Held under the patronage of His Highness General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, the Abu Dhabi Festival is the UAE’s premier classical arts event.
Vision and mission
The Abu Dhabi Festival celebrates Abu Dhabi as a place of tolerance, respect and enlightenment and in so doing, endeavors to reflect the vision for the future of Abu Dhabi as an international hub for the arts.
The vision of the Festival is aligned to the vision of Abu Dhabi as a thriving metropolis for creativity and excellence in arts and culture that places art, education and culture at the heart of the UAE. The Festival is a committed advocate of cross cultural understanding and plays an intrinsic role in supporting the artistic renaissance across the Middle East by further pushing the boundaries of creativity and excellence in innovation.
Harmony for humanity
Celebrating the unifying spirit of the arts, the theme of the 2011 edition of the Festival will be ‘Harmony for Humanity’. Whether it is through music, painting, dance or sculpture, at their core, the arts have the ability to bring people together, transcend geographical boundaries, cultures and languages and unite people in a mutual appreciation. The Festival will celebrate the belief that by bringing people together in mutual appreciation, it is possible to break down barriers and encourage wider cultural understanding and a more harmonious way of living together.
Education and Community at the heart of ADF
The foundation stone of the Festival is ‘Bilad Al Khayr’ – ‘The Land of Blessings’. ‘Bilad Al Khayr’ is a celebration of the UAE as a land of tolerance, respect and enlightenment. The community program that runs throughout the Festival celebrates these blessings, through new and exciting ways of enabling people from across the diverse UAE society to unite and access arts and culture.
Since its inception, the Abu Dhabi Festival has placed education at its core, building on the vision of the Festival Founder and Director H.E. Mrs. Hoda Al Khamis Kanoo to invest in learning opportunities for the next generation. The Festival’s education work provides young people across the seven Emirates with the opportunity to interact with visiting artists and Festival participants. Through its thriving education program, the Festival supports the education and development of UAE young minds as well as tomorrow’s leaders, and enhances their appreciation for the arts and music.
As part of its commitment to education, to the community and to tomorrow’s leaders, the Festival presents the Abu Dhabi Festival Award on an annual basis to participating national university students who excel in the field of performing and visual arts, music, film, literature and communications.