So, the year has begun, and we have made ourselves a whole bunch of promises — including a promise to stay more curious about what is new. We are exploring it ourselves and sharing it with you. What is new? Pop-ups, parties, films, exhibitions, and one wonderful bakery where the smell of fresh pastries makes your head spin. Welcome!

Cinema Akil at 25hours is treating us to one of Wes Anderson’s most visually stunning films, The Grand Budapest Hotel. The story follows the impeccably devoted concierge Gustave H. and his loyal protégé, Zero Moustafa, as they find themselves swept into a whirlwind of intrigue involving the theft of priceless Renaissance paintings and a fierce battle over the vast fortune of an eccentric aristocratic family. It’s a perfectly choreographed adventure told in Anderson’s signature palette of pinks, reds, blues, purples, and yellows. Irresistibly charming!

Where? Ayyam Gallery, B11, Alserkal Avenue

This week is the last chance to see The Fire’s Edge, Ali Kaaf’s first solo exhibition at Ayyam Gallery. The show brings together key works from his Rift, Helmet, and Ras Ras series, highlighting Kaaf’s interdisciplinary approach to material, form, and transformation.

The exhibition reflects on the fragile threshold between destruction and renewal — a space where ancestral knowledge, ritual, and ecology once existed and now risk disappearing. Fire, central to Kaaf’s practice, shifts between care and danger, creation and erasure, echoing broader tensions shaped by drought, extraction, and loss.

Working with elemental materials such as paper, charcoal, ink, glass, and fire, Kaaf explores opposites: density and void, past and present, fragility and endurance. From fire-altered photographic works in Ras Ras to blown-glass helmets that speak to memory and vulnerability, The Fire’s Edge becomes a space of tension and possibility — where destruction and persistence exist side by side.

Where? GABA, M level — Marina Promenade — Dubai Marina

GABA is cooking up something seriously exciting at the start of 2026 — The Floor Is Lava by LAVALAND 108.

Commanding the sonic eruption:

8:00 PM — DJ Adam

10:30 PM — Slava Gee

12:30 AM — Mr. Shef Codes

And we can’t not mention the dress code — “as hot as lava.” What does that even mean? How would you interpret it? The choice is entirely yours.

Where? Virgin Izakaya, Bluewaters

Karak Sounds® is back, where regional rhythms meet global beats and the energy builds all night long, from 9:00 PM till late. On the decks: Daniel Mar, Ben Palace, Elena Fishman and Bymishh.

Tickets are here. Grab yours while they last.

Where? DIFC, Gate Avenue 1

A winter pop-up, If You Know You Know Chalet, has opened in DIFC. The theme this time is the Alps, so you can probably guess what to expect: rich hot chocolate and great coffee.

Where? BRĒD, Mall of Emirates, Level 1

The creator behind Maha’s Bakehouse has launched a new project with a very fitting name — BRĒD.

Now open at Mall of the Emirates, it’s ready to welcome all bread (and bun) lovers.

Expect the bakery classics you know and love — sourdough loaves, croissants, and pastries — alongside a bigger all-day menu of sandwiches, burgers, sourdough pizzas, and fresh salads. All under one roof, all day long.

The year has only just started. Are you really ready to load up your Monday? Didn’t think so.