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by Alexandra Mansilla

Your Week In Dubai: What To Do, April 7–13

Sara Naim, Mother Practices Her Tongue, 2026, Video performance

In Dubai, the week stays busy as ever. A packed lineup — especially on the exhibition front — with galleries opening new shows and closing others, making it a good moment to catch what is currently on view.

Alongside that, there is a mix of screenings, live music and smaller gatherings. Choose where you go — you might just spot us there!

Tuesday, April 7. At First Sight

Where? The A/P Room

Established as the region’s first platform dedicated to collectable design, The A/P Room, Alserkal Avenue presents “At First Sight”, on view until May 10, bringing together international icons and regional designers through a slower, more intuitive lens.

Blending historic and contemporary works, the exhibition focuses on materiality, craftsmanship and the emotional presence of objects — how they are experienced, lived with and understood over time.

Highlights include sculptural pieces by Rogan Gregory and Vincent Dubourg, alongside mid-century works by Joaquim Tenreiro and Jorge Zalszupin, creating a dialogue between past and present.

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Photo: Nikita Berezhnoy

Wednesday, April 8. We Walk on Stories

Where? Firetti Contemporary

Last chance to see We Walk on Stories by Khozema Al-Aaed at Firetti Contemporary, on view until April 13.

Curated by Lina Mikati, the exhibition brings together abstract, map-like compositions that blur the line between geography and memory, tracing personal and collective narratives through imagined landscapes.

Working across materials such as iron, stone and clay, Al-Aaed builds layered surfaces that echo movement, fragmentation and the passage of time — reflecting on displacement, belonging and the emotional imprint of place.

Thursday, April 9. From the Perspective of Language

Where? The Third Line

From the Perspective of Language marks Sara Naim’s first presentation of paintings alongside video work.

The exhibition brings together recent large-scale pieces that shift between figuration and abstraction, using recurring symbols and fragmented imagery to explore how meaning is formed — and where it begins to break down.

A new performance-based video extends this inquiry into language itself, treating it as something physical and unstable, shaped as much by gesture and sound as by words.

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Sara Naim, From the Perspective of Language, 2025, The Third Line, Installation View. Photo: Ismail Noor

Saturday, April 11. Father Mother Sister Brother

Where? Cinema Akil

Father Mother Sister Brother by Jim Jarmusch screens at Cinema Akil this Saturday.

The film unfolds as three separate stories set in different countries, each centred on siblings reconnecting and navigating strained family relationships shaped by time, distance and unresolved tensions.

Featuring a strong ensemble cast including Adam Driver, Cate Blanchett, Vicky Krieps and others.

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Sunday, April 12. Vinyl Souk 3 Years

Where? 25hours Hotel One Central

Vinyl Souk marks its three-year anniversary with a full evening at 25hours Hotel One Central.

The programme brings together a listening session, live performances and a curated marketplace and record fair, continuing its focus on music discovery and community.

Live acts include Adiga Music Band, Ananya Murali and Dear Cloudberry, alongside a special listening session by Bull Funk Zoo.

The marketplace features a mix of local record stores and collectives including Analog The Room, Al Jazzat Records, Cavo.ae, Raw Music Store, Retro House, Rudy’s Records, The Source Distro and mor

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Monday, April 13. Nothing

No plans.

Just keep the energy for the rest of the week.