ArtDayMe: Art has always been a way to understand the world — to preserve memories, question perspectives and create connections between people and places. In 2026,     Art Jameel presents a diverse programme of exhibitions, film initiatives and public art projects that bring together emerging creative voices and internationally recognised artists.

Spanning Hayy Jameel in Jeddah and Jameel Arts Centre in Dubai, the programme explores themes of storytelling, movement, heritage and belonging. Through cinema, contemporary art, architecture and community-focused projects, Art Jameel continues its mission of supporting creative exchange across the region and beyond.

 

Creative Lab Film Academy: Building the Future of Saudi Cinema

Applications open: January 30 – February 20, 2026

 

A new platform for Saudi filmmakers launches in 2026 with the inaugural Creative Lab Film Academy, a six-month training and production programme developed by Art Jameel in collaboration with Today at Apple.

Designed for early- and mid-career filmmakers, the academy supports participants as they develop original short fiction films through workshops, production sessions and one-to-one mentorship. The programme combines creative development with technical training, exploring how contemporary tools such as iPhone and Mac can support new approaches to filmmaking.

 

Led by a group of acclaimed mentors, including Saudi filmmaker and screenwriter Hani Kadour, Fanny Lamothe, Ayoub Layoussifi and set designer Holy Fatma, the academy provides participants with guidance across writing, directing, production and visual storytelling.

The programme will culminate in the production and premiere of three original short films in autumn 2026, introducing audiences to emerging Saudi cinematic voices.

 

“Kef Hayyak?”: Documenting the Heart of Jeddah Through Film

 

Stories are often found in familiar places — in neighbourhoods, streets and everyday encounters.

The documentary filmmaking challenge “Kef Hayyak?” invites aspiring filmmakers to capture the character of Jeddah’s communities using only their mobile phones. Following an open call and development programme, the third edition selected 13 projects that explore the city through personal perspectives and original storytelling.

Participants received training in documentary filmmaking, storytelling techniques and visual language through workshops led by filmmaker Lama Jamjoom.

The completed films will be screened at Hayy Cinema, where a jury of Saudi and international film professionals will select three winners. Beyond competition, the initiative highlights the importance of local voices and the power of accessible filmmaking tools to preserve community narratives.

 

Global Positioning System: Questioning How We Navigate the World

May 2026 – October 2026

 

What does it mean to navigate a changing world?

The exhibition Global Positioning System examines the relationship between maps, movement and human experience through works by more than forty artists presented across Art Jameel’s two centres in Dubai and Jeddah.

Rather than viewing navigation simply as a technical process, the exhibition explores how routes, borders and infrastructures shape ideas of identity, memory and belonging. Artists investigate themes ranging from migration and transportation networks to technology, geography and imagined landscapes.

Through installation, photography, video and conceptual practices, the exhibition challenges the authority of maps and considers what remains when traditional systems of orientation become uncertain.

Curated by Indranjan Banerjee and Lucas Morin, Global Positioning System presents navigation as both a physical journey and a reflection on how individuals locate themselves within the world.

 

Kamruzzaman Shadhin: The River Remembers​

March 30 – November 1, 2026

 

Memory flows through landscapes, materials and generations.

Bangladeshi artist Kamruzzaman Shadhin’s monumental installation The River Remembers transforms Gallery 10 into a meditation on migration, ecology and personal history.

Created using jute, thread, brass and copper, the work maps the changing colours of the Teesta and Brahmaputra rivers while preserving the stories of women whose lives were shaped by the history of Bengal’s partition.

Presented as part of Art Jameel’s Artists’ Rooms series, the exhibition demonstrates the ability of contemporary art to connect intimate personal experiences with wider historical narratives.

 

Artists’ Rooms: Three Perspectives on Identity and Belonging

September 20, 2026 – January 21, 2027

 

Art Jameel’s Artists’ Rooms series continues its exploration of influential voices from West Asia and South Asia with presentations by Lulua Alyahya, Shezad Dawood and Walid Siti.

Each artist approaches questions of identity, memory and transformation through a distinct practice. Alyahya’s paintings examine cultural symbols and familiar archetypes through a contemporary lens. Dawood’s interdisciplinary work combines art, science and environmental thinking to imagine alternative futures. Siti’s practice reflects on displacement, borders and collective memory through painting, installation and video.

Together, the exhibitions create a dialogue around how individuals and communities negotiate belonging in a constantly changing world.

 

Salah Elmur: Memory, Migration and the Image of Home

November 1, 2026 – March 14, 2027

 

Salah Elmur’s exhibition explores the relationship between memory, identity and displacement through a selection of paintings, archival photographs and personal materials.

Drawing from his childhood near the Blue Nile and the photographic heritage of his family’s Studio Kamal in Khartoum, Elmur transforms archival images into richly layered paintings where history, personal experience and imagination intersect.

The exhibition reflects on exile and belonging while examining how images from the past can continue to shape the present.

 

Awnings, Awnings, Awnings: Reimagining Jeddah’s Urban Memory

 

The 2026 Hayy Jameel Façade Commission by architecture studio Bricklab celebrates one of Jeddah’s most recognisable urban elements: the traditional fabric shop awning.

Once a defining feature of the city’s commercial streets, awnings provided shade, colour and a distinctive visual rhythm to everyday urban life. Bricklab transforms this familiar architectural detail into a large-scale façade installation that reconnects contemporary audiences with Jeddah’s material and cultural heritage.

Using locally sourced fabrics and working with existing networks of suppliers and craftspeople, the project highlights the importance of preserving traditional knowledge while reinterpreting it through contemporary design.

 

Red Wind, Coral Worlds: The Red Sea as a Space of Connection

May 20 – October 26, 2026

 

The Red Sea has long been a meeting point of cultures, histories and ecosystems.

Curated by Huda Tayob and Miriam Hillawi Abraham, Red Wind, Coral Worlds explores the region as an interconnected landscape shaped by migration, trade, pilgrimage and exchange.

Featuring artists from Africa, the Middle East and beyond, the exhibition brings together contemporary artworks, historical objects and sensory experiences that examine memory, ecology and movement.

Through sound, scent, texture and visual storytelling, the exhibition presents the Red Sea not as a dividing line, but as a dynamic network of relationships connecting communities across generations.