A listening night for people who actually want to listen, an exhibition that makes you look twice at the city around you, a fox-filled pastry pop-up, a new Japanese spot in JLT, horses taking centre stage in Abu Dhabi, and one last chance to catch an international group show before it closes. Here is what we are doing this week.

Where? Reunion

The first edition of distance minimaliste lands at Reunion: a new series of listening evenings built around the idea of coming for the music rather than coming to dance until late. This one leans heavily into Detroit house and techno, played through Reunion’s Stage Accompany sound system.

There will also be food from next-door neighbours Soul Kitchen. Basically: find a seat, order something, and give the music your full attention for a few hours.

From 7:30 pm to 11:30 pm.

Where? Tashkeel, Nad Al Sheba 1

A broken bit of infrastructure, abandoned maintenance equipment, something quietly improvised in a public space — the things most of us walk past are exactly where Hamad Almuzaini starts looking.

His debut solo exhibition, Precarious Beings, is now on at Tashkeel and looks at the built environment of Kuwait City through photography, drawing and sculpture. Rather than focusing on landmark architecture, Almuzaini zooms in on the overlooked objects and small human interventions that reveal how people actually use, adapt to and negotiate a city.

The show runs until October 11, so Wednesday feels like a good excuse to go and pay attention to all the things that normally sit somewhere in the background.

Where? Dubai Mall

You won’t walk past this one without noticing it.

Yann Couvreur’s pop-up has landed at Dubai Mall in the form of a little tent covered in the pastry chef’s signature foxes. Inside: coffee, desserts and a very cute mini shop stocked with mugs, toys, thermoses and plenty of other fox-shaped things.

Where? Noren, Jumeirah Lakes Towers

Dubai has plenty of restaurants designed to make a first impression. Noren would rather become the place you keep coming back to.

The new Japanese restaurant is the first independent project from Ilir Caushi and Pawel Kazanowski, who spent more than 15 years helping build Zuma internationally. Their idea for Noren is intentionally simple: no huge concept, no unnecessary theatre — just a restaurant that works for a quick bite at the counter, lunch, dinner with friends or a longer tasting menu.

Food moves between raw dishes, sushi and the grill. The menu includes chutoro with jalapeño dressing, usugiri tomato with Ibaraki soy sauce, grilled tuna steak with wafu sauce and mizuna, red miso-glazed bone marrow, and king crab with Hokkaido lemon butter. The room follows the same philosophy: timber, tile, an open kitchen, sushi bar and grill, with the food doing most of the talking.

Where? Abu Dhabi Royal Equestrian Arts, Al Jubail Island

If you have been looking for a reason to spend Saturday evening in Abu Dhabi, here is a rather beautiful one.

Abu Dhabi Royal Equestrian Arts opens its new season with Furusiyya: The Return to Origins, a live performance built around the Arab tradition of Furusiyya and the relationship between horse and rider. Classical horsemanship meets choreography, music and visual storytelling, with the whole thing centred on precision, trust and the long history behind the practice.

Doors open at 6 pm and the performance begins at 7 pm.

Where? JD Malat Gallery Dubai, Act 2 Tower, Downtown Dubai

Last weekend to catch this one.

Points of View brings together 12 international artists working across abstraction, figurative painting, text-based works and bold contemporary compositions. Among them are Shane Guffogg, whose paintings explore light and consciousness; Phoebe Leech with her emotionally charged figurative works; Robert Montgomery, who brings poetry into visual art; and Lu Xinjian, known for his colourful geometric takes on cities around the world.

Also on show are works by Sophie-Yen Bretez, Ur Kasin, Tim Kent, Kojo Marfo, Ed Moses, Masayoshi Nojo, Luis Olaso and Santiago Parra — each approaching memory, identity and place from a different angle.

The exhibition closes on September 15, so Sunday is your last weekend chance to see it.