Threads of history at Jameel Arts Center
Also this week: La Lupa brings the Mediterranean to Dubai, "Summer Vibes" opens at Opera Gallery and Avni Doshi returns with a new novel
Welcome back to AL-MONITOR Dubai.
As the US-Iran war escalates across the Middle East following the collapse of a brief June ceasefire, life in Dubai is carrying on normally, with no disruptions to scheduled cultural and entertainment events. This week, we highlight a captivating installation by artist Kamruzzaman Shadhin at Jameel Arts Center in Dubai; a summer exhibition of modern and contemporary works by leading global artists at Opera Gallery Dubai; a show exploring the fragility of the human body in contemporary life; and a new book by Dubai-based author Avni Doshi exploring the sudden loss of a marriage and a woman’s personal search for identity and freedom.
If you want to receive this newsletter or our other new weekly City Pulse newsletters — for Doha, Istanbul and Riyadh — sign up here.
Happy reading,
Rebecca
P.S. Have feedback or tips on Dubai's culture scene? Send them my way at contactus@al-monitor.com.
1. Leading the week: ‘The River Remembers’
Kamruzzaman Shadhin. “The River Remembers,” 2023. Commissioned by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation with additional support generously provided by the Samdani Art Foundation. (Art Jameel Collection)
This immersive, single-room installation re-creates Bangladeshi artist Kamruzzaman Shadhin’s “The River Remembers.” The work, with its prominent display of textiles and scintillating adornments, is part of Art Jameel’s Artists’ Rooms, an ongoing series of collaborative solo exhibitions at the Jameel Arts Center featuring capsule displays by influential modern and contemporary practitioners, largely from West Asia, South Asia and Africa.
Through a massive textile presentation, handcrafted threads mirror the changing waters of the Brahmaputra and Teesta — two vital rivers running through the Bengal delta. Woven into the piece are engraved brass disks that share the personal migration histories of two women: the artist’s mother and Johura Begum, a village jute weaver. Upended by the 1947 partition of Bengal, both women’s lives remain permanently shaped by the flow of these waters.
Shadhin (b. 1974) lives and works in Dhaka and Thakurgaon, Bangladesh. His art revolves around a participatory practice incorporating installation, performance, video and public art interventions that explore themes of migration, environment and history. Shadhin’s work is strongly influenced by his interactions with the people and communities with whom he collaborates. His art reflects a profound interest in the cultural traditions of the Bengal region and their connections with geopolitics, colonial history and ecology. He is also the founder of the Gidree Bawlee Foundation of Arts, an organization focused on social practice and community art based in the village of Balia in Thakurgaon.
Dates: Until Nov. 1, 2026
Location: Jameel Arts Center, Jaddaf, Dubai
Find more information here.
2. Word on the street: La Lupa
A delicious Mediterranean dish at La Lupa in Dubai Design District. (Courtesy of La Lupa)
If you’re in Dubai this summer and craving a culinary dose of the Mediterranean, head to the newly opened La Lupa restaurant in Dubai Design District. The vibrant, upbeat eatery, which opened in May, is designed as a calm, stylish and upscale all-day Mediterranean-inspired dining concept that seamlessly transitions from breakfast and specialty coffee to delicious business lunches and relaxed dinners with evening drinks. Head here to dine in a spacious and unhurried ambiance that reflects a coastal European getaway — perfect if that’s what you’ve been desiring but haven’t yet been able to escape to this summer. Be sure to try the fresh house-made pasta, such as truffle pappardelle and handmade ravioli, or the wood-fired MB2 Angus filet mignon served with portobello jus and duck fat. For dessert, don’t miss the exceptional classic Italian tiramisu.
Location: Building 8, Dubai Design District
Find more information here.
3. Dubai diary
Dillion Thomas. “Just one look.” 2025. Acrylic and ink on canvas. (Courtesy of Opera Gallery)
- ‘Summer Vibes’ at Opera Gallery Dubai
A vivid selection of works by renowned modern and contemporary artists is currently on view at Opera Gallery Dubai in the exhibition “Summer Vibes.” Spanning multiple generations of artists, the display offers a compelling dialogue between modern masters and avant-garde contemporary artists who continue to shape today's evolving cultural landscape. The artworks on display explore how visual expression, identity and contemporary life are continuously reinterpreted through distinct creative practices. The exhibition highlights KAWS’ monumental “Companion” alongside works by Yayoi Kusama, Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Fernando Botero, Shepard Fairey, Julian Opie and Miguel Sainz Ojeda. An ideal way to escape the heat, this show offers a powerful perspective on the evolution of artistic influence over the last century.
Dates: Until Aug. 31
Location: Opera Gallery Dubai, Gate Village, Building 3, Dubai
Find more information here.
- ‘Collage Art Exhibition’
The art of collage — the artistic process of arranging various, often random materials, pictures, paper and fabric on a flat surface — is being celebrated in an exhibition at the Kutubna Cultural Center in Dubai. On show are over 70 physical and digital creations by artists representing 26 different countries. The works explore themes including migration, identity, memory and the ever-evolving relationship between tradition and modernity — a tie that is constantly shifting in a contemporary, fast-moving metropolis like Dubai.
Dates: Until Aug. 31, 2026
Location: Kutubna Cultural Center, Madina Avenues, Nadd Al Hamar, Dubai
Find more information here.
- ‘Body Quotidian’
This duo exhibition at the Sharjah Art Foundation features recent works by London-based artist Laila Majd and Dubai-based artist Inaam Zafar. Curated by Raja'a Khalid, assistant curator at the Sharjah Art Foundation, the show presents a quiet, subdued yet rigorous dialogue exploring the fragility of the human body’s presence within contemporary life and the often monotonous rhythms of everyday routine through a blend of photography, sculpture and painting.
Dates: Until Sept. 20, 2026
Location: Sharjah Art Foundation, Gallery 6, Al Mureijah Square, Sharjah
Find more information here.
4. Book of the week: ‘The First House’
In this gripping psychological domestic drama examining a marriage coming apart after a husband walks away, Dubai-based author Avni Doshi returns with her highly anticipated second novel, “The First House.” In the book, Doshi — who wrote portions and early drafts of the book in the studios of Alserkal Avenue in Dubai, which also recently hosted a book launch for “The First House” — explores the sudden collapse of a 13-year marriage and the internal, often surreal journey of a woman who turns to mythology, astrology and obsession to find meaning in the aftermath. The novel captures the life of the female protagonist — an Indian writer living abroad who cannot drive and does not have a job — who is left with her two young daughters in a challenging suburban town in the United States. Released in July 2026, the novel offers a sharp dissection of family dynamics, motherhood and the illusions of domestic bliss.
5. View from Dubai
A man pushes a hand trolley with fabric rolls in the Grand Souk in Bur Dubai on July 23, 2026, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Benjamin Cremel/Getty Images)
6. By the numbers
- Approximately 1.2 million Bangladeshi nationals currently reside in the United Arab Emirates.
- Bangladeshis remain the third-largest foreign group in the UAE, trailing Indian and Pakistani nationals, according to the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- Bangladeshi migration to Dubai and the wider UAE began during the mid-1970s and was driven by the Gulf oil boom. Official international contract labor migration from Bangladesh commenced in 1976, driven by rapidly developing infrastructure demands in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.
