Building on the success of its inaugural edition, Manar Abu Dhabi will once again illuminate the archipelagos, mangroves and oases of the emirate of Abu Dhabi from 1 November 2025 to 4 January 2026 (Al Ain) and 15 November 2025 to 4 January 2026 (Abu Dhabi). Organised by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), Manar Abu Dhabi is a public light art exhibition that aims to foster creativity and celebrate the emirate’s landscapes.
Under the theme The Light Compass, this edition will feature over 19 newly commissioned works and site-specific light sculptures, projections and immersive installations by Emirati and international artists. Manar Abu Dhabi 2025 is curated by Khai Hori, Artistic Director, who was previously Deputy Director of Artistic Programming at Palais de Tokyo in Paris, Senior Curator at the Singapore Art Museum, where he oversaw Singapore’s national collection of contemporary art, and Senior Curator in the Curatorial Development department at the National Heritage Board in Singapore. The exhibition is co-curated by Alia Zaal Lootah, Curator; Munira Al Sayegh; Curator; and Mariam Alshehhi, Assistant Curator.
Drawing on the Gulf’s ancestral relationship with light, this edition of Manar Abu Dhabi brings together contemporary artworks that respond to its presence, behaviour, and resonance across both natural and technological forms and expressions. As the theme ‘The Light Compass’ suggests, light is situated as both guide and medium, from contextualising its traditions of navigation in orienting seafarers and desert nomads to instigating poetic modes of knowledge and communication through its ephemerality. Set across Abu Dhabi’s diverse landscapes, Manar Abu Dhabi will unfold across mangroves, sandbanks, gardens and urban edges, where artworks form a breathing constellation and become a living map shaped by reflection and relation.
Jubail Island will serve as the centerstage for Manar Abu Dhabi 2025, anchoring this year’s expanded edition. For the first time, the exhibition will extend to the city of Al Ain, alongside an exciting rollout across other city locations, reflecting the exhibition’s growing cultural footprint across the region. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Al Ain’s backdrop of lush oases and ancient archaeological sites offers a dramatically different landscape from the coastal archipelagos and mangroves of the capital. Light-based installations from Manar Abu Dhabi will engage with the unique terrains of Al Qattara and Al Jimi Oases—green sanctuaries nestled within the city’s desert topography, sustained by ancient aflaj irrigation systems—illuminating the enduring connections between water, land, and life. The installations in Al Ain, part of Manar Abu Dhabi, will be on display from November 1 to coincide with the ongoing Traditional Handicrafts Festival.
Khai Hori, Artistic Director, Manar Abu Dhabi 2025, said: “Manar Abu Dhabi brings audiences and artists into imaginative encounters shaped by Emirati traditional knowledge and contemporary experience. With The Light Compass, this edition becomes a journey of navigation and discovery, inviting us to see, sense, and connect with the landscapes and stories that light reveals.”
Alia Zaal Lootah, Curator, Manar Abu Dhabi 2025 added: “Manar Abu Dhabi will highlight the unique nature of Abu Dhabi’s islands and oases, and will leave a lasting impression on residents and visitors alike through installations employing various technologies and immersive experiences. By bringing together artworks that reflect history, wayfinding, and guidance through light, the exhibition offers an experience that is both meaningful and unforgettable, reflecting the emirate’s identity as a vibrant cultural capital.”
As part of Public Art Abu Dhabi’s ongoing commitment to enhancing the emirate’s public spaces through art, a dynamic public programme of talks, workshops, and performances will accompany the exhibition, offering visitors meaningful opportunities to engage with the artworks.
Press release from the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi)
Image: teamLab. Resonating Microcosms – Solidified Light Color, Manar Abu Dhabi, 2023. Image courtesy of DCT Abu Dhabi and the artist
