to … bringing artistic expression into the everyday lives of our residents and visitors.”
A sum of over 35 million US dollars has been allocated for annual investment into the initiative, to support the emirate’s wider creative industries through public art.
The first public artwork to be unveiled was WAVE, a digital media installation by the South Korea-based artist collective d’strict. Located in the grounds of Abu Dhabi’s Cultural Foundation, the work uses an anamorphic illusion technique to produce the effect of surging 3D waves.
