Hidden art spaces and must-visit museums in Old Dubai

Some people say there is nothing to do in Dubai, which is partially true. If you don't stay in a luxury hotel, besides shopping, the only place worth visiting is the old town. But in fact, the old town alone is enough to spend a whole day. After talking about shopping and eating, I want to talk about the art in Dubai. There are several exhibitions, museums and art galleries in the three areas of the old town. These are the three places I like best. 1️⃣The Majlis Gallery One of Dubai's high-end art galleries, and currently the top art gallery in Dubai, displaying a variety of creative works. It was created based on the home of foreign interior designer Alison Colins. "Majlis" is Arabic and can be translated as "public place" or "meeting room/reception room". The gallery is in an area in the middle of the Al Fahidi historical district, right next to the restaurant recommended by Bibendum. Artists from different backgrounds gather here to display their works of art, including series of fine arts and oil paintings, sculptures, ceramics, glass crafts and photography... Each kind of handmade art has its own independent space. There are some sculptures displayed throughout the gallery space, with Barasti-style ceilings, shutters, wind towers and oiled teak doors. The large courtyard is filled with sunlight, and the overlapping of light and shadow is so beautiful! 💡Tip: You can use your camera to take photos of the courtyard space here, but you cannot use any equipment to take photos of the works and space in the studio. Respect the originality. Artworks are available for purchase, and the accessories are pretty good! There are also beautiful porcelain. 2️⃣XVA Complex Space This one is neither too big nor too small, you can spend some time there, it is located in the Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood. In fact, it is best to stay here, because this is the famous local art hotel XVA Art Hotel, which has 14 rooms with local Middle Eastern architectural features. This is the only accommodation in this small area. It is a small hotel, a coffee shop, an art gallery and a shop. It is very beautiful. XVA Café is also very famous. It serves a selection of local vegetarian specialties in the courtyard or restaurant, the café's mint lemon special drinks, and creative vegetarian dishes such as eggplant burgers. You can try them. The gallery specializes in the work of established and emerging artists from the Arab world, India and Iran. XVA exhibits works from its collection locally and around the world. A shop is hidden in the backyard, with a wide variety of handicrafts, clothing, accessories, handmade handbags and jewelry... 3️⃣Al Shindagha Museum Al Shindagha is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Dubai. It houses the official residence of Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum, the former ruler of Dubai and grandfather of the current ruler, which was built in 1896. On one side is the large Al Shindagha Museum, which is not just one museum, but a museum in every building in the heritage village. 💰50 dirhams, or 100 RMB, per ticket. There are no paper tickets or electronic tickets. Instead, there is a picture displayed on the ticket seller's computer screen. You take a picture of it and there is a QR code. You just need to scan it with the guard in the courtyard of each museum. There are architecture, food, pearls, clothing, jewelry, flora and fauna...all aspects of the historical life of the land and sea of ​​Dubai. The Saruq Al-Hadid Archaeological Museum displays Iron Age artifacts recently excavated from desert sites in Dubai. There are also many beautiful art paintings and installations in various corners of the heritage village.