421 Arts Campus Announces 40+ Public Events for Spring 2026 in Abu Dhabi
- More than 40 workshops, reading circles and family events take place from 30 April to 28 June at 421’s Mina Zayed campus
- The season unfolds alongside Rays, Ripples, Residue, the campus’ 10-year anniversary exhibition reflecting on a decade of artistic practice in the UAE and the wider region
- New programming pillars introduce expanded opportunities for writing, making, discussion and collaborative learning
421 Studio Sessions, 421 Family Day. Image Courtesy of 421. Photography by The Frei.
Abu Dhabi, UAE – 14 April 2026 – 421 Arts Campus announces its Spring 2026 public program, running from 30 April to 28 June 2026 at its Mina Zayed campus in Abu Dhabi. The two-month season features more than 40 hands-on workshops, reading circles and family events open to the public.
The program unfolds alongside Rays, Ripples, Residue, the campus’ 10-year anniversary exhibition (on view until 26 April 2026), which reflects on a decade of artistic practice in the UAE and the wider region.
Building on the exhibition’s ideas, the Spring season shifts from witnessing to inhabiting, inviting participants to engage directly with artistic practices through formats that emphasize duration, depth and collective learning.
Structured as a continuum of interconnected learning environments, the program includes reading circles, seminars, writing intensives and material-based inquiries encouraging participants to return, reflect and build on shared experiences.
Spring 2026 also introduces a new framework for 421’s public programming, organized around six pillars: The Practice Lab, The Writers’ Quarters, The Speculative Circle, Intergenerational Learning, Professional Development, and Special Events.
Returning initiatives include Pencil In with Sarah Afaneh and Tatreez Circle with Joanna Barakat, alongside new cornerstone programs such as Maktaba: A Speculative Thought Circle, which presents reading and discussion forums centred on artistic research and cultural discourse, and a 421 Family Day on 20 June.
Faisal Al Hassan, Director of 421 Arts Campus, says: “As we mark 10 years of 421, this season reflects our belief that meaningful artistic development happens over time. Alongside the anniversary exhibition, Spring 2026 focuses on sustained dialogue, experimentation and collective learning. These programs are part of our long-term commitment to supporting creative practitioners and strengthening the UAE’s cultural ecosystem.”
Mays Albaik, Programs and Community Initiatives Manager at 421, adds: “This season builds on what we’ve been hearing from our community, bringing together programs that respond to how people want to engage with artistic practice today. The focus is on creating space for experimentation, exchange, and developing ideas collectively.”
SPRING 2026 PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
The Practice Lab, hands-on programs exploring artistic process and material experimentation
Studio seminars include Fundamentals of Riso Printing with Diego Mendoza, Translating Ourselves, Mastering a Brooch with Boubaker Boukhari, From Drawing to Sculpture with Hassana Arif, and Fundamentals of Artist Books with Arnold Barretto.
Additional participatory sessions include: Abstracting Across Geographies with Dina Nazim Khorchid, which invites participants to explore themes of movement and landscape through a conversation and presentation by the multidisciplinary artist. The session concludes with a hands-on workshop experimenting with abstraction through collage and layering techniques; Can Raisins be Used to Marinate Fish and Meat? with multi-disciplinary artist Richi Bhatia, an assemblage-making session with multidisciplinary artist Richi Bhatia through which participants will consider the mythological, cultural, and dietary frameworks of food and ecology; and the recurring Tatreez Circle with Joanna Barakat, exploring the heritage and contemporary relevance of Palestinian embroidery.
The Writers’ Quarters, programming dedicated to writing and literary exchange
Pencil In, a recurring writers’ circle led by Sarah Afaneh, invites participants to develop and share new writing in a collaborative setting throughout the season, while Postcard Poems with Balqees Alhawamdeh explores poetry through a playful and accessible writing workshop led by the Abu Dhabi–based poet. Participants will create their own short poems and visualise them on postcards using colour, form and lines from their favourite poetry as inspiration.
The Speculative Circle, reading and discussion forums centred on artistic research and cultural discourse
Maktaba: A Speculative Thought Circle, a monthly discussion series where artists, writers and participants gather to explore texts and works across disciplines, unfolds across a four-part series exploring themes of archives, performance and sound.
Additional programming includes On Spectacle Interventions with 421 Resident Alumni, which brings together former 421 residents UT-R Studio, Moza Almazrouei and Tamara Barrage for an evening of site-specific artistic interventions across the campus. Blurring the line between audience and performer, the program invites visitors to experience live works and concludes with a conversation reflecting on the artists’ practices and their work since participating in the 421 residency program.
Intergenerational Learning, programs designed for families and younger audiences
Weekly sessions such as Community Culture Club, developed with Montessori Network Middle East, invite children and families to engage with creativity and storytelling.
The Noor’s Heroes series introduces young audiences to influential cultural figures through interactive sessions dedicated to Saloua Choucair and Mahmoud Darwish. Noor’s Heroes is a children’s book series by cultural strategist, editor, and writer Myrna Ayad, that celebrates the men and women from and influenced by the Arab world whose lives have left a lasting mark on culture, knowledge, and community. Ayad will lead each storytime with two artists including Hana El-Sagini and Karim El Atrache. The season culminates with 421 Family Day on 20 June, an interactive program inviting families to explore the 421 exhibitions on view.
Special Events
Process+/-Practice Activations with Artists in Residence offers audiences the opportunity to engage with research and projects developed through 421’s residency programme.
Most public programs require prior registration. For the full schedule, please visit www.421.online