The Best of Art Dubai for Families & Kids

Art Dubai For Families Including A Fun Little Treasure Hunt To Enjoy!

Get ready for Art Dubai at Madinat Jumeirah, mamas!  This key event is an annual celebration of all things art, design and culture and will take place from 21 -24 March with a huge program of exciting events which celebrate our city’s art scene. Think that Art Dubai is just for the grown-ups? Think again! From workshops to discovery tours for kids and teens, there’s plenty to enjoy for the whole family.

We’ve pulled together a guide to Art Dubai 2018, along with these top tips for introducing your kids to art, so the whole family can visit and have fun!

Read More: How To Do the Louvre Abu Dhabi With Kids 

Top Tips Before Visiting

• Don’t be nervous to take kids to museums and galleries! Just pick times to suit when the kids are at their best (i.e not when they’re exhausted at the end of the day!).  Mornings are always good.
• If your little one is not going to enjoy the art because they’re too young, time your arrival for their nap time and they’ll float around the generally quiet galleries in their pushchair and wake fresh and perky for the rest of the day. Our kids have “seen” many an amazing gallery this way – I liken it to being on a cruise ship – they go to sleep in one port and wake up in another.
• Make sure the kids aren’t hungry – I have never been in a gallery which has not allowed kids to have a snack or drink in the open public spaces outside the gallery halls so pack their favourite things in your bag. If in doubt, feed!

How to keep them interested

• If I have time ahead of a visit, I’ll go online and download some pictures of key artworks in the galleries and give them to the kids when we arrive. As you wander around enjoying the art encourage them to look for the pictures on the printout – everyone loves a treasure hunt!!
• If you don’t have time to create your own have a look at the tickets – some include images of important pieces on them or pop into the gift shop and see if they have a kids activity book especially for the gallery or museum that you’re visiting.
• If all else fails try my proven top four things to find – a horse, a man with a book, a bird and a yellow flower. Not so easy in very contemporary museums but you get the idea and you would be surprised where these four can be found.
• If all else fails and your kids respond to reward charts (ie bribery) you can always use the gift shop to encourage them to be their best. Why not get them to start collecting postcards or magnets of the their favourite artworks.

To help you all enjoy Art Dubai I’ve put together a little treasure hunt for the Modern and Contemporary Galleries.  Download it here and let us know how the kids get on! 

All The Details:

Location
Madinat Jumeirah

Daily Opening Times
Thursday, March 22: 4-9:30pm (last entrance at 9pm)
Friday, March 23: 2-9:30pm (last entrance at 9pm)
Saturday, March 24: 12-6:30pm (last entrance at 6pm)

Admission
Day ticket: AED 60 if purchased online, AED 90 if purchased onsite
3-Day ticket (March 22-24): AED 100, AED 150 if purchased onsite
Children 18 years old and under are admitted free of charge. University students can also enter free upon show of student ID.

More information and timings of events can be found at www.artdubai.ae

Read on for some of this year’s most family friendly Art Dubai exhibits and activities….

This year the Sheikha Manal Little Artists Programme has commissioned the very exciting Japanese-Australian artist, Hiromi Tango to create her piece Healing Garden. Her work is amazing and incorporates sculpture, photography, installation and performance. Hiromi likes to generate healing conversations through art and addresses issues such as globalisation and virtualisation of communication, her work is often collaborative, performative and site-specific.

With the iconic date palm as the focal point of the garden, Healing Garden explores the many ways that local plants and flowers can contribute to well-being. The workshops and immersive installation will provide hands-on opportunities for children to create and explore the space that is energized through the interplay of light, colors, textures and shapes.

More info can be found here and there are FREE workshops and Discovery Tours for ages 5-17 which are lead by both international and UAE based artists.

If your child is below the age of 8, you must remain with them in the workshop space.

Read More: 10 Places For Little Artists To Get Creative In Dubai 

Art Dubai 2018 has 105 galleries from 48 countries which means this year is the largest and most globally diverse to date. The artists are from all walks of life and include painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, video, photography and performance.  There will be something for everyone! I loved asking the kids to point out their favourites last year, what they thought the artworks were about and why they loved (or ‘hated’ them!).  My top tip is that if you are thinking about purchasing a new artwork for your walls go earlier rather than later as we have missed out on some beautiful pieces just because someone else beat us to them.

Don’t forget to take a copy of our Art Hunt along with you for the kids to enjoy.

Read More: Support Local: Artists & Art Businesses We Love Supporting In Dubai 

The Room is an interactive space where you can enjoy interacting with artists of all walks of life.  This year it has been called GOOD MORNING GCC (صباح الخير  جي. سي. سي), and will recreate a live TV show in a daytime talk show kind of way including daily segments such as fashion, cooking and health.

Whilst the topics are not specifically kid focused it is being held on the Fort Island which is a great open space for the kids to enjoy some fresh air and a snack break while you take in one of the sessions – schedule for The Room can be found here.

Read More: OliOli, Dubai’s New Children’s Museum, Is All Kinds Of Amazing 

This is one for the teenagers who are keen on art and perhaps aspiring to become an artist.  Art Dubai is hosting a round-table discussion on the residencies currently underway in Dubai.  The artists will be asked to share their experience during the program and their experience in Dubai/the process of making their work and how Dubai has inspired them throughout the residency.

The speakers will include Rekha Setpal, Head of Programmes and Partnerships at in5; Faisal Al Hassan, Public Programmes Manager at Salama Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation (Warehouse421); Tamsin Wildy, Studio Manager at Tashkeel, and Residents 2018 artists, hosted by Pablo del Val, Artistic Director, Art Dubai.  It will be held at the Global Art Forum Tent, Fort Island, Madinat Jumeirah on Saturday 24^th March between 1.30-3pm.

Read More: There’s A New Community Art Space For Adults & Kids In Dubai… And We Love it!