Words by Lindsay Judge

H.E. Huda Alkhamis-Kanoo, Founder of the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation, reflects on three decades of cultural leadership and shares why the future of culture lies in connection, collaboration, and curiosity.

Nearly three decades ago, Abu Dhabi’s cultural ambitions existed largely as a vision. Museums, festivals, and world-class institutions were still ideas taking shape, while the notion that the Emirate could become one of the world’s leading cultural capitals was only just beginning to unfold.

It was against this backdrop that H.E. Huda Alkhamis Kanoo founded the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation (ADMAF) in 1996. As the organisation approaches its 30th anniversary this year and the Abu Dhabi Festival prepares for its 23rd edition in October, it’s a fitting moment to reflect back on a journey that has helped shape the cultural landscape of the UAE capital.

Culture – the Abu Dhabi Way

ADMAF emerged out of what H.E. Huda describes as “a conversation of excitement for the possibilities around me”. “The leadership of the UAE had a vision for this country that placed culture at the centre of development,” she says, thus creating what she calls “a can-do attitude in a country that was building itself quickly”.

“It wasn’t loud,” she reflects. “It was the Abu Dhabi way – quiet, patient, deliberate.” This potent environment inspired her to become part of something much bigger than herself.

When ADMAF first launched, H.E. Huda spent time listening to artists, educators, and communities, recognising that while institutions were beginning to take shape, there remained a disconnect between their objectives and the people they were intended to serve.

“When there is vision at the top, you can’t just wait for the leadership to do everything for you,” she asserts. “Civil society must respond. So, I knew I wanted to throw my hat in and be a part of what was being built.”

These early conversations gave ADMAF its purpose – to act as “connective tissue” between artists, audiences, and educators, supporting the country’s cultural ecosystem “one artist, one classroom, one community at a time”.

More than Mere Entertainment

Even today, nearly three decades later, that same belief continues to underpin the organisation. While Abu Dhabi’s cultural landscape has evolved almost beyond recognition, H.E. Huda remains steadfast in her conviction that culture is built through people as much as places.

The museums, theatres, and festivals that now define the Emirate are undoubtedly important, but their true value lies in the conversations, collaborations, and opportunities they create. As a patron of the arts, H.E. Huda also believes culture offers something more enduring than simply entertainment.

Fittingly, this October, the Abu Dhabi Festival will present its 23rd edition under the theme The Wisdom of Culture. “We wanted to explore culture as a compass, as a resource of wisdom that can help show the way, encourage us to look at the future with more confidence, and open new possibilities of dialogue,” H.E. Huda shares.

That idea is reflected throughout the 2026 programme, which will include an introspective showcase designed to resonate with the country as a whole. “We stop to measure the road travelled by artists from the UAE in 30 years,” explains the ADMAF founder. “Emirati talents will be present throughout the programme and the festival.”

The event will also celebrate three decades of Emirati artistic achievement, placing homegrown talent at its centre.

Looking outward, it brings together voices from East and West, recognising the UAE’s unique position as a meeting point between cultures. “The Wisdom of Culture sees connection when others see fragmentation,” explains H.E. Huda. A sentiment that has guided ADMAF since its earliest days, it now translates into a programme that invites talents and voices from all the region and beyond to showcase their skills through the platform.

“This is also what the UAE stands for – a place where different cultures come together,” she adds.

Building Bridges Near and Far

Continuing to explore that idea, ADMAF has already taken its concept further afield, highlighted by a recent activation in Seoul, South Korea. The foundation took UAE contemporary art to the Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA) with an exhibition titled Proximities.

“My pride did not lie in the fact that UAE art was being judged favourably on the world’s terms. I was proud that the platform of exchange and mutual exploration we built with the Seoul Museum of Art was so innovative and effective,” H.E. Huda says of the event. “The sign of a great collaboration is when it lives on, and assumes new forms. And this is the case with our partnership with SeMA. We are opening a new
chapter in our relationship as we speak.”

