From building your own pinhole camera at The Louvre to a mini film festival…

With a brand new month comes brand new events to check out, and culture vultures, we’ve rounded up plenty to keep you busy in July.

Here are 5 cool cultural events to check out in the UAE this month.

Exhibition: Lest we forget 

Created by Spanish artist María José Rodríguez Escolar, and curated by Dr. Michele Bambling, this exhibition consists of personal photographs taken by unrelated families from the UAE and Spain, exploring the common universalities that are woven through these disconnected fragments of strangers’ lives.

Warehouse 421. Mina Zayed, Street Samrayr, Abu Dhabi. Tue to Sun until July 28, 10am to 8pm. Tel: (02) 6768803. warehouse421.ae

Event: Fete Du Cinema

This mini film festival is a tribute to Michael Legrand, a French musician, film composer, arranger and jazz pianist. His soundtracks won him three Oscars. Screenings include The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and The Young Girls of Rochefort by Jacques Demy, with Catherine Deneuve from 1964 and 1967 as well as Le Sauvage / Lovers Like Us by Jean Paul Rappeneau from 1975.

Alliance Francaise, Street 18, Oud Metha, Dubai. Screenings are free and start at 7.30pm on July 1,2, 3. Tel: (04) 3358712. afdubai.org

Exhibition: Jameel Prize 5

A collaboration between the V&A museum in London and Art Jameel, the Jameel Prize was founded in 2009 to award contemporary artists and designers inspired by Islamic design and visual culture. The Jameel Prize 5 exhibition presents works by the joint prize winners – Iraqi artist Mehdi Moutashar and Bangladeshi architect Marina Tabassum – plus those by the prize’s shortlisted artists and designers.

Jameel Arts Centre, Jaddaf Waterfront, Dubai. Sat to Thur 10am to 8pm. Fri noon 12pm to 10pm, runs throughout the summer. Tel: (04) 8739800. jameelartscentre.org

Performance: A Behanding in Spokane

This 2010 black comedy by award-winning Irish playwright Martin McDonagh is being directed by Gautam Goenka for H72 Productions. Set in the US, the language is strong and the story set inside a seedy hotel room is bizarrely humourous.

The Junction, Unit 72, Alserkal Avenue, Street 8, Al Quoz, Dubai. Dh100. 3.30pm and 7.30pm July 27 to 29. Tel: (04) 3388525. thejunctiondubai.com

Workshop: Build your own pinhole camera

This two-day photography masterclass invites participants to explore the photography exhibition at Louvre Abu Dhabi, where they will discover pre-digital photographic techniques, and build a simple pinhole camera to experiment with composition, space and light. They will then develop their film using primary techniques.

Manarat Al Saadiyat (MAS) Photography Studio in collaboration with Louvre Abu Dhabi. