Client:          Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage
Location:     Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
Timescale:   2007 - 2011

The oases of Al Ain are an important element of Abu Dhabi’s heritage – these special cultural landscapes require specific design solutions adaptable to their unique cultural and natural characteristics.  The development of Al Qattara and Jimi Oases is underpinned by a desire to establish important cultural, educational and research programmes devoted to the arts, crafts and design traditions of Abu Dhabi and the wider Emirates.

In 2007, the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage appointed Cultural Innovations as Lead Consultant, Operations Adviser and Project Manager on the development of a new public funded Community Arts Centre, located in the restored Al Qattara fort complex in Al Ain.  The development would provide teaching areas, exhibition spaces, a 120 seat multi-use performance hall and various ancillary support facilities all located within the existing fort and compound.

Completed in early 2011, the new Arts Centre provides a modern and stimulating environment for visitors to participate in a wide range of artistic disciplines from traditional Arabic calligraphy to contemporary dance. The centre has been particularly popular with local Emiratis.