MUDHI ALOBTHANI (ABU DHABI)
How do children experience the world? Watch and listen as they play their way through the Children’s Biennale, which opens tomorrow, November 6, at Abu Dhabi’s Umm Al Emarat Park.
Nine artists from the UAE and beyond have transformed the park into a space for touch, sound, movement and light, with works ranging from reimagined playgrounds to a museum for children and bees.
Curator Dana Al Mazrouei said the biennale explores how people first make sense of the world through their senses, before they have the language to name what surrounds them.
“Children are not simply visitors walking past artworks; they are an integral part of the artistic experience,” she said.
“The commissioned artists were encouraged to consider how they could position children and their families at the heart of their work, making children part of the artwork rather than simply creating art for them.”
Spanning sculpture, performance and textiles, the works turn the park into an interactive environment.
Among them is ‘Where Wishes Grow’ by Sharjah-based teaching artist Nada Almosa, developed with UT-R Studio. The three-part installation looks at the past, present and future of public parks through children’s eyes, drawing on their imagination to consider how shared outdoor spaces might evolve.
Almosa said the work was shaped by her experience with children and by her artistic practice, which centres on play and documentation.
“After understanding the curator’s vision for the biennale, we developed a work that complements the wider exhibition and connects with the other participating artists’ works,” she said.
Environmental awareness and cultural heritage also feature, notably in ‘The Agriculture School: The Pollinators Play Museum’ by Emirati artist Moza Almatrooshi.
Described as a small outdoor museum for both children and pollinators, the installation combines nectar-rich plants with colourful hexagonal structures for children to explore and play in.
Almatrooshi said the colours were inspired by how bees perceive plants. The work also incorporates materials from the mountains and traditional beekeeping practices, including palm-log beehives and honeycombs from wild bees. “The whole installation is meant to be recyclable or able to return to the earth,” she said.
Held under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Shamsa bint Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, the inaugural Children’s Biennale marks the UAE’s Year of Family, celebrating the connections, shared experiences and creativity that bring families and communities together.
It is organised by Abu Dhabi Festival in partnership with National Gallery Singapore, Umm Al Emarat Park and Salayel Hospitality.
Besides the exhibition, the programme includes family sessions, workshops and an interactive guide encouraging children to experiment, question, collaborate and form their own interpretations.
The Children’s Biennale runs daily from 8am to midnight until December 6. Standard park admission applies.