The Arts Center At NYUAD Launches Sixth Season Online

The Arts Center at NYUAD is launching its sixth season in full force virtually, creating an interactive experience to explore the impact of isolation on mental health

For this year’s artistic performances at The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD), Executive Artistic Director at The Arts Center Bill Bragin walks us through what the sixth season’s theme represents.

The theme, A Bridge, is about linking curiosity with inspiration, connecting NYUAD with the capital, joining the UAE with international artists and audiences, crossing local and international talent. “As a series of interconnected islands, the bridge is an especially important symbol to Abu Dhabi,” explains Bragin.

“We wanted to build on last year’s theme, Connection and capture the role of The Arts Center as a link between so many different things: NYUAD and the larger UAE community, between the UAE and the rest of the world, between the heart and mind. We’re also at a transition point leading us to new ways of thinking about the arts and culture, so we wanted to also capture the idea of being a bridge to the future.”

The Arts Center will prepare for a physically-distanced environment while exhibiting the performances virtually to bring audiences, artists and the art communities locally and globally closer together. Season six will also include Off The Stage, which is The Arts Center’s audience engagement platform, offering an array of interactive events delivered as part of each artist’s virtual residency.

Events include a sequence of four monthly online dance classes with Aakash Odedra, creation workshops with Tania El Khoury and 600 Highwaymen, career chats with Kid Koala and post-performance Q&As.

Each performance has a special theme, but some returning themes include the sense of creating connection and overcoming isolation, revelries of originality and heritage.

For example, Tania El Khoury and Basel Zaraa’s As Far As Isolation Goes uses strategies to create micro-theatre experiences for only one participant to explore how to overcome the feelings of isolation we are currently enduring. In contrast, Kid Koala’s Robot House Party and a concert by Ak Dan Gwang Chil (ADG7) give large audiences a chance to celebrate together, to share joy and elation.

So what would audiences take away from this season’s theme? Bill Bragin concludes, “We want audiences to come with open minds and open hearts, and we hope they feel a sense that their world has been enriched in some way.

And especially right now, when so many aspects of our world are unpredictable and require reinvention, we hope that people will be inspired to transcend the constraints and come up with new ways to connect. With the advantages of live streaming, we can now also let the rest of the world see the depth and richness of local artists.” 

Image courtesy of The Arts Centre at The NYU Abu Dhabi