Abu Dhabi to launch TeamLab Phenomena on Saadiyat Island

The latest addition to Saadiyat Cultural District in the UAE capital is an immersive, multi-sensory venue called teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi. Developed in conjunction with the Japanese art collective teamLab, the experimental, interactive 17,000 square metre space will be completed in 2024.

Painting a picture of things to come in the UAE capital, the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, has joined forces with the Japanese art collective teamLab, to develop a one-of-a-kind, immersive and interactive experience.

Dubbed ‘The world's new home for infinite curiosity’, it's where technology, science, art and nature converge. 

And for a sneak peek of what will be known as ‘teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi’, we visited the project's pop-up studio and popped into some artworks.

Visitors to this venue in Abu Dhabi, will quickly realise that things on the ground are done a little bit differently. Not least because there are no floor plans. It's up to you to find your own way around the creative space.

You also don't need to keep your distance from the artwork. A hands-on approach is very much encouraged.

And perhaps most surprisingly of all, this artwork smells as good as it looks.

On the ground to shed light on the sensory experience, were some of teamLabs’ key players from Japan.

Established in 2001, the group of international artists, engineers and architects explore the relationship between "the self" and "the world", through new perceptions of art.

“We were interested in how the environment breathes life into Phenomena," says group founder Toshiyuki Inoko. "And how Phenomena breathes life into the artwork. We were interested in how to broaden people’s awareness about the planet. And being in Abu Dhabi, one of the leading cities of