A new 17,000 sq m multi-sensory art experience will officially open its doors to the public in Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Cultural District on April 18, 2025, states an official press release. Called teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi, the space will include massive transformative exhibits that will take guests on a sensory-rich journey that transcends the ordinary.
Announced by the Department of Culture and Tourism—Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), Miral—the leading creator of immersive destinations and experiences in Abu Dhabi—and art collective teamLab, there will be exhibits that engage sight, sound, and touch, encouraging guests to expand the way they feel, connect and interact with the world around them. Sitting at the intersection of art, science, and technology, the artworks do not exist independently—the environment creates various phenomena that become the artwork, offering a dynamic, ever-evolving guest experience, and ensuring that no two visits will be the same.
The Saadiyat Cultural District is the home of Louvre Abu Dhabi, the first universal museum in the Arab world; the Manarat Al Saadiyat Cultural Centre, which hosts major art exhibitions as well as a year-round programme of creative events and workshops; and Berklee Abu Dhabi, offering world-leading performing arts education programmes.
His Excellency Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, the chairman of DCT Abu Dhabi, said, “Saadiyat Cultural District is a testament to Abu Dhabi’s commitment to preserving heritage while embracing a forward-looking vision. The district will convey a message of cultural diversity that will become more powerful over time, creating global connections, inspiring cultural exchange, and fostering new ways of thinking to support the region, the Global South and the world. We believe in the diversity of artistic expression and teamLab is the perfect partner to provide immersive art experiences that push the boundaries of art and technology. Together, we are redefining what is possible—expanding our horizons and forging deeper connections in ways never seen before.”
The teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi will feature a constantly transforming art experience unique to Abu Dhabi. Conceived by the Tokyo-based art collective TeamLab, the installations are part of their concept of "Environmental Phenomena," created through an extensive experimentation process. Housed in a purpose-built structure, the space's architecture will play an important role in providing the exhibits with an environment to evolve freely and organically.
Toshiyuki Inoko, the founder of teamLab, said, “The artworks in teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi do not exist independently, but are created by the environment which produces the various phenomena that cause the artworks to exist. Up until now, things that humans have created have existed through matter, just like a rock, and have a stable structure in and of themselves. Unlike such things, the existence of the artworks in teamLab Phenomena are created by the environment. The environment produces the phenomena, and the environment maintains the existence of the structure. Let us call that existence environmental phenomena.”
He added, “Existence will be freed from matter that has previously been responsible for its existence. Elements like air, water, and light that permeate our daily lives are transformed by their environment into unique phenomena that will become existence. The boundaries of that existence are ambiguous and continuous. Even if people break the artwork apart, the work will remain in existence as long as its environment is maintained. Conversely, if the environment is not maintained, the work will disappear. Perhaps, people’s consciousness will spread from existence itself to the environment. A rock will continue to exist even if it is placed in a sealed box isolated from the outside world, but life cannot maintain its existence if it is placed in such a closed box. Life is also an existence that is maintained by the environment. Life may be a miraculous phenomenon that emerges from a flow in an open and continuous world.”
Guests will be immersed within a realm of creativity and innovation through a series of massive transformative exhibits. In "Massless Suns and Dark Suns," spheres of light and darkness converge to challenge perceptions of reality. The radiant spheres of light appear as solid yet intangible entities, only existing in the visitor's perception. As perspectives broaden, purple-blue spheres of darkness also emerge, as though darkness has been solidified. Touching the light of a sphere ignites an intense glow, triggering a harmonious ripple effect across neighbouring spheres. Such an artwork cannot exist on its own—its existence is a phenomenon created by its environment.
Similarly, "Levitation Void" introduces an order of energy at the centre of its space. This "void" is born and maintained by its environment and transcends the concept of a tangible object, levitating effortlessly in the middle of its space, neither grounded nor confined to a ceiling. When pushed, it may move or fall to the ground, but as if by instinct, it slowly rises again, repairing itself and remaining in a state of levitation.
The Saadiyat Cultural District will soon be joined by Zayed National Museum, the national museum of the UAE, the Natural History Museum Abu Dhabi, which tells the story of life on earth and the origins of our Universe, and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, which will feature a global collection of modern and contemporary art that reflects the diversity of cultures and trends from around the world.
