Latest news with #AbuDhabiFestival2025
CairoScene
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CairoScene
Abu Dhabi Festival 2025 Opens With New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra
Organised by the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation, the opening event marks 50 years of UAE-Japan diplomatic relations. Feb 10, 2025 The Abu Dhabi Festival 2025 opened with the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Yutaka Sado, marking their first-ever performance in the Arab world. Held at Emirates Palace, the concert featured tenor Jonathan Tetelman and pianist Kyohei Sorita. Organised by the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation (ADMAF), the opening event marks 50 years of UAE-Japan diplomatic relations. The event included the Abu Dhabi Festival Award ceremony, honouring Japan's Commissioner for Cultural Affairs, Shunichi Tokura, and architect Riken Yamamoto. The programme featured Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2, Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5, and Puccini's Manon Lescaut. The festival also hosted educational initiatives, including masterclasses and open rehearsals with the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, engaging young Emirati musicians. The festival runs until April 2025, featuring standout performances such as Kodo's Japanese drumming spectacle, Yunchan Lim's UAE debut with Bach's Goldberg Variations, and an All-Star Ballet Gala with dancers from the UK's Royal Ballet and Germany's Bayerisches Staatsballett.
Korea Herald
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
'Opening doors of conversation, culture to culture'
Huda Alkhamis-Kanoo talks about the Abu Dhabi Festival, international cooperation and joint exhibitions with SeMA ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates -- Barely two years after a visit to Korea by one of Abu Dhabi's key cultural figures, internationally acclaimed Korean pianist Lim Yunchan performed to a packed concert hall in Abu Dhabi, the Korean National University of Arts Orchestra performed with young Emirati musicians in Abu Dhabi, and an exhibition of contemporary Korean art co-curated by the Seoul Museum of Art and the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation opened at the prestigious Manarat Al Saadiyat cultural complex. All this and more was set in motion by Huda Alkhamis-Kanoo, founder of ADMAF and founder and artistic director of the Abu Dhabi Festival, during her whirlwind visit to Seoul in May 2023, where she met with leading figures in Korea's cultural scene. Her timing was prescient. The World Health Organization had declared the end of the COVID-19 pandemic earlier that month and the world was slowly coming out of long isolation, ready to engage with each other. 'We went on a journey together, we dreamed together, we shared our vision together. We are on a mission to bring our cultures together, open doors of conversation, culture to culture, conversation to conversation,' said Alkhamis-Kanoo during an interview with The Korea Herald at her residence on June 13. 'But I don't own this conversation. You don't own this conversation. We open it,' she said. 'For me, the beauty of this conversation is that it started with a vision, it became a reality. Now, we are building a legacy. The legacy is moving forward together for a greater future,' she said. International cooperation is a key component of the Abu Dhabi Festival, and when it comes to international cooperation, the most important thing is relevance, Alkhamis-Kanoo pointed out. 'Relevance not only for us, but more importantly for our society, for our artists, our audiences and the relevance of the conversation that such international cooperation enables,' she continued. 'What is important to us is that every single international cooperation we engage in challenges, refines and expands our perspectives,' she said. Held as part of Abu Dhabi Festival 2025, 'Layered Medium: We are in Open Circuits,' which comes to a close Monday, is an example of such international cooperation. Featuring 48 works by 29 artists, the first large-scale exhibition of Korean contemporary art in the Middle East is also the first of two co-curated and co-produced exhibitions developed through a three-year collaboration between SeMA and ADMAF. Education is also a very important part of the Abu Dhabi Festival, especially given that the UAE is a relatively young country, formally established in 1971. 'We are a young nation but we come from a very old soul. This old soul with the energy of the young is the future. (Education) will always be a major element of the festival,' said Alkhamis-Kanoo, pointing out the educational function of the festival. She cited the example of the Korean National University of Arts Orchestra's open rehearsal, which was attended by public school children. 'Opening up to government schools is very important. Public schools all over the world are almost the underprivileged when it comes to liberal arts in all its forms, music included. We need to work more. Music creates empathy and happiness, joy. You know, that's the basis for the future,' she said. Meanwhile, the second co-curated and co-produced exhibition, 'Intense Proximities,' will run at SeMA from Dec. 16 to Feb. 22, 2026, bringing three generations of UAE-based artists from the 1980s to today. The partnership between SeMA and ADMAF also includes co-commissioned artworks, artist residencies, institutional exchanges and public programs in Seoul and Abu Dhabi. 'We see Korea not just as a partner but as a creative counterpart and even as something of a twin because we both have very rooted cultures and are very innovative. 'I don't think we have a finish line. We are building a process. I'd say our timeline is generational but the impact is already here,' Alkhamis-Kanoo said.
