Sikka Art & Design Festival 14 Turns Al Shindagha into an Open-Air Art Gallery

A series of public art installations and murals now animate the courtyards and walls of Al Shindagha Historic Neighbourhood as part of the 14th edition of Sikka Art & Design Festival, held under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture).

Running until 1 February under Dubai's Quality of Life Strategy, the festival features more than 250 works by UAE nationals, residents, and artists from across the Gulf. The programme reflects Dubai Culture's vision of positioning the emirate as a global hub for the creative economy.

Shaima Rashed Al Suwaidi, Chief Executive Officer of the Arts, Design & Literature Sector at Dubai Culture, noted that the public art pieces address themes of memory, belonging, heritage, and language, reflecting the Authority’s commitment to supporting talent and empowering artists to express their visions.  She said: “Sikka Art & Design Festival represents a creative incubator that brings together the many facets of the arts ecosystem, celebrating practices across disciplines. It highlights the richness of Dubai’s diversity and its ability to build bridges between artists and audiences, positioning the festival as an active contributor to community awareness and a vibrant urban space for dialogue and interactive experience.”

Al Suwaidi added that this year’s programme underscores the role in advancing Dubai’s Public Art Strategy, which seeks to make art accessible to all, while fostering innovation and supporting the growth of the cultural and creative industries.

This year’s edition features 11 murals curated by Mozah Lootah, inspired by Dubai’s urban fabric and the stories embedded within it. The works form an extension of the Memory House, which centres on collective memory. Emirati artist Eman Alrashdi presents ‘Al-Majlis,’ documenting an everyday coffee gathering that brings generations together, reflecting warmth, familiarity, and national identity through a poignant human moment. Artists Amna Alketbi and Fatima Al Hammadi collaborated on ‘Between the Past and the Present,’ offering a visual interpretation of the bond linking past to future, likened to that of a mother and her daughter, one rooted in guidance and preparation for what lies ahead.

Kuwaiti artist Nora Al Sabah drew inspiration from the movement of birds and foliage in ‘Spin the Feather, Sing the Wind,’ presenting a contemporary reading of culture that explores nature, craft, and the women’s place in the Gulf, using a youthful visual language and vibrant colours. Artists Fatema (Fay) Alkaabi and Ayesha Alkaabi reimagine the majlis as a space of generosity and hospitality in ‘She Wove the Sun into the Heart.’ Emirati artist Noor Al Khamiri, through ‘Cups of Time,’ weaves together heritage, femininity, and time, visually expressing wisdom and generational continuity and highlighting the vital place of elders within the local community.

Syrian artist Ghiath Al Robih, in ‘Between Heritage and Modernity,’ depicts the journey from tradition to contemporary life through the eyes of two children guided by a mother's strength, underscoring her influence in shaping identity and nurturing future generations. Emirati artist Abdulrahman Abdulla Aldark presents ‘He Who Does Not Know His Past,’ illustrating the transmission of knowledge, history, and responsibility across generations, where green symbolises inherited memory and wisdom, and warmer tones represent lived experience and the external world.

Canadian artist FATSPATROL (Fathima Mohiuddin) highlights human connection across time and space in her aerosol mural, emphasising humanity’s enduring search for meaning, joy, love, and purpose. Algerian artist Sneak Hotep, through ‘Ascension,’ captures Dubai’s distinctiveness as a city that embraces diverse dreams and opens broader horizons. Meanwhile, Peruvian artist German Fernandez’s ‘Flow,’ portrays a family interacting with nightingale-like light forms amid a dynamic visual current, presenting technology as part of an ongoing dialogue with the surrounding environment.

The courtyards of Al Shindagha Historic Neighbourhood also feature a wide range of public artworks that support the objectives of Dubai’s Public Art Strategy. Highlights include installations by the S’ila Collective, including ‘Entrance of Tomorrow,’ which reflects cultural coexistence through symbols referencing people, architecture, and the creek. Their work ‘Views of Tomorrow’ offers a visual reading of the local creative scene, encouraging reflection on the past while imagining a future where culture and creativity converge.

The festival also features a selection of interactive and experimental pieces, including ‘Create (اِبدع)’ by Syrian artist Sandra Boutros, which transforms the Arabic word for “create” into an abstract sculptural form. Artist Fuad Ali, in collaboration with Rahat Kunanunova, presents ‘The Pearl Majlis,’ reimagining the traditional gathering space for reflection and connection. The collaborative design project ‘Nazz wa Milh’ draws inspiration from the UAE’s sabkha landscapes, translating them into a living design system.

‘RE:Ground’ by Salma Hani Ali, Ajay Sunil, and Omar AlAhmadani explores reuse and ornamentation through the transformation of reclaimed materials using craft and contemporary technologies, proposing alternative visions for building. Artist Mezna Suwaidan, in ‘Hide & Seek,’ reimagines the playful environments of playgrounds and public parks, while ‘Did You See the Louz?’ by Sara Alkhayyal invites contemplation of shared memory shaped by life cycles and the relationship between people and nature.

Irish artist MC Kirwan, through ‘A Place to Land,’ offers a moment to consider ideas of arrival and belonging, connecting bodies to the ground beneath them and the geography that holds them. The interactive installation ‘Recorded. Thank You for Your Presence,’ created by the Interactive Public Art Programme cohort in collaboration with Spatial Forces, employs real-time body-tracking technology. Meanwhile, ‘Tathakarouni – A Collective Face,’ projected onto the façade of House 436, transforms the building into a living portrait.

‘Coming Together’ by Alia Aljasmi and Spatial Forces presents interaction as a prerequisite for formation, while ‘Weaving Stories’ by Fatima Alawadhi and Spatial Forces evokes the majlis as a social and narrative space. At the Art & Tech House, the exhibition ‘The Encounters,’ curated by Esra Ozkan, explores the evolution of culture alongside technological change through works by artists from diverse disciplines.