A Park Transformed Into Wonder: Abu Dhabi Opens the Middle East’s First Outdoor Children’s Biennale

Umm Al Emarat Park becomes a creative sanctuary where eight striking installations invite children and families to explore art, nature and imagination together through play, touch and discovery.

Beneath the canopy of Umm Al Emarat Park, something quietly remarkable has taken shape. Eight artworks now occupy the beloved green space, each one an invitation to see the world differently: through the eyes of children, through the movement of light, through the language of touch and sound. The Middle East’s first outdoor Children’s Biennale opened this week, transforming the park into what its curators describe as an unfamiliar landscape of possibility, where play becomes a way of thinking and learning.

The initiative marks a significant moment for Abu Dhabi’s cultural landscape. Inaugurated by H.H. Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence and Patron of the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation, the Biennale sits within the broader context of the 23rd Abu Dhabi Festival and the UAE’s Year of Family. Working in partnership with the National Gallery Singapore, the curators have assembled works that speak to the theme “How the World Feels”: installations that move, light up, shift with touch and invite contemplation.

Seven newly commissioned works by UAE based artists form the heart of the programme. Alia AlShamsi’s Where Wonder Hides draws the eye upward into the park’s trees, where animal forms crafted from natural materials prompt a kind of visual treasure hunt. Aya Afaneh’s cosmo conste presents ceramic forms inspired by aquatic life, while Hana El-Sagini’s Common Thread, Common Ground becomes a living sculpture as visitors touch, braid and reconnect its ropes to reshape the work through play. Moza Almatrooshi invites visitors into The Agriculture School, exploring the hidden world of pollinators, while her collaborators Moza Almazrouei and Meera Almazrooei offer Telephone, a series of listening devices that capture and distort the park’s own soundscape. Nada Almosa and UT-R Studio present Where Wishes Grow, a wishing tree surrounded by children’s artwork and space for shared memories, and Sarah Afaneh contributes three woven tapestries that celebrate the care offered by sun, land and sea.

The eighth installation arrives from across the region: Eko Nugroho’s Kenangan Kunang-Kunang (Memories of Fireflies), first commissioned by the National Gallery Singapore in 2019, now lights a winding path through the park with lanterns inspired by traditional East Javanese design. Its presence here marks the first collaboration between the National Gallery Singapore and a cultural institution in the UAE, a cultural exchange that extends the spirit of the original Biennale beyond Singapore.

In his remarks at the opening, H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, described the Biennale as a reflection of the nation’s commitment to placing culture and the arts at the heart of nurturing future generations. He spoke of investment in children’s creativity as investment in the nation’s future, and of art as a universal language that brings cultures and communities together. As we reported earlier, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak has been instrumental in advancing education and the family as pillars of national development, a commitment that resonates through initiatives like this one.

H.H. Sheikha Shamsa bint Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, Patron of Abu Dhabi Festival, emphasised the role of art in children’s development, describing it as foundational to the growth of self and character, a mirror that reflects identity and a space for learning and expression. By presenting the Biennale in a public park rather than a gallery, she observed, the work becomes woven into everyday life, an invitation to family togetherness amid trees, water and spaces designed for joy and learning.

The Biennale will remain open until December 6th. More than 1,275 students from 20 public, private and charter schools will experience guided tours, while families are invited throughout the season to explore the installations together, discovering how creativity emerges from rhythm and how imagination transforms the ordinary into wonder.

What it means for Abu Dhabi

The opening of this first outdoor Children’s Biennale signals Abu Dhabi’s growing role as a destination for meaningful cultural experience that extends beyond traditional gallery walls. By rooting contemporary art within public parks and community spaces, the initiative brings creative expression into the everyday lives of families, schoolchildren and visitors, making culture more accessible and integrated into the fabric of community life. This approach aligns with the UAE’s broader vision of investing in young people’s capabilities and nurturing generations equipped to shape the future.

The landmark partnership between the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation and the National Gallery Singapore also marks a new chapter in the emirate’s cultural diplomacy. The collaboration strengthens ties between the UAE and Southeast Asia through the language of art and creativity, while allowing Umm Al Emarat Park to continue its purpose of bringing communities together. For the park itself, the Biennale honours more than a decade of educational, recreational and environmental service to Abu Dhabi’s families.

Source: WAM