Korea Herald
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Abu Dhabi hosts first joint exhibition of Korean art with SeMA
'Layered Medium: We Are in Open Circuits' introduces modern and contemporary Korean art to UAE with narrative that resonates across cultures ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Seeing familiar artwork presented in a novel manner, in a different context and a different environment, might be what is needed to awaken one to new possibilities and stimulate new thinking. 'Layered Medium: We Are in Open Ciruits,' an exhibition of modern and contemporary Korean art running at Manarat Al Saadiyat in Abu Dhabi, UAE, through June 30, succeeds in doing just that. The exhibition, co-organized by Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA) and Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation and presented as part of Abu Dhabi Festival 2025, is a thoughtfully curated show of works by some of the best-known modern and contemporary Korean artists today, flown nearly 7,000 kilometers and assembled in a new way. The exhibition's co-curators, SeMa curator Yeo Kyung-hwan and UK-based curator Maya El Khalil, have created a narrative that is both fresh and thought-provoking. The Abu Dhabi exhibition is inspired by the SeMA exhibition 'At the End of the World Split Endlessly,' curated by Yeo, which revisited modern and contemporary Korean works in the city museum's collection last year. For "Layered Medium," the co-curators added several works that were not in the Seoul exhibition with the aim of easing visitors into Korea's modern and contemporary art. The new arrangement of the works and the scenography by Formafantasma, a Milan- and Rotterdam-based design studio, enrich the exhibition experience for those newly introduced to the works and perhaps even more so for those already familiar with them. The exhibition, whose title borrows from a statement by video art pioneer Paik Nam-june, opens with the artist's 'Self-Portrait Dharma Wheel' (1998) and an archive table showing how artistic innovations of the 1960s and 1970s occurred alongside Korea's economic and political developments, and how Korea's growing connection to a wider world shapes artistic practice today. Also shown in this first section, 'Open(ing) Circuits,' is Paik's 'Moon is the Oldest TV' (1965-1976) that links looking at the moon, an ancient practice, to contemporary screen-watching. Works by Kim Ku-lim, one of the first Korean artists to utilize electricity and light in challenging artistic conventions, are another important addition to the exhibition, giving a fuller account of the development of modern and contemporary art of Korea. A piece notable for the absence of the body, 'Method of Drawing' by Lee Kun-young, marks the start of the next section, 'Body as Medium.' The body is used as the medium, the paintings display the movements, and the negative space created results in an unintended figurative image, the artist said of the series begun in 1976. Lee Bul's 2006 work, 'Untitled (Crystal Figure),' gets a space of its own where 'feminine' materials such as crystals sparkle as they outline a female form, questioning how female bodies have been represented and understood. The question of how contexts influence cultural translation is the subject of 'Society as Medium' section. 'Under the Sky of Happiness' (2013) by Hong Young-in draws many young women visitors, according to a docent, who discover several historical women figures for the first time. Depicting Korean women hailed for being the 'first woman' in their respective fields, the work brings to the fore the marginalized history of women through embroidery, a practice that is often associated with low-wage labor. Background knowledge of the work — it reimagines a 1974 film about Korean laborers stranded in Sakhalin after World War II, replacing the male protagonists with female pioneers — is not necessary to appreciate the modern history of women in Korea. Three video works by Jun So-jung — 'Early Arrival of Future' (2015), 'Eclipse' (2020) and 'Green Screen' (2021) — explore the state of division of the Korean Peninsula. 'Early Arrival of Future' depicts two pianists, one a North Korean defector and the other a South Korean, as they collaborate in performing popular works from the two countries divided by the Demilitarized Zone. 'Eclipse,' meanwhile, juxtaposes the North Korean version of the ancient 12-string Korean instrument gayageum and the harp, an ancient Western instrument. The 21-string North Korean gayageum was created so that it may be used to perform Western music. The irony of the primordial forests of the Demilitarized Zone, the most heavily fortified border in the world, will not be lost on those watching "Green Screen.' An installation that may not be easily understood by non-Korean audiences is Bahc Yi-so's 'The UN Tower' (1997). An addition to the Abu Dhabi exhibition, the installation reconstructs the pedestal of a nonexistent monument — an image familiar to the Korean audience who have seen it on matchboxes once ubiquitous in Korean homes. 'We included this work because it articulates the impossibility of true cultural translation,' El Khalil says in the curatorial statement. While some works may be impossible to translate across different cultural contexts, on display in the last section "Space as Medium," Yang Hae-gue's 'Yes-I=Know-Screen' (2007), a set of 10 wood screens with wooden lattices that challenges boundaries between artworks, inside and outside, has resonated with the audiences here. Visitors often comment on the similarities between the lattice patterns and patterns found in Islamic art, said ADMAF Executive Director Michel Gemayel. The experience of attempting to extract similarities in the unfamiliar is a universal one. The exhibition ends on a positive note for cross-cultural translation and comprehension. The last work in the exhibition, 'Dancing Ladders' (2022) by Kwon Byung-jun, has visitors linger in front of the slow-moving inverted robotic ladders. The feeling of being stuck in the arduous condition the work depicts and elicits in viewers is a sentiment easily shared by people everywhere living in today's hyperconnected, globalized world.
