Top 10: See the opening of The Memory of Hope at Gulf Photo Plus, have fun with The Laughter Factory, Reel Cinemas offers an unlimited movie pass

Your essential guide to what's happening in the Emirates

See the opening of The Memory of Hope at Gulf Photo Plus, featuring works by Aida Muluneh including Compromise (a detail, pictured). Gulf Photo Plus
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Dubai

Exhibition

Gulf Photo Plus presents The Memory of Hope, works by Ethiopian photographer Aida Muluneh that use vibrant colours and traditional patterns passed down in Ethiopian communities. The artist transforms women into characters with painted faces, drawing attention to the personas we adopt to hide our true intentions. Muluneh reveals decadence rooted in those who profit from the disadvantaged. Pictured: Compromise

Opens today, then runs daily until December 9, 10am to 7pm, Sundays to Thursdays; 10am to 6pm Saturdays (closed Fridays), Gulf Photo Plus, Alserkal Avenue, Al Quoz, Dubai, 04 380 8545, www.gulfphotoplus.com

Abu Dhabi

Exhibition

Lion Woman Man Water Sand is a group exhibition by American artists who span genres including graffiti art, photography, sculpture, portraits and abstract. The programme includes an artist talk tomorrow at 6pm and portrait paintings by Robert Vargas from America's Got Talent, until November 11. Contact Jayrille Nicolas at jayrille@etihadmodernart.com to RSVP to the talk. Pictured: Petseta by Barbara Vaughn

Opens tonight, 7pm, then runs daily until November 24, Saturdays to Thursdays (closed Fridays), Etihad Modern Art Gallery, Al Bateen Area, Street 4, Villa 4/2, Abu Dhabi, 02 621 0145, www.etihadmodernart.com

Lion Woman Man Water Sand opens today at Etihad Modern Art Gallery, including Petseta by Barbara Vaughn. Etihad Modern Art Gallery
Lion Woman Man Water Sand opens today at Etihad Modern Art Gallery, including Petseta by Barbara Vaughn. Etihad Modern Art Gallery

Abu Dhabi & Dubai

Comedy show

Catch three top international comedians as The Laughter Factory returns to Abu Dhabi and Dubai with The Downright Nasty Tour. Mandy Knight, who won the Spirit of The Fringe Award at the Edinburgh Fringe, brings her The Dark Knight show, along with Alex Boardman, a writer who also performs stand-up, and newcomer Jimmy McGhie with his groundbreaking material.

Tonight, 8pm, Park Rotana, Abu Dhabi; tomorrow, 9pm, Grand Millennium, Barsha Heights, Dubai, Dh140, ages 21+, www.platinumlist.net

Abu Dhabi

Exhibition

In the Making opens today. Curated for the UK's Design Museum by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, it captures more than 20 objects mid-manufacture, putting the aesthetic of the unfinished centre-stage. Items include tennis balls, banknotes, coins, diamonds and a cricket bat, celebrating the beauty of the production process and the unexpected quality about these objects in moments before they assume their final, recognisable form.

Opens today, then runs daily until February 11, 10am to 8pm, Tuesdays to Sundays (closed Mondays), Warehouse421, Mina Zayed, Abu Dhabi, www.warehouse421.ae

Abu Dhabi

Art event

Abu Dhabi Art opens today, featuring 47 galleries from 18 countries and an extensive programme of talks, tours, workshops and performances. Today's events include talks as part of the Collectors and Collections series, hands-on workshops and masterclasses for children and adults, an interactive performance re-enacting of John Cage's Water Walk, dance by Zan Yamashita and a book launch.

Daily until Saturday, Dh50 for adults; free for students and under-18s, from Dh25 for workshops, Manarat Al Saadiyat, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, www.abudhabiart.ae

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Abu Dhabi

Museum offer

Take advantage of the opportunity to become a member of the Louvre Abu Dhabi Art Club. Become part of a vibrant cultural community and receive exclusive benefits such as enhanced experiences for events and activities, previews of temporary exhibitions, discounts at the cafe and free admission to the Musee du Louvre, Paris.

From Dh450 for one member plus guest; Dh1,500 for one member plus five guests, Louvre Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi, www.louvreabudhabi.ae

Dubai

Performance

Get tickets to attend An Evening with Dame Joan Collins at The Dubai Opera, where the actress, philanthropist and author will reveal stories and secrets from her career. The event will give the audience a chat with the Golden Globe winner, who will answer questions and share never-before-seen footage.

December 12, 8pm, from Dh295, The Dubai Opera, Downtown Dubai, www.dubaiopera.com

Dubai

Exhibition

Grey Noise presents The Good Soil, a film essay by Michael John Whelan on the relationship between the natural world and temporality. It features places such as the Svalbard Global Seed Vault and a 5,500-year-old yew tree in Wales, questioning their power to influence or be consumed by the future.

Opens today, 6pm to 8pm, daily until December 30, 11am to 7pm, Saturdays to Thursdays (closed Fridays), Grey Noise, Alserkal Avenue, Al Quoz, Dubai, 04 379 0764, www.greynoise.org

Dubai

Open call

The International Women Photographers Award (IWPA) is calling for entries to its 2018 competitions, under the theme of Visible-Invisible and a Free theme. The IWPA is organised with Alliance Francaise Dubai and Canon Middle East, and is open to women from all over the world. The works of the 11 shortlisted candidates will go on display at La Galerie, from March. Pictured: an image by Anne Ackermann from her project, Behind Veils and Walls

Submissions open until December 15, age 18+, Alliance Française Dubai, Oud Metha, Dubai, www.iwpa.fr

Ayan, a young woman from Somalia, is posing for a photo in the staircase of her new home in Kampala, an appartment block in Kisenyi area aka "Little Mogadishu" for its high number of Somali migrant population. Ayan left Somalia in 2014 with the family she worked for as a house girl when she felt the bomb blasts were getting too much for her. She misses her mother a lot, sometimes they talk on the phone.
IWPA has issued its open call for entries for its 2018 competition. Pictured: an image by Anne Ackermann. Alliance Francaise Dubai

Dubai

Cinema offer

Reel Cinemas is offering an unlimited movie pass for screenings at The Dubai Mall and Dubai Marina Mall daily, in standard cinemas.

Membership until December 31, 2018, costs Dh79 per month; Dh199 for three months, including a 10 per cent discount on food and beverages, Reel Cinemas, The Dubai Mall and Dubai Marina Mall, Dubai, www.reelcinemas.ae