1. Leading the week: Zayed National Museum opens December 2025
A view of the Zayed National Museum under construction. (Courtesy of Zayed National Museum)
The long-awaited Zayed National Museum, now nearing completion, has announced that it will open its doors in Abu Dhabi toward the end of this year, 15 years after its design by Foster + Partners architectural firm was first revealed. The museum will encompass artifacts spanning 300,000 years of human history, with a special focus on the UAE’s cultural legacy from the Palaeolithic, Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages. Among the highlights, the museum will include the world’s oldest natural pearl and the largest reconstruction of a Bronze Age-designed boat.
The museum is named after the UAE’s founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who was known for his emphasis on understanding and commemorating the past to move forward in the future. His passion for the UAE’s ancient heritage led to the establishment of the country’s first museum in Al Ain in 1971, followed by the opening of the Cultural Foundation in Abu Dhabi in 1981.
“This museum is more than a place of preservation,” said His Excellency Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi in a July 10 statement announcing the museum’s opening date. “It is a promise to future generations, a beacon of our identity, and a space where our story is told not just through objects, but through emotion, memory and vision. This institution will carry our story forward for generations to come.”
The museum’s collection will include artifacts from across the UAE as well as donations related to the heritage of the UAE and domestic and international loans. Other highlights will include the world’s oldest falaj irrigation system and remnants of Bronze Age copper mining — evidence of the ingenuity of the UAE’s earliest communities. An official opening date has not yet been announced.
Date: Expected in December 2025
Location: Saadiyat Cultural District, Abu Dhabi
2. Word on the street: Erth
An interior view of Erth in Abu Dhabi. (Courtesy of Erth)
Erth, which means “legacy” in Arabic, is a one-star Michelin restaurant located in the Qasr Al Hosn cultural site known for its prominent local architecture, and for being the oldest stone building in the UAE capital. The restaurant serves Emirati cuisine with a modern twist using ingredients sourced from local farms across the Emirates. Be sure to try the delicious lamb machboos, offering a succulent, tender lamb slow cooked in a sweet and savory teriyaki sauce with deliciously flavorful rice. Other must-tries include the Margooga ravioli, Al Ain miso baby chicken and finish off with Liwa dates batheeta or a deconstructed date cake.
Location: Qasr Al Hosn, Abu Dhabi
3. Dubai diary
Here (A Photograph). 2021. Graphite on paper. 69.85 x 54.61 cm, 78 x 63.2 x 3 cm (framed). (Courtesy of the artist)
• “Figure, Ground” by Fatima Haider
Born in Lahore, Pakistan, Fatima Haider’s art offers an ongoing dialogue with abstraction. Her intricate works currently on view at the “Figure, Ground” exhibition at the Grey Noise art gallery in Dubai present an interplay between nature and camouflage, organic and industrial material. The results are artworks that channel both aesthetic and conceptual tension leaving the viewer to ponder their meaning and where they begin and end.
Dates: Through Aug. 9
Location: Grey Noise, Dubai
• “I Put My Brain on Pause” by Ihab Ahmad
“I Put My Brain on Pause” presents the works of Lebanese artist Ihab Ahmad, showcasing naïve, Pop Art-inspired canvases reflective of child-like joy and the challenges faced during youth. Ahmad’s emotionally-charged works are filled with spontaneity and self-expression as numerous vibrantly coloured faces seemingly jump out from his canvases.
Dates: Through Aug. 20
Location: Firetti Contemporary, Unit 29, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai
• “Surreal Lanka” by Onvision
The exhibition, “Surreal Lanka,” reveals the work of photographer Sai Han Seng On, known as Onvision, showcasing breathtaking landscapes, city views and everyday life in Sri Lanka. The photographs on display at the RAW Coffee Company depict the country with emotional depth and introspection.
Dates: Through July 31
Location: RAW Coffee Company, Al Quoz, Dubai
