The second edition of the Public Art Abu Dhabi biennial, titled "Home: A Glossary for a Communal Sense of Place," opens in Al Ain on October 23 and runs through February 15, with the Abu Dhabi leg of the show beginning November 15. Artistic director Elvira Dyangani Ose, who also heads the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, says the edition sets out to reimagine what "home" means within a shared urban space.
Unlike the inaugural edition, which featured more than 50 projects, this year's biennial presents work by 21 Emirati and international artists, a deliberate narrowing that Ose frames as a shift toward depth over scale. Installations will appear across Mina Zayed, Souq Al Mina, Saadiyat Cultural District, Hidd Al Saadiyat and several Al Ain sites, with free public access throughout.
Participating artists include Ibrahim Mahama, Yinka Shonibare, Akram Zaatari, Khalid Al Banna, Nari Ward, Asuncion Molinos Gordo, Laure Prouvost, Mercedes Azpilicueta, Kapwani Kiwanga, Marinella Senatore and Reena Saini Kallat, each approaching ideas of home, displacement and belonging through a distinct practice.
Ose has said that while works must relate to the place they occupy, art should also carry viewers beyond the everyday. Organisers hope the biennial will cement Abu Dhabi and Al Ain as a recurring fixture on the region's public-art calendar and open a dialogue between artists from the Gulf and abroad. Most sites remain free to visit, and a full visitor itinerary is expected to be released by organisers in the coming weeks as installations are completed across the five locations.