A Walk and Talk with Author Rana AlMutawa about Her Exhibit "Everyday Life in the Spectacular City"

Date: Sunday, May 12 

Time: 4 pm

Join us for a free tour with Dr. Rana AlMutawa of her exhibit "Everyday Life in the Spectacular City: A Documentary Photo Exhibit." The photographs in the exhibit are part of the research that Dr. AlMutawa conducted for her book, Everyday Life in the Spectacular City. Published by the University of California Press, the book is a groundbreaking urban ethnography that reveals how middle-class citizens and longtime residents of Dubai interact with the city's spaces to create meaningful social lives. Dr. AlMutawa shows that development projects from big malls to megaprojects serve residents' evolving social needs, transforming Dubai's spectacular spaces into personally important cultural sites. Through extensive fieldwork, Dr. AlMutawa, herself an Emirati, finds a nuanced story of belonging that rejects stereotypes portraying Dubai's developments as alienating and inherently disempowering. The exhibit runs May 12 to July 4, 2024.

The book can be purchased on our website here.

Dr. Rana AlMutawa is Assistant Professor of Social Research and Public Policy at New York University Abu Dhabi. She completed her doctorate from the University of Oxford in 2021. She has published several research papers in the areas of urban ethnography and social hierarchies in esteemed publications such as Arab Studies Journal, Hawwa, Urban Anthropology and New Middle Eastern Studies.

This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required. Please click on "Buy it now" to register (there is no cost associated with the tickets).