421 Arts Campus Announces Summer 2026 Program Exploring Creativity Through Making, Learning and Exchange
5 July – 26 September 2026
The Practice Lab Studio Sessions at 421. Courtesy of 421 Arts Campus, photography by The Frei.
Abu Dhabi, UAE – 8 July 2026 – 421 Arts Campus announces its summer 2026 program, running from 5 July to 26 September 2026 at its Mina Zayed campus in Abu Dhabi. Featuring more than 30 public programs, the season centres on exploring how ideas are developed through making and shared experience.
Bringing together artists, writers, designers, and creative practitioners, the program spans sound, printmaking, writing, performance, design, and craft through workshops, writing circles, conversations, family activities, and special events. Participants are invited to develop and deepen skills, explore creative practices, and connect with others through hands-on learning, experimentation, and creative exchange.
New this season is a two-part collaboration with creative studio Two Odd exploring food, storytelling and community. It begins with Too Odd to Translate: Food Styling & Storytelling, a hands-on workshop in spatial design, food styling and visual storytelling, and culminates in The Shared Table, a community dining event inspired by the textures, stories and rhythms of Mina Zayed.
Developed with Ladder Up, the two-week 421 Summer Club for children aged 6 to 13 combines creative arts, movement, reading, life skills, and robotics and coding activities inspired by Dr. Ahmad AlAttar’s Human in the Loop, currently on view at 421 until 13 September 2026.
Also launching this season, The Public Studio transforms 421 into a space for collective making, bringing together local practitioners and the public for a day of drop-in workshops and creative exploration. Open to all ages and experience levels, it offers an accessible introduction to a range of artistic practices.
Returning programs include Tatreez Circle with Joanna Barakat, A Writing Practice (formerly Pencil In) with Sarah Afaneh, and Maktaba: A Speculative Thought Circle, which continue to support communities built through previous seasons and provide opportunities to deepen creative practice.
Faisal Al Hassan, Director, 421 Arts Campus, says: "At 421 Arts Campus, we're interested in creating the conditions for ideas to develop through sustained exchange across disciplines, where making, experimentation, and conversation are part of the learning process. We hope this season gives participants the space to build new connections, challenge one another's thinking, and contribute to knowledge that is created collectively."
Summer 2026 program highlights
The Practice Lab explores artistic process and material experimentation through hands-on programs. Highlights include Tatreez Circle with Joanna Barakat, a gathering for embroidery practitioners; Hopscotching the Archive, Tracing with Nagham Hamoush, a participatory workshop exploring identity through performance and printmaking; From Trace to Script: Arabic Calligraphy with Karim El Atrache; and Tracing MiZa from Collage to Cotton with Maitha Bushelaibi, a workshop inspired by the material culture and rhythms of Mina Zayed.
The Writers' Quarters is dedicated to writing and literary exchange. A Writing Practice with Sarah Afaneh returns in an expanded format, combining three guided teaching sessions and three communal workshops for writers at all stages.
The Speculative Circle features reading and discussion forums centred on artistic research and cultural discourse. Maktaba: A Speculative Thought Circle returns with sessions led by Ameena AlJerman, Threadify, and Maitha Alsuwaidi, exploring themes of love, African literature, and theatre-making. Additional highlights include The Shared Table by Two Odd and What We Leave in the Room with Safeya Alblooshi, a participatory sound-based experience.
Intergenerational Learning brings together children, young people, and families through programs including Noor's Heroes: Umm Kulthum & Sound Poetry Orchestra with Myrna Ayad and Andrew Riad, and the 421 Summer Club with Ladder Up, a two-week programme for children aged 6 to 13 combining creative arts, movement, reading, life skills, robotics, and coding.
Professional Development supports emerging practitioners through Site-Specific Curations with Hana El-Sagini, a one-day intensive exploring sculpture, installation, and spatial practice.
Special Events include The Public Studio, featuring drop-in creative activities such as tile painting, zine-making, printmaking, and creative toolkits, and 421 Family Day, with hands-on activities inspired by the exhibitions on view.
Most 421 public programming requires prior registration. For the full program and schedule, please visit www.421.online.