Public space is never neutral. It carries memory, power, and possibility. With the appointment of Elvira Dyangani Ose as Artistic Director of the Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial 2026, the city signals a bold intention: to transform streets, neighborhoods, and shared environments into living platforms for dialogue, history, and collective imagination.

Elvira Dyangani Ose is known for curatorial practices that move beyond the walls of museums. Her work consistently challenges how history is told, who gets to tell it, and how communities can actively participate in shaping cultural narratives. This approach feels particularly resonant in Abu Dhabi — a city where tradition, rapid urban growth, and global exchange coexist in visible tension.

The Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial is not about spectacle alone. It is about presence. Art appears where people live, walk, wait, and gather. Under Ose’s direction, public art is expected to become a tool for reflection — inviting residents and visitors alike to reconsider how stories are embedded in the land, architecture, and everyday movement of the city.

What makes this moment significant is the Biennial’s emphasis on non-Western perspectives, collective memory, and participatory experiences. Rather than importing a single global narrative, the Biennial opens space for layered voices — local, regional, and international — to coexist and respond to Abu Dhabi’s unique social and cultural fabric.

This new chapter positions Abu Dhabi not just as a host of contemporary art, but as an active collaborator in shaping how public art can function in the Middle East today: accessible, thoughtful, and deeply connected to place. With Elvira Dyangani Ose at the helm, the city itself becomes an open archive — one that speaks, listens, and evolves.