Marking the first year of Jameel Arts Centre, Jaddaf Aloud! is Dubai’s first museum-led cultural festival celebrating the city’s creative talent, supported by leading cultural initiatives, artists and the community-at-large. This new, free festival takes place on Friday, December 13, 2019, with activities taking place in the museum,  throughout the Jaddaf Waterfront Sculpture Park and along the Creekside corniche of Jaddaf Waterfront – Dubai Holding’s latest creative destination.

The festival is free, but sign-ups in advance is highly recommended: please sign up here.

Click here for the full schedule of the day!

Jaddaf Aloud’s full day of multi-generational programming – including artist-led workshops and activities for all ages, live music and performances, plus a curated makers’ market – is for everyone, including families, children, teens and youth. Jaddaf Aloud! is a multidisciplinary, collaborative event, bringing the community together with landmark cultural events – Art Dubai Group and Emirates Airline Festival of Literature – and grassroots cultural partners such as Qouz Arts Fest by Alserkal, thejamjar, The Poetryhood Movement and Gulf Photo Plus.

Presented by Art Dubai, Ethan&Co x Praxis Education will give an introduction to 3D Design and Printing. Participants of all ages will have the opportunity to print their own 3D keychains which they can use in March 2020 to access Art Dubai.

Committed to the power of storytelling, the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature is bringing UAE-based authors and poets to Jaddaf Aloud! to create and perform new stories inspired by the works on show at Jameel Arts Centre. These engaging, fun, bilingual story-telling sessions at Jaddaf Aloud! include young adult and children’s authors. Outside the galleries, The Poetryhood Movement, a local platform dedicated to the creative expression of poetry, will present spoken word performances.

Visitors can also hang out in Alserkal Avenue‘s Quoz Art Fest-inspired majlis by the creek to enjoy some chai, enter a draw to win some goodies, and experience the sounds of DXBrass band.

Activities and Workshops

Sign-ups for Jaddaf Aloud! includes free access to a multitude of workshops and arts activities for all ages, running concurrently throughout the day, led by UAE-based artists and creatives.

Jameel Arts Centre has commissioned artists Sarah Ahmed, May Ali, Bishoy Girgis, Asma Khoory, Engy Mahdy, John Marsland, Khalid Mezaina, Morph, Malda Smadi, Rabab Tantawy and Afsheen Zoheb to develop special, drop-in family and teen workshops and activities in a range of craft, from painting and jewellery making to dream catchers and stamp-printing. Gulf Photo Plus, the centre for photography, leads a hands-on photo walk, providing a fun exploration of the surrounding area and best practices guided by expert photographers. Community-centred artists’ space thejamjar is inviting visitors of all ages to contribute to a communal 10-metre-long mural, created during the day and showcased in the evening.

Meanwhile, for film lovers, Jameel Arts Centre’s Gallery 9 features a rolling series of short films for all ages.

Evening Music Festival

Highlighting home-grown UAE-based talent, Jaddaf Aloud! culminates in a showcase of locally-based bands playing original music on the Sculpture Park amphitheatre main stage – including Pink Jaeger, Sail Into Night, WYWY, DXBrass and cult indie shoegaze band Flowershop – plus DJs specialising in Middle Eastern vinyl.

Artists’ market

Jaddaf Aloud! also features a curated market, with stalls by artists, designers and specialists, offering – among other collectables — handmade artist books, illustration, prints, design objects, crafts, wearables, plants, musical instruments and vintage books, plus a diverse range of eateries and pop-up cafes. Participants include House of Folly, The Marigold Story, andSulaimani, The Third Line, Lady Mauve, Rakate, Book Quarter, Howlin’ Rooster Guitars & Such, TWELVElittleMiddleEast, Jumeirah Road, Book Quarter, Noor Naqaweh, Alison Perrussel, Amani Ceramic, Pottery and Art, Art Jameel Shop, UAE Bubbles Action, Save Our World and Gulf Photo Plus, among others. In a special showcase, the Dubai Autism Center will present a sale of paintings by its students.

Sign-ups include free access to all workshops, activities, concerts and screenings.