To Abu Dhabi for art and culture

THINK Abu Dhabi and you think oil and commerce. But that’s set to change.

Not content with being an oil capital, the largest emirate of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is positioning itself as a destination for arts and culture. Its latest major art event is Manar Abu Dhabi, a sprawling public light-art exhibition featuring nearly two dozen monumental light-art works that come alive when the sun goes down – turning the city into a luminous stage for creativity and wonder.

Notably, the city picked Singaporean curator Khai Hori to be the exhibition’s artistic director.

In this week’s BT Lifestyle, we visit the vibrant capital of the UAE to see how he is leading hundreds of collaborators in transforming the emirate’s sandbanks, mangroves and historic oases into immersive art experiences.

In Style, fashion legend Carine Roitfeld has put together a Dior exhibition here, set to open on Friday. The former editor-in-chief of Vogue France tells us about life, fashion, and how she and longtime collaborator Brigitte Niedermair have reinterpreted the French label’s decades-long history for contemporary eyes.

In Dining, read why we think the latest chef to helm Japanese restaurant Ki-Sho is a keeper.

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For all this and more, don’t miss BT Lifestyle this week.