More than 35,000 visitors of all ages and from all walks of life attended the 2024 edition of Quoz Arts Fest, the region’s highly anticipated arts and culture festival. The 11th edition, supported by Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) as Strategic Partner, took place on 27 & 28 January, transforming the lanes of Alserkal Avenue and the Al Quoz Creative Zone into a bustling and inclusive hive of arts, culture, food and music.

Quoz Arts Fest 2024 featured more than 30 live performances, 16 art exhibitions, 9 art installations, over 75 food and retail concepts, and numerous community activations and workshops, from morning till midnight, creating an emotionally resonant festival experience for everyone. Since its inception the festival has become known for bringing together a wide range of the creative communities of the UAE and the region and allowing them to intersect and create shared dialogue.

A Celebration of the region’s contemporary art scene

The festival launched on the morning of 27 January with a slew of major public installation artworks, including  French-Tunisian artist eL Seed’s larger-than-life mural, ‘Collection of Moments’, on the facade of his studio; ‘Red Flags’ by Anahita Razmi, courtesy of CARBON 12, featuring a series of vividly colourful banners and flags across various sites; ‘Every Color is a Shade of Black’ by Hamra Abbas and curated by Lawrie Shabibi, exploring colour in the context of faith, identity, race, and beauty.

Within Concrete, ‘Echoes of Nature’ by London-based Japanese artist Yuri Suzuki, invited visitors to play with the interactive sound installation. Basma Choir’s mesmerising celebration of Arabic music and heritage in response to Suzuki’s ambient sound installation was much-loved by attendees, drawing a crowd for each of their hourly performances.

Another popular standout work at Quoz Arts Fest 2024 was the light installation Still from Here by PHI Studio, drawing inspiration from knowledge possessed by nomadic Bedouins and originally commissioned for the Noor Riyadh Light Festival. Tanzanian-born artist Dipesh Pandya’s transformation of a car into a sonic sculpture through a site-specific spoken word performance, also surprised festival visitors, creating a point of artistic connection. Sima Dance Company, a pioneering force in Arab contemporary dance, put on a visually stunning and emotional performance that stole audiences’ hearts.  

Music with Passion & Purpose

In the evening, crowds were brought to their feet by Sudanese fusion artists MarSimba’s blend of Sudanese lingo and African beats, and the remixed South Asian DJ sets of UAE-based Stick No Bills, who was accompanied by musicians playing traditional South Asian instruments such as the sitar, tabla, and harmonium. Festival-goers were in awe of millennial artist Usha Jey’s hybrid performance of hip-hop and Bharatanatyam ft. Mithu and Janu, while enthused by the return of Big Hass, a Dubai-based hip-hop DJ as emcee and show-runner.

The second day of Quoz Arts Fest saw a huge turnout for the highly anticipated live music performances by The Synaptik and Friends, helmed by the Palestinian-Jordanian rapper at the forefront of a popular wave of Arabic rap and trap, effortlessly merging singing and rapping to explore issues such as migration and social inequality. His participation was invigorated with performances by Maysa Daw, who captured the crowd with songs exploring her personal experiences, as well as DJ Sotusura, Egyptian rapper Feluka, and pioneer of the ‘Amman sound’, Shbash.

Quoz Encore, which has already become a mainstay of the festival, returned for its sophomore cycle, bringing in more than 80 entries by homegrown bands looking for their big break. Twenty-four were shortlisted and auditioned, and twelve bands / musicians were finally selected to perform at Quoz Arts Fest this year. Quoz Encore has fast become a showcase of the most promising homegrown emerging musicians of all ages, genres, and languages, and a platform from which to grow.

Inclusive & Inspired

The 11th edition of Quoz Arts Fest 2024 stood out for its inclusivity during the entire weekend, with performers, participants, and visitors of all ages, backgrounds, and cultural interests, coming together and fully immersing themselves in the myriad activities.

Children and their families enjoyed a dedicated lane of arts and activities, while foodies of all ages and tastes sated their appetites thanks to the variety of international culinary food offerings from pop-ups, food trucks, and permanent restaurants and cafes at Alserkal Avenue.

To that end, the festival was a profound experience that resonated in unique and nuanced ways with all visitors.

