Abu Dhabi unveils Archives of Tomorrow, its first official modern heritage publication
The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi presents a bilingual, illustrated record of the emirate’s modern buildings and urban landscapes, launched at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair.
New publication records Abu Dhabi’s modern cultural identity
The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) has launched Archives of Tomorrow, the emirate’s first official publication dedicated to modern heritage. Unveiled at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, the bilingual English and Arabic volume documents the buildings, sites and urban landscapes that have shaped Abu Dhabi’s contemporary character.
Produced as a glossy, editorial coffee‑table title, Archives of Tomorrow will be issued initially as a limited‑edition collectable print, followed by a trade edition available through a curated distribution network. DCT Abu Dhabi has said the wider release later this year will include bookstores, museum gift shops, cultural institution outlets and major cultural events.
The launch programme at the book fair included a signing and a panel discussion titled Bin Sulayem: A Poem That Never Fades, which brought together Emirati writers, poets and cultural figures Bilal Al Budoor, Jamal bin Huwaireb, Ibrahim Al Hashimi and Dr Hassan Al Najjar to extend the conversation around the emirate’s cultural heritage.
Authorship and contributors from Abu Dhabi’s cultural sector
Archives of Tomorrow was co‑authored and co‑edited by Amel Chabbi, Conservation Section Head at DCT Abu Dhabi, and Yasmeen Al Rashdi, Head of the Modern & Urban Heritage Conservation Unit at DCT Abu Dhabi. Al Rashdi also contributed photography to the volume. The publication was developed by Iman Al Sayed, Publishing & Digitisation Section Head at DCT Abu Dhabi.
The book’s visual identity was shaped by Emirati designer Hind Al Ali. Original photography and artwork appear from Daisy Chiftjian, Hussain Al Moosawi, Luke Decena, Mana Al Marbooei and Yasmin Hamad, alongside contributions by Al Rashdi. Together these works present a cross‑section of modern heritage typologies across the emirate, highlighting the defining qualities and cultural significance of sites that have influenced Abu Dhabi’s identity over recent decades.
Linked to conservation policy and the Modern Heritage Register
The publication aligns with DCT Abu Dhabi’s Modern Heritage Conservation Initiative and the 2016 Cultural Heritage Law, which provides the legal framework for the protection, documentation and management of the emirate’s tangible and intangible heritage assets. Archives of Tomorrow builds on the Modern Heritage Register, which added more than 40 newly listed sites earlier this year, reinforcing Abu Dhabi’s efforts in formal identification and protection of modern heritage.
DCT Abu Dhabi positions the book as a resource for architects, conservators, urbanists, cultural policymakers, researchers and collectors, as well as a collectible record of the emirate’s architectural and urban evolution.