Weekend In Review: Dubai Music Week, Eid Al Adha

Dubai was hopping last week with big names like Ellie Goulding and Shreya Ghoshal in the city for Dubai Music Week. Also Story Pocket Theatre brought Arabian Nights to Dubai for Eid Al Adha, and there are some fabulous art exhibitions going on all around the Middle East. This week we spotlight the street art festival in Al Ain and an eclectic art exhibition entitled The Hunt in a Qatar gallery.

Ellie Goulding at Dubai Music WeekPhoto Credit: Wikipedia

Dubai Music Week brought four days of lively concerts to the city with big names like Ellie Goulding and Indian pop singer Shrey Ghoshal, who performed on Thursday and Friday nights respectively, and Thirty Seconds to Mars to celebrate Eid Al Adha. Goulding dazzled the crowd with even bigger songs and a harder band than she brought for her last performance in the UAE. She was the headlining act for Dubai Music Week.

Arabian Nights at DUCTAC

Photo Credit: Visit Dubai

Also for Dubai Music Week, Story Pocket Theatre brought Arabian Nights to DUCTAC. The production won an award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The performers use puppets, dancing, music, and drama to tell the stories of Aladdin, Ali Baba, and other colorful characters through the words of Sheherazade.

Al Ain Street Art Festival

Photo Credit: Bawadi Mall

Bawadi Mall in Al Ain started hosting its annual street art festival last week, which ran through this past weekend and ends on October 3. The art festival recreates some of the world’s most fabulous streets, like Barcelona’s Las Ramblas. Attendees can also watch spray painting artists perform live demonstrations. In addition, Al Ain’s street art festival will have roaming fictional artist  characters who will interact with festival-goers.

The Hunt at The Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar

Photo Credit: Museum of Islamic Art

The Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar is hosting an exhibition entitled The Hunt, which focuses on royal hunters. The exhibition draws from Qatari and Turkish museums’ collections to bring together pieces which demonstrate the bravery and lifestyle of those royal hunters while also celebrating hunting as a sport. The Hunt also tells the story of activities which are related to hunting, like feasting on kills, fighting, and polo, all topics which are prominent in Islamic art.