Despite the ongoing conflict, the UAE’s arts scene continues to press ahead, both locally and on the world stage.
That was evident again today as the National Pavilion UAE announced Washwasha, its exhibition for the 2026 Venice Biennale art fair.
Curated by Bana Kattan with Tala Nassar as assistant curator, the show takes its title from the Arabic onomatopoeic word for “whispering” and will feature new work from artists Mays Albaik, Jawad Al Malhi, Farah Al Qasimi, Alaa Edris, Lamya Gargash and Taus Makhacheva.
According to the organisers, the exhibition explores “contemporary soundscapes in the UAE” and the ways they carry “memory, movement and rapid transformation”.
“The central idea of Washwasha comes from the word itself,” Kattan tells The National. "Taken together, these contributions resist a singular narrative or definition of washwasha. Rather than representing the term, the works activate it, exploring what washwasha can be or do."
Venice will also be a site for work shaped more directly by the war in Gaza. Also announced today is Gaza - No Words - See the Exhibit, an official collateral event organised by the Palestine Museum US.
The exhibition will feature 100 pieces of Palestinian tatreez made by women in refugee camps and villages in Lebanon, Jordan and the West Bank.
In the project statement, organisers say the works document the effects of war in Gaza. The museum describes the exhibition as “an indelible record of the atrocities in Gaza, preserving evidence and bearing witness to the experiences of those affected”.
The wider Venice picture is also taking shape. The official list now includes national participations from the UAE, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Qatar, alongside Palestine’s collateral event.
Egypt will be represented by Armen Agop, while Qatar’s national presentation, Untitled (a gathering of remarkable people), brings together Rirkrit Tiravanija, Sophia Al Maria, Tarek Atoui, Alia Farid and Fadi Kattan.
Back in the UAE, the country's museum scene has launched a host of community-minded events for the coming weeks, such as the UAE National Orchestra's upcoming performance From Screen to Stage at the Cultural Foundation. We also saw the Autism Awareness Day event take place at the weekend at Zayed National Museum.
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is calling for applications for a new youth development programme launching this month as the long-awaited museum expands public activities ahead of its expected opening later this year.
And while several major concerts, festivals and events have been pushed until later the year – which will probably make the end of 2026 perhaps the busiest season to date – a number of shows have been added to the schedule. These include the return of the Laughter Factory in Dubai and 90s Arabic pop stalwarts Ehab Tawfik, Hamid El Shaeri and Hisham Abbas set to perform in Abu Dhabi. There is plenty to look forward to – and you may catch me dancing at the latter.
Southern Lebanon faces 'catastrophic cultural loss' as Israeli ground invasion expands
With fears growing of a broader Israeli ground invasion of southern Lebanon, archaeologists and NGOs are sounding the alarm over the risks facing several heritage sites across the region. Some are warning of potentially catastrophic cultural loss.
Israel has continued its air strikes in southern Lebanon, issuing evacuation orders that have displaced more than one million people across the country. Left behind are thousands of years of heritage sites that are increasingly vulnerable to damage and, in some cases, complete destruction.
“You have major archaeological and World Heritage sites, like Tyre, that are in the middle of the conflict, but haven’t been directly targeted – yet,” Joanne Farchakh Bajjali, founder and manager of Biladi, a non-profit organisation dedicated to preserving Lebanon’s cultural and natural heritage, tells The National.
“So far, damage to these sites has been collateral. They’re bombing near them, and very frequently,” she says. “But the most direct targeting is happening to local, unregistered heritage – sites that are not officially protected, but are deeply meaningful to local communities.”
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Sarah Michelle Gellar on letting go of a life defined by work
The weight of the world always seemed to rest on Buffy Summers’s shoulders. As Sarah Michelle Gellar tells it, some of that weight was hers too.
“I was so defined by my work when I was younger, and that was what made me. That was all of who I was. All I knew about myself was work,” Gellar tells The National.
For seven seasons from 1997 to 2003, Buffy the Vampire Slayer dominated pop culture discourse and influenced the wider media landscape. And turning in one of television’s defining performances took a toll on Gellar. In the years after it ended, she receded from public life. In part, because she lost her joy.
“I went and had a family, and I took quite a few years off,” she says. " I think if you become a parent, you become an adult. You have different responsibilities, and it changes you. Anyone that says it doesn't is kidding themselves."
"I don't think I take myself as seriously anymore. I think I used to take myself much more seriously," Gellar continues.
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Dates for your diary
UAE National Orchestra's From Screen to Stage at the Cultural Foundation Abu Dhabi – April 16
Atif Aslam at Coca-Cola Arena, Dubai – April 19
Tony Ann at Dubai Opera – April 29
Other highlights
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