Continuity in motion
Also this week: Inside Douglas White’s “Great Wave,” echoing a city in flux.
Welcome back to AL-MONITOR Dubai.
As the US-Israel war with Iran enters its third week, the United Arab Emirates continues to navigate a fragile balance between disruption and continuity. Daily life carries on under the shadow of drone and missile interceptions, and while parts of the cultural calendar are shifting or scaling back, the broader creative scene is pressing ahead. Galleries are opening, restaurants remain busy and artists are continuing to create, even as the outlook remains difficult to predict.
As Eid is marked across the region, this week’s selections highlight that resilience: from a new curatorial space in Alserkal Avenue to a solo exhibition by British artist Douglas White, whose work exploring destruction and regeneration feels particularly resonant in the current moment.
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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: ‘Inheritance of the Roots’
A view of Fynd and Talaar in Alserkal Avenue. (Photography by Rabih Rowell)
In a moment when much of the calendar is in flux, new openings stand out — not just as programming, but as decisions to move forward.
On March 14, a new curatorial space, Fynd and Talaar, opened in Dubai’s Alserkal Avenue, bringing together handcrafted objects by Iranian artisans alongside works by Arab and Iranian creatives. Co-founded by Iranians based in Dubai, including Fynd’s Ali Mohammadioun and Hana Jalalian and Talaar’s Ava Ayoubi, the space brings together two platforms: one focused on accessibility and affordable design for new collectors, the other on curatorial reflection and the evolving meaning of objects.
“It has been a very tough situation,” Jalalian told al-Monitor. “All three of us are Iranian but our base is in Dubai even if most of our artists are from Iran. We got the keys to the gallery right when the situation happened, but we decided to go ahead."
Fynd and Talaar's inaugural exhibition, Inheritance of the Roots, presents works spanning design and installation, including pieces by Emirati artist Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim alongside Iranian and Lebanese creatives — a cross-regional dialogue shaped in a moment of uncertainty.
Date: Until April 9
Location: Warehouse 64, Alserkal Avenue
Find more information here.
2. Word on the street: Bungalow34
A pristine view of Bungalow34 overlooking Jumeirah Beach. (Photography by Rebecca Anne Proctor)
As the city adjusts, much of Dubai’s dining scene remains open — with beachside spots like Bungalow34 offering a sense of continuity amid the volatility.
Set on Pearl Jumeirah, Bungalow34 offers sweeping views over the Arabian Gulf. Part of the Tashas Group, the venue leans into relaxed, coastal dining, with a menu that includes Amalfi lemon pasta, sea bass with soy, lime and chili, a range of carpaccios, porcini pizza and chicken parmigiana.
True to its setting, Bungalow34 offers an easy seaside escape — a reminder of the city’s enduring pull toward the water.
Location: Nikki Beach Resort and Spa, Pearl Jumeirah Island, Dubai
Find more information here.
3. Dubai diary
A view of The Great Wave at Leila Heller Gallery in Dubai. (Courtesy of Leila Heller Gallery)
- ‘The Great Wave’ by Douglas White
Inside Leila Heller’s Dubai gallery, British artist Douglas White presents The Great Wave, a series of large-scale sculptures of palm trees and tidal waves made from discarded materials such as old rubber tires. Drawing on Hokusai’s iconic Under the Wave off Kanagawa, the works capture the moment when immense energy gathers before release, evoking both nature’s force and a sense of looming instability. Constructed from fragments collected from roadsides around the world, the sculptures resonate with a period marked by ecological, technological and geopolitical upheaval.
“It’s been an unforgettable experience being here and creating the work during that time,” White told Al-Monitor. “But then also with the work itself, it felt kind of uncanny, particularly this new series, which is all about this idea of this looming, turbulent energy over us.”
Date: Until April 8
Location: Leila Heller Gallery, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai
Find more information here.
- ‘Reflections: Modern and Contemporary Art from the Villain Collection’
This exhibition in Abu Dhabi draws from the private collection of patrons Fairouz and Jean-Paul Villain, bringing together modern and contemporary works from across the Arab world. Structured in three sections, the show moves from Levantine artists such as Etel Adnan and Paul Guiragossian, whose works explore themes of displacement and conflict, to North African pieces highlighting enduring artistic traditions, before concluding with a focus on Emirati pioneers and the collectors’ ties to the local art scene.
Date: Until May 31
Location: Bassam Freiha Art Foundation, Saadiyat Cultural District, Abu Dhabi
Find more information here.
- ‘Image Keepers’ at The Photography Gallery
The inaugural exhibition at Sharjah Art Foundation’s new venue in Al Manakh brings together works by 17 artists and collectives working across lens-based mediums. Drawn from the foundation’s collection, the show spans studio portraits and multimedia installations. Highlights include Sunil Gupta’s The Black Experience, which captures the everyday lives of South Asian communities in the UK in the 1980s; German-Egyptian artist Susan Hefuna’s Landscape/Cityscape, depicting Cairo and the Nile Delta through a pinhole camera; and The Bride is Beautiful but She is Married to Another Man (2017), a portrait series by Palestinian photographer Rula Halawani documenting Palestinians just before border checks.
Date: Until April 26
Location: The Photography Gallery, Al Manakh, Hay Al Qasimiah, Sharjah
Find more information here.
4. Book of the week: ‘Iran’s Grand Strategy’
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Shia Revival, Vali Nasr offers a compelling account of Iran as one of the most consequential foreign policy challenges for the United States and the West. The book examines Iran’s trajectory as a theocratic state, arguing that its actions are shaped by two core pressures: internal fragility and external threat. Drawing on history and geopolitics, Nasr sheds light on Iran’s ambitions, its resistance to US influence and its efforts to expand regional power through proxy networks — offering a clearer understanding of what drives Tehran and why it matters.
5. View from Abu Dhabi
Children play along the corniche area on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan, in Abu Dhabi on March 20, 2026. (Ryan Lim / AFP via Getty Images)
6. By the numbers
- Since the US-Israel-Iran war began on Feb. 28, Dubai’s hotel occupancy rates have fallen from a January peak of 86% to below 20% by mid-March, according to Agbi.
- The World Travel and Tourism Council estimates the conflict between the US, Israel and Iran is costing the Middle East travel and tourism sector at least $600 million per day, as air travel disruptions and weaker demand weigh on activity.