Dar al Funoon Abu Dhabi, Arabic for 'House of the Arts', is Abu Dhabi's first venue built entirely around live performance. Opera, ballet, theatre, jazz, it's all here, on Saadiyat Cultural District.
Abu Dhabi's house of performing arts is set to open in 2030 and is already one of the most anticipated cultural openings in the region. It's worth keeping an eye on.
Abu Dhabi's House of the Arts can hold 6,000 people across four spaces, a performance hall, an open-air amphitheatre, a studio theatre and a jazz venue. That means an intimate jazz set and an off-scale Broadway play can happen on the same site on the same night.
Programming goes deeper than one-off shows. Dar al Funoon Abu Dhabi is designed for residencies and co-productions, the kind that bring international artists back season after season.
The performing arts centre in Abu Dhabi was designed by the late Frank Gehry, who also worked on the upcoming Guggenheim Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat Island. If you know his work, Guggenheim Bilbao, the Dancing House in Prague and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA, you'll have a sense of what's coming. Two Gehry buildings on the same site, in the same cultural district, is not something that happens very often.
Can visitors go to House of the Arts Abu Dhabi now?
How will House of the Arts Abu Dhabi be different from the museums in Saadiyat Cultural District?
Why is House of the Arts Abu Dhabi important for Saadiyat Cultural District?
Will House of the Arts Abu Dhabi host public performances?
What types of spaces will House of the Arts Abu Dhabi include?
Will House of the Arts Abu Dhabi support local and regional artists?
