ArtDayME - The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) has announced the dates and theme for the second edition of the Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial (PAAD), which will bring a series of public art commissions and projects to venues across Abu Dhabi and Al Ain in autumn 2026.

The biennial will open in Al Ain on October 23, 2026, before launching in Abu Dhabi on November 15, 2026, transforming public spaces into sites for artistic expression and community engagement through a range of commissioned artworks and public programmes.

The second edition will be led by artistic director Elvira Dyangani Ose, former director of MACBA (Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona), and is centred on the theme "Home: A Glossary for a Communal Sense of Place."

Rather than presenting home as a fixed geographical location, the biennial explores it as an evolving concept shaped by communities, shared experiences and everyday interactions. Through new commissions, research-led projects and public programmes, the exhibition encourages audiences to engage with art beyond traditional gallery spaces and in their daily environments.

The approach builds on the inaugural Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial, Public Matter (2024–25), which featured site-specific commissions by artists from the UAE and around the world in open-air locations across the emirate.

Among the featured works in the first edition were Barzakh by Wael Al Awar, a dome structure along the Abu Dhabi Corniche incorporating materials derived from industrial waste, recycled plastic and palm fibre, and Tentarium by Paweł Althamer, a cat-shaped tent installation at Lake Park inspired by the city's feline population.

Several works from the inaugural edition have since been retained or acquired as permanent installations, expanding Abu Dhabi's growing public art collection.

According to the organisers, the 2026 biennial continues to position public art as more than an aesthetic intervention, presenting it as a civic practice that encourages participation, dialogue and a shared sense of place while reflecting Abu Dhabi's evolving urban landscape and material culture.

Public Art Abu Dhabi is an initiative of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi that brings artworks into public spaces as part of the department's broader efforts to protect and promote cultural heritage, support contemporary artistic practice and expand public access to art beyond museums and galleries.