Dubai’s art scene is stepping into the spotlight once again as Dubai Collection Nights returns with a program that opens doors across the city. Designed to give the public access to works usually held in private collections, the initiative continues to shape how residents experience art in a more personal and direct way.
Running until March 8, the annual event forms part of the wider vision of Dubai Collection, the city’s first institutional collection of modern and contemporary art. The collection brings together works from private collectors and makes them accessible through curated exhibitions and public programming.
A Central Exhibition at Al Safa
At the heart of this year’s edition is a curated exhibition at the Al Safa Art and Design Library. The show brings together selected works that explore themes of memory, landscape, and abstraction, reflecting artistic practices from the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, and beyond.
Curated by Jumanah Abbas, the exhibition encourages visitors to consider how place and identity shape creative expression. The setting, a public art and design library, reinforces the program’s aim to connect research, community, and culture under one roof.
Beyond the Exhibition Space
Dubai Collection Nights extends well past gallery walls. The program includes studio visits, guided tours, panel discussions, and workshops with artists and collectors. These smaller gatherings offer insight into how collections are built and how artistic narratives evolve.
Supported by Dubai Culture, the initiative helps strengthen Dubai’s cultural ecosystem while expanding access to art for a broader audience.
A Cultural Evening in the City
As Dubai’s social calendar fills up during Ramadan, evenings across the city take on a different rhythm. Dubai Collection Nights fits into that atmosphere, offering a quieter cultural alternative after iftar. Instead of the usual restaurant gatherings, visitors can spend the evening moving between exhibitions and conversations that place creativity at the center.
In a city often defined by scale and spectacle, Dubai Collection Nights offer something more intimate. It turns private collections into shared experiences and positions art not as a backdrop, but as the main event.
Follow The Dubai Atlas for more news, events, and all the hottest updates in the capital and beyond
