This is one of those weeks when the city really shows up. We will be bouncing between art festivals, open-air cinema nights, and new places.

There is "Interstellar" under the stars, Sikka taking over Al Shindagha, Quoz Arts Fest turning Alserkal into a two-day creative playground, and at least one very necessary dinner plan — because a newly reopened, one-MICHELIN-Star Orfali Bros absolutely deserves your attention. Add a brand-new Kokoro at Dubai Mall to the mix, and suddenly the week feels very full.

No rushing, no FOMO — just good food, good art, and a few solid reasons to leave the house. Let’s go.

Where? Aisha Alabbar Gallery, Warehouse C-19, Alserkal Avenue 17th St, Al Quoz Industrial Area 1

Alia Lootah’s new solo show at Aisha Alabbar Gallery is all about forms that refuse to stay still. Bringing together painting, drawing, and sculpture, the exhibition explores how shapes shift, soften, stretch, and reappear over time.

At the centre of the show are Lootah’s sculptural works, many of them made using knitting — not just as a technique, but as a slow, meditative process tied to memory, touch, and repetition. Soft, flexible forms sit against rigid structures, creating a quiet tension between control and release.

Her paintings and drawings echo this movement too: lines loop back on themselves, forms break apart and come together again, moving between flat surfaces and space. Nothing feels finished — just paused, mid-change.

Where? Orfali Bros, Wasl 51 Mall

After almost four years of wild growth, Orfali Bros, a one-MICHELIN-Star restaurant founded by three brothers, Mohammad, Wassim, and Omar, took a break in August 2025 for a few months, not to say goodbye, but to renovate the space and rethink the experience.

They reopened at the end of last year, on December 27, with a new menu, a new interior, and a whole new experience — just as promised. If you haven’t been yet, now is definitely the time to plan a dinner there.

Where? Riviera Terrace, located at The Lana, Dorchester Collection

Riviera’s Cinema Club returns to The Lana Dorchester Collection, kicking off the season with Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar (January 22, 6:30 pm) — screened under the open sky with stunning views of Downtown Dubai and the Burj Khalifa.

Expect an elegant open-air cinema experience paired with a film-inspired menu, timed to the movie’s key moments. Think corn in three expressions: planet-inspired risotto, an indulgent shellfish course for the iconic wave scene, and refined desserts to finish.

Where? Al Shindagha Historic District

Every year we wait for it, every year we wonder what the theme will be — and every year it is back. Sikka Art & Design Festival returns for its 14th edition, taking over the Al Shindagha Historic District from January 23 to February 1. This year’s theme, Imagining Dubai: Identities of the Future, brings together artists from the UAE and across the GCC to explore where the city is headed — and what comes next.

Expect exhibitions, public art, live performances, talks, workshops, and plenty of homegrown food spots, all set in one of Dubai’s most atmospheric neighbourhoods. Easy to wander, easy to love — and always a great way to see Dubai from a different angle.

Where? Alserkal Avenue

Quoz Arts Fest is back, and for two days (January 24 and 25), Alserkal Avenue once again turns into one big playground for art, music, performance, and everything in between. It is the kind of festival you come to wander, get a little lost, discover something unexpected — and stay longer than planned.

What we already know (and this is just a glimpse): live performances by Yasmine Hamdan, Palestinian hip-hop pioneers DAM (performing in the UAE for the first time), TootArd, Gayathri Krishnan, and Big Hass. Plus, From the Lips to the Moon, London’s cult music-poetry show.

On the art side, highlights include WEBS, a commissioned performance by Faustin Linyekula at Concrete, created in collaboration with Dream City Festival (Tunis), Nasri Sayegh Jr.’s installation You ain’t never been blue!, and this year’s main installation at Concrete — TAPE DUBAI by Numen/For Use.

Expect a full day of art, sound, conversations, food, and discoveries — Quoz Arts Fest at its best.

Where? Kokoro Hand Roll Bar, Dubai Mall

On January 16, Kokoro Hand Roll Bar officially opened at Dubai Mall (right next to KLAY) — so if you haven’t been yet, run.

Opening day was wild (because honestly, who doesn’t love Kokoro?). Born from a collaboration between FYTE Hospitality — founded by Tamer Elkhayat and Faisal Yabroudi — and chefs Daniel Lee and Patrick Pham, Kokoro reimagines the hand roll bar concept for Dubai.

Everything is made fresh to order, with chefs slicing, seasoning, and rolling each hand roll right in front of you. It is intimate, interactive, and exactly the kind of place you go for “just one roll” — and end up staying much longer.

Just pretend to focus on work — that is it.