DIFC Art Nights returns to Gate Village for four free evenings, and Dubai Culture is bringing interactive works rooted in Emirati heritage.
The 22nd edition runs from 12 to 15 November 2026 at Gate Village in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), from 5pm to 10pm each day. Entry is free. Two of the three works react to the people standing in front of them.
Dubai Culture (the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority) is a strategic partner of the 22nd edition, which DIFC organises. Dubai Culture says its aim is to support artists and creative talent, giving them new spaces to express their views and reach the public.
The event reflects the vitality of Dubai’s art scene and its capacity to embrace different forms of creative expression, provide spaces for dialogue and discovery, and bring the arts closer to the public and encourage them to engage with it, which confirms its role in raising quality of life.
Shaimaa Rashid Al Suwaidi, Executive Director of the Arts, Design and Literature Sector, Dubai Culture
The authority also sees its part as a commitment to investing in talent, helping artists refine their skills and widen their professional networks. The authority says partnerships open new production and exchange channels for Dubai’s cultural and creative industries.
Three works built on local memory
Dubai Culture’s three installations were made with a studio, and each one draws on local heritage.
- ربابة الرويّة turns the sound of the rebab, a traditional instrument, into visual forms that shift as visitors move.
- دبي بضوء الفنار takes visitors on a journey through Dubai’s stories and landmarks, told in the light of the fanar, a traditional lantern.
- مجلس الضوء evokes the Emirati environment with light scenes that react to visitors, revealing palms and local decorative details.
A session on ISEA 2026
Art Nights also hosts a session called “ISEA 2026 in Dubai”, run by Dubai Culture. ISEA is the 31st International Symposium on Electronic/Emerging Art. Dubai hosts it from 6 to 15 November under the theme “ELYAH: Constellating Place, Data and Identity”.
The session covers the journey to hosting the symposium and its impact on connections between local creatives and artists and researchers worldwide. It also covers the academic and artistic programme, as well as opportunities for collaboration.
Janet Bellotto, executive and strategic director of the conference and dean of the College of Arts and Creative Enterprises at Zayed University, is among the speakers. The artistic team includes Jalal Luqman, Anna Seeman, Nada Al Taher, Giuseppe Moscatiello, Nasser Abdullah and Sabrina Ghietoli. Curator Israa Ozkan moderates. The ISEA digital artworks are also part of the Art Nights programme.
In May 2025, Dubai won the bid to host the symposium, announced at the close of the 2025 symposium in Seoul. Dubai Culture organises it with Zayed University. The city hosted ISEA once before, in 2014. ISEA was established in 1988 in the Netherlands and is now overseen by the University for the Creative Arts in the UK.
Dubai Culture calls this the largest edition to date. The programme will feature over 100 artworks, 145 academic papers, and more than 50 artist talks and panel discussions. According to ISEA’s own site, the symposium was first set for 10 to 19 April 2026 and then rescheduled to November.
Registration works in tiers. The artistic programme across Dubai is free. The online academic programme needs a paid ticket, but students get 50% off when they book with a valid university email address. Registration is at isea2026.eventshub.ai.
Free workshops and the wider programme
Three free workshops run on selected evenings from 12 to 15 November:
- Abstract tote-bag painting, inspired by Piet Mondrian and Alexander Calder.
- Arabic calligraphy with coloured velvet powder, led by artist Fatima Hossein Bor.
- Abstract printmaking, using shapes, patterns and hand-made stamps.
Art Connects Women 2026, an international exhibition from ZeeArts Gallery, is in its ninth edition under the theme “Educate to Empower”. Public viewing runs from 13 to 15 November, from 3pm to 10pm. Other items include artworks with The Coolrator featuring Romero Britto and an exhibition by Dubai International Art Centre. There is also a live performance by Elham Al Marzooqi, described as “the UAE’s first professional Emirati cellist”.
Twice a year, at the same site
DIFC Art Nights runs twice a year, once in April and again in November. The 21st edition ran from 23 to 26 April 2026 at Gate Village. Gate Village is a three-minute walk from Financial Centre Metro station.
For more of Dubai’s art, Sikka, Dubai’s art and design festival, put 250 artworks on show across 16 heritage houses in January.
Art Nights and the symposium both close on 15 November, and the workshops run only on selected evenings within that window, so check the dates before you plan a visit.
