For the second year in a row, Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism has organized a sprawling public art event focusing on sculptures, installations, and projections that incorporate light. The 2025-26 edition, called “The Light Compass,” has a four-person curatorial team: artistic director Khai Hori (based in Singapore), and Alia Zaal Lootah, Munira Al Sayegh, and Mariam Alshehhi (all based in the UAE).
Installations by 15 Emeriti and international artists will take place in Abu Dhabi proper (on Jubail Island and Souq Al Mina) and in the inland city of Al Ain, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (at Al Qattara Oasis and Al Jimi Oasis).
The inaugural Manar Abu Dhabi, called “Grounding Light,” featured 35 artworks by artists and collectives such as Carsten Höller, Samia Halaby, teamLab, Shezad Dawood, and Shilpa Gupta.
Jubail Island, a residential development that is adjacent to Saadiyat Island and part of Abu Dhabi’s Vision 2030 initiative, is hosting the majority of this year’s projects. Among them are installations by DRIFT (Unfold, a large domed structure with a projection of a blossom on the ceiling, based on a visitor’s biometric data, and Wind of Change, a drone show based on tidal rhythms and wind patterns) and Shaikha Al Mazrou (Contingent Object, a 30-meter circular object incorporating salt crystals that glows at night).
HOLIDAY Abu Dhabi, one of KAWS’s recognizable “Companion” figures (a kind of Mickey Mouse/skull-and-crossbones hybrid character), is installed at Souq Al Mina. The over 100-foot-long figure is reclining on a pier while holding up a glowing moonlike orb.
Seven site-specific works will be on view in nearby Ai Ain, including installations by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Ammar Al Attar, and Christian Brinkmann.
“The Light Compass” is on view through Jan. 4, 2026.