ADMAF and SeMA are now embarking on a multi-year collaboration through Hyundai Motor Company’s Hyundai Translocal Series, pairing artists with researchers from Abu Dhabi’s Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence to explore the relationship between contemporary art and emerging technologies.

At the heart of all of the partnerships the foundation is involved in is a simple principle. “For culture to be a bridge, it requires three things – patience, sincerity, and reciprocity,” H.E. Huda says. The first recognises that meaningful relationships are built over time. The second ensures dialogue remains genuine.

The third is perhaps the most important. “We speak, and we listen,” she says. “If you develop talent and audiences in a self-centred way, you are not creating dialogue. You are having a monologue that stays at home.”

A Future Written in Code

Technology is becoming an increasingly important conversation within ADMAF’s wider programme. The recently launched G42 Advanced Technologies Art Award reflects the changing realities facing today’s artists, many of whom are pursuing their creative interests and careers in an age shaped by artificial intelligence (AI).

H.E. Huda welcomes those possibilities while acknowledging the responsibility they bring. “The future
today is being written in code,” she says. Yet, many of the datasets powering AI continue to overlook Arab culture and heritage. The G42 award was conceived to help ensure artists are not simply responding to technological change but contributing to it. “Our task is to make sure that when the machine learns, it also learns us,” H.E. Huda explains.

Supporting emerging artists has been central to ADMAF since its earliest days. Scholarships, awards, and education programmes have become integral to the foundation’s work, reflecting H.E. Huda’s conviction that investing in young creatives is also an investment in the country’s cultural future.

Investing in Tomorrow

Talent, the ADMAF Founder says, begins with sincerity and curiosity. “I look for young artists who have something to say, perhaps even a sense of urgency and necessity to say it, however inexperienced and imperfect their work might seem at first,” she notes. “Craft and polish can be taught. What can’t be taught is sincerity and integrity.”

The conversation inevitably turns to the realities facing emerging artists today. Opportunities have expanded dramatically, but so too have the pressures. “I worry about the impulse to chase instant success by trying to please the market, social media, or whoever a young artist feels they need to please.” H.E. Huda shares.

“Being unique has always been a challenge,” she adds. “But it is even more a challenge when social media rewards sameness and you feel you must chase ‘likes’ instead of your own voice.

Looking beyond individual artists, she sees a similar evolution in Abu Dhabi itself. In 1996, the Emirate’s cultural ambitions were only beginning to take shape. Today, she speaks of “a constellation of world-class institutions”, with more still to come. Their success, however, depends on what happens once the doors open.

“Our leadership has delivered world-class cultural infrastructure,” she notes. “It is now our collective responsibility…to breathe life into this infrastructure.”

A Vision – Three Decades On

For all of the milestones she has achieved over the past three decades, it is often individual moments that remain the most vivid for H.E. Huda. For example, she recalls watching the Bolshoi Ballet perform in Abu Dhabi after years of planning, before more recently seeing Emirati cellist Elham Al Marzooqi take to the stage at Carnegie Hall. In both instances, her responsibilities of leading ADMAF quietly faded into the background.

“It happened in stages. At first, I was a founder simply happy for an extraordinary talent to have reached this stage,” she says. “Then I forgot about ADMAF, and I started thinking about what this achieved for women all over the Arab World. And again, at some point, everything dissolved – I was not thinking of any big picture. The music and Elham’s talent just took control of me. I was a member of the audience, absorbed.”

Building ADMAF has demanded extraordinary commitment. H.E. Huda speaks candidly about the responsibility of leading a mission-driven organisation, admitting that it “cost me my peace of mind”.

However, she is equally quick to acknowledge the unwavering support of her family, particularly her husband, Mohamed Kanoo, whose encouragement, she notes, made the journey possible.

Looking back, it isn’t the accolades or anniversaries that define the past three decades for the philanthropist, arts patron, and founder. “I set out to build an institution,” she smiles. “What I received was belonging.”

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF THE ABU DHABI MUSIC & ARTS FOUNDATION