Collectors’ Week Abu Dhabi: Everything You Need To Know
On October 7, a contemporary milieu of collectors, artists, musicians, NFT creators, fashion designers, architects and chefs from around the world will flock to the Emirate
Just half a century ago, Abu Dhabi was a sparsely populated arid desert occupied by bedouins and fishermen, but today, the region’s second most-populous city has risen to become a modern cradle of art and culture, in a futuristic, digital age.
On October 7th, a contemporary milieu of collectors, artists, musicians, NFT creators, fashion designers, architects and chefs from around the world will flock to Abu Dhabi’s sandy shores for its first Collectors’ Week, a testament to the United Arab Emirates’ emergence as a global art hub.
Its anchor event, the Australian-born Semi Permanent festival, will offer a privileged glimpse into the world of new media, innovation and global creativity with special guests like Grammy award-winning DJ and songwriter Mark Ronson, a pop-up bar and restaurant by New York establishment The Flower Shop, the latest ‘experience design’ by LA-based design studio Perron-Roettinger and an installation by machine intelligence-aesthete, Turkish-American artist Refik Anadol. Regarded as the biggest creativity and design festival in the southern hemisphere, Semi Permanent will unfold in the Middle Eastern region for the first time, at the Manarat al Saadiyat cultural venue between Oct 14th and 16th.
An important facet of the UAE’s strategy to diversify its economy, investing in culture and tourism has been high on its agenda since 2005 – an ambitious plan that led to the opening of the Louvre Abu Dhabi and will see the long-awaited opening of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi in 2026. Collectors’ Week and the debut of Semi Permanent in the region, will propel this plan to the next level.
Envisaged by Retail Abu Dhabi, the retail platform of Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism, the overall aim of Collectors’ Week is to energise the pursuit of a passion, no matter what shape that devotion takes, be it collecting limited edition sneakers or luxury watches, to snapping up different iterations of a favorite designer bag line.
Over the past 19 years, Semi Permanent has generated a media buzz for its unexpected mingling of creative talent, which has included director Oliver Stone, filmmaker and photographer Gia Coppola, architect Bjarke Ingels and skateboarder Tony Hawk. This edition will unite talents from the UAE, the US, Australia, Germany, the UK and beyond, exploring the notion of intersections between art and music, as well as architecture and fashion design. Architect Oana Stanescu, musician Dana Hourani and fashion designer Bunyamin Adin of Les Benjamins are all expected to attend this year.
Also within Collectors’ Week is The Collective, a series of three immersive experiences showcasing happenings such as the Sneaker Laboratory partnership with Puma, where retro collectables will be on display and guests will be afforded the rare opportunity of having their own sneakers customised by Puma’s onsite artist. The space will also host an exhibit by social media star, Supercar vlogger Mo Vlogs Super and the exclusive launch of Jumy, the UAE’s first NFT platform and marketplace. In and around the city, fashion and retail pop-ups (including Breitling and Dolce & Gabbana) will feature brand retrospectives, new product drops and in-store experiences will take place at key Abu Dhabi locations and in 15 leading malls.
“We are confident this exciting new addition to Abu Dhabi’s increasingly diverse events calendar will elevate the emirate’s local and international tourism offering, and underline Abu Dhabi’s steering role as an enabling beacon of innovation for the regional design and creative industries,” comments His Excellency Ali Hassan Al Shaiba, DCT Abu Dhabi’s Executive Director of Tourism and Marketing.
General admission tickets to Semi Permanent Middle East are now on sale at semipermanent.com/events/middle-east-2021.
For more information, please visit retailabudhabi.ae/collectors-week
From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s October 2021 issue