Mohammed Bin Rashid Library, Project designed by Consortium of 'asp' Architekten Stuttgart, Obermeyer Planen+Beraten Munich and ACG Architecture Consulting Group | Courtesy Mohammed Bin Rashid Library
It’s not just a city for fun, for sport and for tourism. Sheik Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum wanted Dubai to have a new space dedicated to culture as well. The project took off in 2016 and will soon be completed - a library in his name, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Library. Located in Al Jaddaf, the western section of Bur Dubai, overlooking the historic canal of the city, the Creek, the library, taking up an area of 60.000 square metres, is the largest in the Middle East. The shape of the building is that of an open book sitting on a lectern, the Rehl, which, in the Arab World, is particularly used to bear the Koran. The interior of the library is spread out over seven floors and, along with numerous sections dedicated to specific fields of study, there is also a workshop for the conservation and restoration of antique texts, an auditorium, a cinema and numerous exhibition spaces. The avant-garde architectural design is also highly energy efficient, thanks to the use of ecologically-friendly materials and the latest technology. It is a modern space dedicated to the protection and sharing of the heritage of both the past and recent history, but also envisioned to promote reading on a wider scale, creating new generations that are passionate about books and knowledge in general.
In All That Is Solid, Gil Heitor Cortesão deconstructs the modernist legacy, turning interiors and architecture into unstable visions that challenge notions of order and permanence.
Flowers and Absences: Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook's Retrospective in Dubai
The Jameel Arts Centre presents a survey of forty-five years of Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook’s practice. Through recurring motifs of flowers, beds and words, the Thai artist reflects on life, love and death, weaving together the personal and the collective.
The Sharjah Islamic Arts Festival turns the emirate into a distributed cultural platform through January 31, 2026. Exhibitions, installations and performances reinterpret Islamic art through contemporary practices. A festival that weaves together memory, experimentation and public space.
On April 24, 2026, Christina Aguilera performs at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. The concert focuses on the songs that defined the early 2000s. At the heart of the show is her voice, rooted in soul, R&B and pop.
