‘School of Life’ Brings the World to Dubai’s Libraries
Dubai Culture organizes 23 workshops celebrating cultural diversity through art, music, and culinary experiences
Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 26 March 2026: This April, Dubai Public Libraries become the setting for an ambitious celebration of cultural exchange. Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) will present 23 interactive workshops as part of its ‘School of Life’ initiative, launched under the Dubai Quality of Life Strategy. Under the theme ‘Celebrating Languages,’ the program explores how diverse traditions connect and come alive across a shared table, canvas, or page.
The initiative supports Dubai Culture’s mission to build an innovative learning environment that strengthens life skills and personal growth. Workshops will run across a range of clubs spanning art, literature, music, performing arts, and health and nutrition, reinforcing the authority’s vision of libraries as dynamic spaces for discovery and hands-on engagement.
Al Safa Art & Design Library draws together the widest range of disciplines, from textile arts and printmaking to vocal training and photography. Rafia Alsuwaidi, in collaboration with Happy Chaos, will lead ‘Embroidered Letters’, an embroidery session where botanical motifs are woven into lettering on tote bags, making each piece distinctly personal. Experts from Medaf Creative Studio will deliver two sessions: ‘Textured Flag Painting’, layering tissue paper, and color into national compositions; and ‘Painting with Fabric’, which uses cork boards as surfaces for layered textile compositions.
Hamda AlMajid’s ‘Calligraphy Soap’ merges craft with heritage, teaching participants to make handmade soap adorned with Arabic script. Artist Abeer Al Edani takes oil painting back to fundamentals, focusing on canvas preparation, colour theory, and tonal relationships, and guiding attendees through to a finished work. Tashkeel will introduce the Japanese Risograph printing technique, showing how digital illustrations become vibrant experimental prints.
As part of the literary strand, Louis Garratt is facilitating the Sahab Collective’s writing session that examines how language and culture together shape identity. Meanwhile, vocal trainer Mennatullah Khaled brings real ambition to the Music and Performing Arts Club. ‘Choral in Arabic: The Polyglot’ moves between Arabic and English phonetics, building rhythmic harmony through exercises on classical Arabic power letters before culminating in a group performance of ‘Friends’ Promise.’ Further sessions address vocal endurance and high-note technique, with a dedicated children’s workshop built around ‘We Planted a Carrot.’
The Photography Club rounds out the Al Safa Art & Design Library offering. The programme concludes with ‘The Visual Voice: Photography as Personal Expression,’ organised by Ola Al Louz in collaboration with Fujifilm as part of the Creative Impact Track closing ceremony. The event includes an exhibition showcasing the creative journeys of those who took part.
At Al Rashidiya, the workshops turn to pattern, script, and cultural heritage. Athiyya Nasir from StripsnCurls leads ‘Languages in Paper Quilling,’ where visitors craft miniature artworks featuring words from their native languages, wrapped in quilling motifs drawn from cultures around the world. Through the School of Calligraphy and Ornamentation, Namareq Abdulsalam guides participants from the geometry of traditional Islamic floral design through to original compositions of their own.
Within the Health and Nutrition Club, Chef Nada Kattan from the Mummy Yummy initiative focuses on ‘Cheese and Dairy Making’ at Al Rashidiya Library, guiding attendees through the fundamentals of dairy production. She also brings her culinary expertise to Hatta Public Library with ‘Italian Pasta Dough,’ a hands-on session on preparing fresh pasta.
Al Mankhool Library puts language and culture at the heart of its workshop offering. Gino Banola and Teng Meras introduce the Baybayin script in ‘Engraved Baybayin Bookmarks,’ producing pieces that carry both artistic and historical weight. Ashleigh Wilmot’s ‘Language Passport’ invites participants to design their own personalized passports while trading vocabulary and stories across cultures.
Shuaa Zainal offers a warm introduction to everyday Emirati expressions in ‘Emirati Dialect,’ and Jason Ishida of Japan in Arabia leads ‘Iced Strawberry Matcha,’ where preparing a latte becomes a lens through which to explore the drink’s origins and the culture behind it. Louis Garratt returns with ‘Creative Writing: Exploring Language and Expression,’ distinct from his Al Safa session in its focus on performance, developing the rhythm and vocal delivery needed to bring writing off the page.
