Abu Dhabi's Evolving Cultural Landscape: Heritage Reimagined in Real Time

Twelve years ago, upon arriving in Abu Dhabi, much of what drew me here felt like a future promise. The undeveloped desert surrounding NYU Abu Dhabi’s campus, where I resided, represented not an absence but a wealth of potential. The nascent museums on Saadiyat Island and the nation's dedication to arts and culture presented a unique chance to contribute to something whose possibilities were still unfolding. Today, I am part of an expanding cultural community. Audiences now move fluidly between museums, festivals, concerts, and performances, with some who initially attended as spectators now actively creating their own work. New institutions are emerging, and new colleagues are becoming friends and collaborators. The International Day of the Intangible Cultural Heritage serves as a reminder of how these interactions enable people to connect with the past, learn from each other, and shape the culture that future generations will inherit. Heritage is not static; it is a living entity. Intangible cultural heritage is continuously revitalized through music, storytelling, crafts, performance, celebrations, and knowledge passed down and reinvented in real time. Communities nurture these practices through teaching and active participation, adapting them as their lives evolve. Our responsibility lies in supporting those who carry these traditions forward. For instance, choreographer Huang Yi and audiovisual artist Ryoichi Kurokawa have reinterpreted calligrapher Tong Yang-Tze’s Silent Music series in Ink at New York University Abu Dhabi.

I view the arts as essential social infrastructure, providing individuals with diverse life experiences a common ground for gathering and community building. A performance can spark dialogue, foster future collaborations, or inspire someone to realize their own story is worth sharing. Consistent opportunities for participation, creation, and learning from others transform cultural investment into a lasting national contribution. Earlier this month, I joined a LiveX panel where Professor Adrian Lahoud of the Royal College of Art drew a parallel between the opportunities New York offered earlier generations of newcomers and what Abu Dhabi and Dubai offer today. As a lifelong New Yorker, I recognize a similar spirit of ambitious individuals arriving with varied backgrounds, united by a belief in building a shared life. Abu Dhabi’s cultural identity will continue to develop from its historical roots in Emirati heritage, further shaped by the experiences and interactions of its residents. Its neighborhoods and artistic communities will naturally differ from those in New York, and the full significance of current developments may only become apparent in the next generation. I recall the words of Zaki Nusseibeh, cultural adviser to the UAE President, published in The New York Times shortly after my arrival in 2014. He spoke of the forthcoming museums and the deliberate process of cultural development, stating, “We know we cannot create culture overnight… so we can find our own voice. Hopefully, in 20 or 30 years’ time, we will have our own cultural elite, so our young people won’t have to go to London or Paris to learn about art.” We are already witnessing the realization of this vision. I have met individuals who first visited as part of high school trips, later became NYUAD students, encountered new forms of performance, participated in workshops, and have now emerged as artists whose work we present and commission. A children’s matinee can plant a seed of possibility that lasts a lifetime. Artists require avenues to develop their craft and sustain their careers. The Arts Centre’s Numoo professional development accelerator offers practical skills and fosters networks across different art forms and backgrounds. Participants discover collaborators and develop work that we could not have foreseen when bringing them together, sharing narratives that illuminate life in Abu Dhabi. Hekayah | The Story, our annual event celebrating UAE National Day, Eid Al Etihad, poses the question: how do we forge a national narrative? Poets and musicians from diverse backgrounds are collaboratively selected by curators from the UAE’s literary and performing arts communities. By sharing stories rooted in their histories, heritages, and experiences of home, they provide a platform for the nation’s many voices and languages. This year’s inaugural collaboration with Public Art Abu Dhabi expands this opportunity for collective storytelling. In the same LiveX conversation, architect Bjarke Ingels referenced Leonard Cohen’s lyric, “There is a crack in everything / That’s how the light gets in,” discussing the openings for the unexpected in urban development where creativity can flourish.

Quote: Communities sustain these practices through teaching and participation, adapting them as their lives change.

Translating this intention into practice involves creating fertile ground for serendipity: affordable living spaces that allow artists to reside near one another, facilitating regular interaction, idea exchange, and the discovery of collaborators. Thoughtful urban planning can foster encounters, even when the outcomes are unpredictable. Some concepts may not succeed or may evolve in new directions; others may become more compelling through unforeseen contributions. A vibrant cultural scene requires flexibility for this iterative process, acknowledging that setbacks can be as instructive as breakthroughs. Audiences, too, bring their unique perspectives. At The Arts Centre’s opening concert this season, Fanfarai, a French North African brass and percussion ensemble, shared the stage with New Orleans’s Dirty Dozen Brass Band. I observed audience members clapping to different rhythms, instinctively engaging with the music in their own way, yet united by the shared joy of the experience, collectively forging a new history. Post-performance, individuals often share stories of friendships and experiences that have solidified Abu Dhabi as their home. The International Day of the Intangible Cultural Heritage prompts us to consider our obligation to the practices and knowledge that communities cherish and pass on. Preserving and expanding these traditions means empowering individuals to practice, teach, perform, and contribute, understanding that what they transmit will inevitably transform. The initial promise that drew me here has materialized in the creative output of people and the connections they forge. We can honor their contributions while simultaneously creating space for discoveries none of us could have anticipated. As Octavia E. Butler wisely stated in Parable of the Sower, the subject of The Arts Centre’s inaugural season opener: “The only lasting truth is change.”