ABU DHABI, sixteenth July, 2025 (WAM) — Held beneath the founding honorary patronage of H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Founding Honorary Patron of Abu Dhabi Festival, and the patronage of H.H. Sheikha Shamsa bint Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, the ‘Abu Dhabi Festival’s Art @Embassies Talk’ was introduced on the UAE Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka on fifteenth July.
Organised by the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation (ADMAF) in collaboration with the UAE Pavilion, the panel introduced collectively Emirati artists and their Japanese counterparts for a cultural dialogue exploring id, materiality, reminiscence and tempo of life.
The dialogue is a part of a broader sequence beneath ADMAF’s Abroad Programme, selling human connection by way of the humanities.
Huda Al Khamis-Kanoo, Founder of ADMAF and the Abu Dhabi Festival, stated the initiative, now in its third 12 months, is a continuation of ADMAF’s mission to foster world inventive alternate.
“In collaboration with the UAE Embassy in Japan and as part of the UAE National Pavilion programme at Expo Osaka, we present a dialogue featuring young Emirati artists Shaikha Al Ketbi and Sarah Al Mehairi, in conversation with Chiaki Soma of Tokyo University of the Arts,” she stated.
She famous that the discuss explored up to date themes of place and reminiscence, contrasting slowness and acceleration in life. “This initiative has previously travelled to London, Paris and Seoul, and aims to deepen friendship, cooperation and cultural dialogue between artists from the UAE and Japan, this year’s Guest Country of Honour,” she added.
Shihab Alfaheem, UAE Ambassador to Japan and Commissioner General of the UAE Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, stated artwork serves as a strong medium of empathy, dialogue and innovation. He praised the Art @ Embassies initiative for highlighting the UAE’s artistic spirit and strengthening worldwide bonds.
Shaikha Al Ketbi, Deputy Commissioner General and Creative Director of the Pavilion, stated the area was devoted to amplifying Emirati voices and celebrating the potential of cultural diplomacy by way of initiatives like Art @ Embassies.
The panel mirrored the UAE Pavilion’s Earth to Ether theme, which emphasises how heritage informs progress. The Pavilion, located within the Empowering Lives Zone, was designed by the Earth to Ether Collective-an worldwide crew led by the UAE Expo Office.
In addition to the panel, ADMAF and the UAE Pavilion are internet hosting a number of cultural initiatives at Expo 2025 Osaka. In April, Emirati calligrapher Mohamed Mandi and Japanese grasp Juichi Yoshikawa created a collaborative work mixing Arabic and Japanese calligraphy.
A rolling residency titled ‘Guest Artists Takeover’ options Emirati artists Asma Al Remeithi, Aisha (Yoshi) Al Ali, Sarah Al Mehairi and Moza Almatrooshi, who’re remodeling the Pavilion’s artistic area by way of workshops and reside classes.
In August, ADMAF and NYU Abu Dhabi’s The Christo and Jeanne-Claude Award 2025 winners, Sara Farha and Khaled Shalkha, will lead innovation-focused workshops on the Pavilion, encouraging inventive experimentation and cultural dialogue.
Through these programmes, ADMAF and the UAE Pavilion are showcasing the UAE’s inventive voice and selling Abu Dhabi’s cultural imaginative and prescient to a worldwide viewers.