Detailed information is available at https://quozartsfest.com

Partners:

  • Strategic Partner:Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture)
  • In association with Dubai Calendar
  • Supporting partner:MINI AGMC
  • E-commerce partner: Ounass

ABOUT QUOZ ARTS FEST

Quoz Arts Fest by Alserkal Avenue, is an annual celebration of art and culture that has been held since 2012. The festival takes place in Alserkal Avenue and across the surrounding Al Quoz area, and celebrates the thinkers and makers from this creative neighbourhood. Quoz Arts Fest includes activities for all ages, including exhibitions, art installations, talks, workshops, performances, music, and more.

ABOUT ALSERKAL AVENUE

Alserkal Avenue is a vibrant cultural district in the Al Quoz industrial area of Dubai, and is home to a community of over 70 contemporary art galleries, visual and performing arts organisations, designers, homegrown and entrepreneur-led businesses, and community spaces across 500,000 sqft and 90 warehouses. Alserkal Avenue provides an essential platform for the development of the creative industries in the United Arab Emirates. As one of the region’s foremost destinations for contemporary art, and home to Dubai’s risk-takers, makers and wide-ranging creative communities, Alserkal Avenue provides cultural experiences for local, regional and international audiences through its extensive year-round programming.

Alserkal Avenue is home to Concrete, a multidisciplinary exhibitions space conceptualised and programmed by Alserkal, as well as the artist residency programme of Alserkal’s non-profit, Alserkal Arts Foundation. Alserkal Avenue was established in 2008 by Alserkal Initiatives following the visionary thinking of its founder, Emirati businessman and cultural patron Abdelmonem Bin Eisa Alserkal, who sought to cultivate a vibrant creative community and support cultural production in Dubai.

ABOUT DUBAI CULTURE & ARTS AUTHORITY

Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), under the leadership of Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, is committed to enriching Dubai’s cultural scene based on the UAE’s heritage, and is building bridges of constructive dialogue between various cultures to enhance Dubai’s position as a global centre for culture, an incubator for creativity, and a thriving hub for talent.

Dubai Culture is keen on reviving and preserving the emirate's historical heritage and developing the regulatory frameworks for the cultural and creative sector in line with its strategic roadmap 2020 – 2025.

The Authority also seeks to empower the enablers that support talent and stimulate active public participation by investing in the various assets under its remit, including the management of five heritage sites, five museums, Al Jalila Cultural Centre for Children, 17 archaeological sites and nine Dubai Public Library branches, all of which help contribute to creating an economic system that invigorates the cultural and creative industries. The Authority also offers 8 services and 26 sub-services.

For more information, please visit the Authority's website www.dubaiculture.gov.ae 

ABOUT OUNASS

Ounass presents a carefully-curated edit of exclusive capsule collections from local and international designers of the highest calibre, housing the Middle East’s widest range of top-tier designers, with brands ranging between Gucci and Bottega Veneta to Valentino, Prada and more. From fashion and beauty to lifestyle and homeware, Ounass has boasted over 1,500 luxury brands since launching in December 2016 as Al Tayer Group’s first, exclusively digital, luxury e-commerce platform. Dedicated to impeccable local talent and local service alike, Ounass currently operates exclusively within the Middle East. An extensive array of opulent collections and coveted seasonal pieces is presented through a tailored website, app and Personal Shopping service. Based in Dubai, the world’s new capital of fashion, we provide a 2-hour delivery in Dubai and same-day delivery service within the UAE, as well as an express delivery to KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain & Qatar.

Sanitary Measures: At Ounass, all our orders are dispatched directly from Dubai, every package is cleaned upon arrival, and products are handled only with protective gloves. We've also launched Contactless Delivery in the UAE & Riyadh, where we will leave the package at the door and send an SMS for confirmation.

ABOUT AGMC 

The official MINI Cars importer in Dubai, Sharjah and the Northern Emirates

For over 47 years, AGMC has delivered premium automotive products and services to its customers as the exclusive importer for BMW Group cars including BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce with 6 locations in Dubai, Sharjah and the Northern Emirates.  Established in 1976, AGMC has now become one of the most important markets for BMW Group Middle East.

In addition to its commitment to the local community, AGMC has implemented a series of corporate social responsibility initiatives through partnerships with youth road safety programmes, and its long-standing relationship with Dubai Police, through which the innovative BMW ConnectedDrive features are used, aimed to improve road safety for future generations and the advancement of mobility solutions across the Emirates.

AGMC is passionately committed to the communities it serves and demonstrates the BMW Group’s belief in the region’s potential by supporting local activities and events including an exclusive partnership with Dubai Autodrome to bring unparalleled on-track driving experiences to the UAE and partnering with grassroots organisations as part of its commitment to the growth of the nation.