New exhibitions, Persian food, pocket theatre and a lot of vinyl — this week is nicely all over the place. Start with Kenyan artist Maggie Otieno turning century-old railway wood into sculpture, then try a new Persian restaurant overlooking South Ridge Park. There is also a trip to Abu Dhabi for Untitled 14km, a pre-loved fashion pop-up at Alserkal Avenue, six brand-new plays at Bayt AlMamzar and, finally, five hours of dub records and stories with Shadi Megallaa. Here is what we are doing this week.

Where? Efie Gallery

Maggie Otieno has been making art from materials that already come with a history for almost three decades. The Kenyan artist is especially known for working with reclaimed wood — including 150-year-old railway sleepers — transforming it into large-scale sculptures and public installations.

Her first solo exhibition at Efie Gallery, Sojourner: The Difference is the Same, brings together a new group of mixed-media works built from materials marked by time and use. Pieces that once belonged to infrastructure and movement are dismantled, rearranged and turned into something much quieter.

The exhibition circles around memory, inherited histories and the question of what gets carried forward when an object — or a person — changes form.

Where? Downtown Dubai

There is a new Persian restaurant in Downtown — Le Guilan, the new project from Amir Asjodi, founder of Guilaneh in Tehran, and it takes inspiration from Gilan, Iran’s lush Caspian province known for its food culture.

The approach here is contemporary rather than traditional-for-traditional’s-sake. Think tah-dig with slow-braised beef and beef jus, whole sea bass with saffron beurre blanc and roe, short rib with dill rice and fava bean purée, and a saffron soufflé with cardamom, rosewater and Persian saffron ice cream.

The space is equally polished: a French-brasserie-inspired dining room, open kitchen, art throughout and a garden terrace overlooking South Ridge Park.

Where? The Black Box, The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi

A little detour to Abu Dhabi this Thursday. Moroccan artist Youness Atbane brings Untitled 14km to The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi for two nights.

The performance sits somewhere between theatre, visual art and live performance, playing with the ways artworks are presented, interpreted and given value. Atbane has long been interested in museums, exhibition spaces and the rituals that surround contemporary art — and here, those systems become part of the work itself.

Performances take place October 1 and 2 at 7:30 pm.

Where? Gooder Skateboarding, Alserkal Avenue

If other people’s wardrobes are your favourite places to shop, &AGAIN is back with its first pre-loved pop-up of the season.

Across three days, you can dig through pieces from the closets of Haifa Beseisso, Tamara Farra, Hala Owais, Omaira Al Olama, Hebah Baker and more, alongside curated selections from Bouclo Archive, Thrift for Good and Kawaii Art.

Expect one-offs, designer pieces and the kind of finds that tend to disappear quickly. The pop-up runs October 2–4, from 10 am to 7 pm — so this might be one of those occasions where coming early actually matters.

Where? Bayt AlMamzar, Al Mamzar

Six playwrights, six directors and six completely new plays. THE KOLEKTIBOLS: Fresh & Unstaged Pocket Theatre Plays is the result of the first performance residency hosted at Bayt AlMamzar, created with Off The Grid and 63Kolektib.

During the residency, six emerging playwrights were paired with early- to mid-career directors to develop original 30-minute works from scratch. The resulting programme moves from friendship, gaming and music to marriage, migration, family memory and different ideas of home.

The performances take place across October 3 and 4. Entry is free, although each play needs to be booked separately.

Where? Lulu and the Beanstalk

Finish the week by sitting down and actually listening to music. Sonic Majlis returns with Shadi Megallaa, record collector, selector, DJ and producer, for an afternoon dedicated to the dub records that shaped the way he listens and makes music.

Part conversation, part listening session, Megallaa will play records and unpack the sounds and stories behind them — so this is less DJ set, more getting inside someone else’s record collection for a few hours.

It runs from 4–9 pm, with sound powered by Audio Note Dubai. Capacity is limited!