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UAE: These art-initiatives will help you explore your skills as an artist

There is something for everyone this spiritual season

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Ramadan is the best time to connect with oneself, and what better way to start a journey of self-discovery than through arts. Whether you wish to explore your skills as an artist or feel the urge to be inspired by the masters in the field, there is something for everyone this spiritual season.

Feel a sense of home

NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) will host its inaugural, in-person edition of Ramadaniyyat — a diverse, week-long series of public events this Ramadan. The programme will include a talk by The Institute on al-Mutannabi, one of the most celebrated Arab poets. The Arts Center will host a special edition of its contemporary Arab Cinema series, CinemaNa, with a screening of Emirati filmmaker Nawaf al Janahi’s feature Before We Forget, along with two musical evenings: a global collaboration between Khaleeji jazz ensemble Boom.Diwan x Nduduzo Makhathini x Jean-Michel Pilc, and a performance by internationally acclaimed oud and violin virtuoso Simon Shaheen and his band. A suhoor will be served nightly after the events at the East Plaza throughout the week for the NYUAD community and public.

April 11 onwards, The Institute,

The Art Gallery and The Arts

Center NYUAD, Abu Dhabi

Stargaze your way to midnight poetry gatherings

The home-grown arts and design centre, dedicated to showcasing and nurturing creative production across the region, invites the stargazers to come together this Ramadan for the crescent and its stars, for ritual and poetry, and calibration of our body with the sky above. The Cl-u Market Series 11 session is an invitation to drop by a for a reflective midnight poetry workshop, enjoy a date plate painting session, and create your own custom Emirati coffee cups, finjan. Explore the magic of traditional and smart telescopes. Or just lay down in the plaza to the tunes of live Oud and Qanoun and stargaze your way to midnight poetry gathering.

April 8-9; Warehouse421, Abu Dhabi

Create and take home a masterpiece

Recreate a beloved Middle Eastern themed art piece while you surround yourself with creative energy alongside a sophisticated festive evening of art, food and music. Hosted by We Love Art, an artistic creative experience company, that gives anyone and everyone the opportunity to paint their masterpiece that you can even take home.

April 25, The Greenroom, Dubai

Sports City, Dubai

The first letter in the Arabic alphabet

Alif, a simple straight line with the most sophisticated interpretation; this first Arabic letter represents the fact that the divine connection is not complex. “The path is straight, with almighty on one end, and us on the other. Isn’t it beautiful, everything that is an Alif?” ask Shiba and Farah Khan, the founders of Funun Arts, a non-profit platform where artists are allowed to exhibit their talents. Alif forms the theme of their upcoming Ramadan art exhibition, and the artworks on display will explore Arabic Calligraphy, Islamic structure and architecture, and abstract art.

Opening on April 9 until Eid, Novotel

World Trade Centre, Dubai

purva@khaleejtimes.com

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