Al Etihad
22-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Al Etihad
Abu Dhabi Festival 2025: Sustainability redefined as experts highlight social, cultural dimensions of urban development
22 June 2025 22:22 SARA ALZAABI (ABU DHABI)As cities place greater emphasis on green spaces and mindful living, experts are shedding light on how urban landscapes are evolving — and what it truly takes to build a sustainable were the topics in focus as artists and thought leaders came together for a panel discussion, titled 'Space as Medium – In/Visible City', held on June 20 as part of Abu Dhabi Festival 2025. 'True sustainability' is not just about acquiring certifications and using eco-friendly technology in building infrastructure, said Wael Al Awar, Principal Architect and Founding Partner of design studio Waiwai. Instead, it should be 'about looking at how traditional knowledge can inform contemporary design', Al Awar told Aletihad on the sidelines of the panel discussion.'Sustainability should always begin with an understanding of the climate, materials, and the history of a place,' he said. Infrastructure must respond to the specific environmental conditions we live with while remaining open to change, he added. 'True sustainability is social and cultural as well as ecological… A sustainable urban environment must embrace all of these dimensions while also being adaptable.'Al Awar could imagine cities that respond to 'the rhythms of the desert, where public spaces are shaped by shade, breeze, and water—not just an image'.'Our cities have grown rapidly, but now we have an opportunity to reflect and to design for adaptation and resilience in addition to expansion,' the architect said. 'If we think of infrastructure as a living, adaptive landscape rather than a static framework, it can guide Gulf cities towards a more sustainable and resilient future,' he added. Meanwhile, multimedia artist Minouk Lim offered an emotional and philosophical take on the place of art in urban she said, highlights and exists with the 'unseen'. "A sanctuary or nest is placed in the hidden area. Just as there are creatures that prepare for birth in the dark, we human beings also need to sleep, dream, and rest in the unseen. Therefore, we also need to care for the invisible, and that is what it means to preserve dignity,' said Lim, who was also a panellist at the event. "Taking care of a city is also not the power of a single person, but the conscience and solidarity of ordinary, invisible citizens," she added.
Korea Herald
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Abu Dhabi, Seoul collaboration brings discussion on contemporary art to Manarat Al Saadiyat
Coinciding with the exhibition 'Layered Medium: We Are in Open Circuits' — the largest presentation of Korean contemporary art in the Gulf Cooperation Council region — public programs and panel discussion are scheduled to be held at the Manarat Al Saadiyat in Abu Dhabi. The exhibition spanning six decades of Korean contemporary art kicked off Friday as a collaboration between the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation and Seoul Museum of Art, as part of Abu Dhabi Festival 2025. 'The Abu Dhabi Festival is a beacon for consolidating the role of cultural diplomacy in strengthening cooperation and partnerships with friendly nations,' said Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs as well as a founding honorary patron of the Abu Dhabi Festival. 'In this regard, and based on the importance of its role in building bridges of cultural dialogue between the United Arab Emirates and the Republic of Korea, this exceptional exhibition embodies the advanced and prosperous strategic relations between the UAE and the friendly Republic of Korea,' he added, using the formal name of South Korea. The public program 'Layered Dialogues' takes place May 29, June 14 and 20. The upcoming program on May 29 is a panel discussion with the theme of 'Body as Medium InterFaces: Skin/Screen,' held in collaboration with the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence. 'Featuring 48 exceptional works by pioneering South Korean artists, accompanied by an interactive community program open to all, this first-ever exhibition in the Middle East of the Seoul Museum of Art's collection at Manarat Al Saadiyat offers a unique opportunity to introduce local and regional audiences to the masterpieces of modern art,' said Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, minister of tolerance and coexistence as well as a patron of the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation. Co-curated by UK-based independent curator Maya El Khalil and Yeo Kyung-hwan of the Seoul Museum of Art, "Layered Medium" traces key moments in Korea's contemporary art history, beginning with the radical experimentation of the 1960s and 1970s, when artists began working with video, photography and performance. 'Through our historic partnership with the world-renowned Seoul Museum of Art, we are setting a precedent for international institutional partnerships — thanks to the strength and depth of our shared ties. This is the first exhibition of the museum's collections outside of Korea, and the first exhibition of this magnitude of Korean art in the Arab world,' said Huda Alkhamis, founder of both the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation and Abu Dhabi Festival. "Layered Medium" is presented as part of Abu Dhabi Festival 2025, with the support of the festival's principal partners — Mubadala Investment Company and G42 — and its energy partner, GS Energy.
