Today's Edition
SARA ALZAABI (ABU DHABI)
Manar Abu Dhabi is switching on the season with art, light and live music - with a special performance by singer EMEL on Jubail Island on December 20 at 7.30pm.
Organised by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), the second edition of the light art exhibition is running across Al Ain, Jubail Island and Souq Al Mina until January 4, 2026.
Known for her powerful voice and evocative stage presence, EMEL (Emel Mathlouthi) said the setting itself shapes the concert’s mood.
“Performing on Jubail Island invites a different kind of listening, deeply connected to the elements,” she told Aletihad.
“The presence of water, open sky, and natural silence influences the energy I want to create. I see the landscape not as a backdrop, but as a collaborator and one of the band. It allows the music to breathe, to resonate with space, and to offer audiences a moment of reflection and emotional openness that feels very aligned with my work.”
The Tunisian singer, songwriter and musician sees a natural link between her sonic world and Manar Abu Dhabi’s light-led approach to public art.
“My music has always explored contrasts between light and shadow, intimacy and power, tradition and experimentation. In that sense, it naturally interacts with Manar Abu Dhabi’s vision,” she said.
“Sound, like light, can transform how we experience a place. Through voice, electronic textures, and visual elements, I hope to contribute a sensorial layer to this journey, one that invites audiences to feel the city differently, not only see it, but connect emotionally with the spaces they inhabit.”
For EMEL, performing in Abu Dhabi right now carries a wider meaning, because of how the city is integrating art into everyday life.
“This moment feels meaningful because Abu Dhabi is positioning art as a shared, public experience,” she said.
“As an international artist, I am deeply interested in spaces where cultures meet without hierarchy. Performing here now feels like participating in a broader conversation about how art can exist outside traditional venues and reach people where they are, creating moments of connection across languages and backgrounds.”
That notion of connection sits at the heart of her album MRA, which blends global rhythms with personal storytelling, and she hopes audiences will meet it through emotion first.
“MRA is deeply personal, but it speaks to universal emotions such as resilience, identity, memory and transformation,” she said.
“I hope audiences in Abu Dhabi connect not necessarily through understanding every word, but through feeling. I am used to an audience who does not even speak Arabic, and they follow me throughout the journey. Music has the power to bypass language, and, in a live setting, I aim to create a shared emotional space where listeners can project their own stories onto the music.”
With Manar Abu Dhabi emphasising accessibility and community engagement, she described shaping the performance as an invitation rather than a simplification.
“I approach these performances with a strong sense of openness,” she said. “That means designing a set that is emotionally direct, visually inviting, and rhythmically engaging, while still remaining true to my artistic language.
“Accessibility, for me, is not about simplifying, but about creating entry points, moments of silence, repetition, or rhythm that allow everyone, regardless of background, to connect. In a diverse city like Abu Dhabi, this diversity becomes a strength, shaping the performance into a collective experience.”
