“A water garden filled with ovoids. When an ovoid is pushed by a person, it shines brightly and emits a sound tone as it rights itself. The ovoids around it also respond one after another, emitting the same light color and sound tone that continues to resonate out.” (Photo: © teamLab)
The Tokyo-based art collective teamLab is bringing Abu Dhabi a new interactive multi-sensory experience. Called teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi, the pioneering art project is set to open its doors in the Saadiyat Cultural District on April 18, 2025. The tailor-made space was brought to life with the help of MZ Architects and is a massive 183,000-square-foot destination filled with exhibits that will engage visitors’ sight, sound, and touch. Merging art with science and technology, teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi promises to produce dynamic and ever-evolving artwork—no two visits will be the same.
The new experience is part of teamLab’s concept called Environmental Phenomena. Unlike traditional art forms—think sculpture and paintings—the collective’s works don’t exist independently from one another. Rather, they are generated and sustained by their environment. teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi will feature exhibits across two main areas that invite visitors to explore and use their imagination to shape the environment.
“Existence will be freed from matter that has previously been responsible for its existence,” teamLab explains. “Elements like air, water, and light that permeate our daily lives are transformed by their environment into unique phenomena that will become the existence.” Its boundaries are ambiguous and never-ending. Viewers can break apart the artwork and the work will remain, albeit different. But if not maintained by anyone, the artwork will disappear. The collective hopes this experience will have a great effect on those who visit, inspiring them as thinkers and creators.
teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi will be a “key addition” to the Saadiyat Cultural District when it opens on April 18, 2025. The Louvre Abu Dhabi is in the area and is open now, and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is slated to join these institutions soon.
The Tokyo-based art collective teamLab is bringing Abu Dhabi a new interactive multi-sensory experience called teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi.
Photo: © DCT Abu Dhabi, Miral
Here’s a peek into some of the artworks that will be there.
“An artwork based on flow, vortex, and cycle. Lines are drawn in the space according to the movement of the water particles.” (Photo: © teamLab)
Merging art with science and technology, teamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi promises to produce dynamic and ever-evolving artwork—no two visits will be the same.
“An artwork of continuity and existence.” (Photo: © teamLab)
“One shared ecosystem created by the various creatures drawn by everyone.” (Photo: © teamLab)
“Autonomous abstraction. The dots of light blink and change color in cycles unique to each dot. A spontaneous order phenomenon occurs between dots that are close to each other, and their hues and the rhythm at which they blink gradually synchronize. When people touch them, the rhythm of the blinking hues change and are randomized, but the dots close to each other once again cause a spontaneous order phenomenon between them.” (Photo: © teamLab)
The new experience is part of teamLab’s concept called Environmental Phenomena.
“Flutter of Butterflies. Butterflies emerge from people’s feet, or from the touch of their hands on the walls.” (Photo: © teamLab)
“The movement of hundreds of thousands of birds is beautiful and mysterious, appearing like a single giant presence. The biological mechanism that causes the movement of a flock of birds remains a mystery, but there seems to be a structure of space and time because it’s recognized as a single entity. A universe of new form of space and time in which the constituent elements are separated in time and space, but can still be a powerful existence.” (Photo: © teamLab)
The collective’s works don’t exist independently from one another; rather, they are generated and sustained by their environment.
“Floating lamps that resonate in spontaneous order with people.” (Photo: © teamLab)
“Through the shape of the space and the presence of people, the flow changes and lines are drawn.” (Photo: © teamLab)
“The space is a three-dimensional terrain with rises and falls. Water levels shift over time, changing the form of the dry land. People can enter the water and walk around.” (Photo: © teamLab)