Other features to look out for include The Future of Food: Epochal Banquet. It’s an immersive three- course dining experience where through the very act of eating you go on a multisensory journey. The brainchild of UK design studio Bompas & Parr, the experience takes diners on a two-hour culinary voyage as imagined in the year 2320, inspired by microbiology, space, and AI, prompting all those who visit to explore how AI will impact the future of dining.
Another highlight is set to be the outdoor night-time light festival Kaleidoscope, which will bring the site to life and to light for 182 nights; the entirety of its six-month span. Thanks to the beauty of photography and special lighting effects, visitors can admire the breathtaking architecture and design of stars such as Asif Khan, Foster + Partners, Grimshaw, and Hopkins Architects, throughout the expo’s landscaped public areas. In addition, Kaleidoscope will connect guests with a multitude of multicultural holidays, including Diwali and Christmas, revealing their stories through displays of architecture, light, and design.
One pivotal way in which Expo 2020 Dubai has connected with the local Emirati populace is through art. The Public Art Program, curated by Tarek Abou El Fetouh, was inspired by the 11th century Arab mathematician, astronomer, and physicist Ibn al-Haytham’s seminal work, Book of Optics. The program invites guests to re-examine pertinent concepts and ideas, says Abou El Fetouh. “Ibn al-Haytham argued that perception is never complete without prior knowledge, comparative measures, memory, and imagination.” To this end, the program opens with Chimera, a gigantic, oil drill-shaped permanent sculpture by Kuwaiti artist Monira Al Qadiri, followed by 10 commissioned artworks by local, regional, and international artists, including Hamra Abbas, Afra Al Dhaheri, Shaikha Al Mazrou, Abdullah Al Saadi, Asma Belhamar, Olafur Eliasson, Nadia Kaabi-Linke, Khalil Rabah, Yinka Shonibare, and Haegue Yang. Their presence gives testament to the power of the imagination – for even Expo 2020 Dubai would not have come to fruition without a dream. Just as Abou El Fetou adds, “Our immediate perceptual experience of vision must be accompanied by the imagined, so we may recognize the form of things.” Expo 2020 Dubai opens to the public on October 20 and runs until March 31, 2022. Expo2020dubai.com