The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), in collaboration with global creative experience company Semi Permanent, has unveiled the full line-up for a first-in-region creativity festival, which is set to host an array of global talent from the design, retail, branding, fashion and technology industries.  

Tickets are now available for Semi Permanent Middle East, which will run on October 14-16, 2021 at Manarat Al Saadiyat, and feature world-renowned performers including Mark Ronson, the Oscar and Grammy-winning songwriter, record producer, and DJ, who will perform an exclusive DJ set. The event will also house an array of inspiring, immersive, and multi-sensory experiences, including the first international pop-up by famed New York restaurant and bar The Flower Shop; La Rosa Social Club, an exhibition of works by leading contemporary, US-based artists, including Kahlil Joseph, Ryan McGinley and Johanna Jackson; and Refik Anadol, the Turkish-American new media artist, will debut a mesmeric, data-driven digital artwork in a stunning, all-encompassing LED format.

Accompanying the international line-up will be many of the Middle East’s standout creative talents, including musician Dana Hourani, artist Jason Seife, Les Benjamins founder and creative director Bunyamin Aydin, and photographer Hussain AlMoosawi, adding a local flavor to the event.

“Our strategic partnership with Semi Permanent will unite a who’s who of international talent and cutting-edge powerhouses from across the world’s creative landscape, right here in Abu Dhabi,” said HE Ali Hassan Al Shaiba, Executive Director of Tourism and Marketing at DCT Abu Dhabi. “This exciting new addition to Abu Dhabi’s increasingly diverse events calendar underlines the emirate’s role as both an enabler and a beacon of innovation for the regional design, business, and creative industries.”

Curated around the theme ‘BRIDGES,’ Semi Permanent Middle East is a partnership between DCT Abu Dhabi’s dedicated retail arm, Retail Abu Dhabi, and Semi Permanent, one of the world’s leading creative experience companies. The inaugural Middle East event will place an emphasis on unexpected combinations, collaborations, and conditions delivering new, game-changing work across the creative and design ecosystem. Through keynote talks, panels, workshops, and experiences, the world’s brightest names in business, design, creativity, and technology will showcase how to build new bridges between industry peers and a complex matrix of worldwide consumers.

“Semi Permanent’s entry into the Middle East is marked with a singularly standout line-up,” added Murray Bell, the company’s founder and executive creative director. “After a turbulent and distant 18 months, to be bringing together such a vast array of talent from the Middle East and around the world is very special and will make for an incredibly memorable experience.”

DCT Abu Dhabi’s ongoing Go Safe Certification initiative will continue to apply global safety and cleanliness standards for Semi Permanent Middle East, as well as for the emirate’s malls, hotels, attractions, restaurants, theme parks, and public venues.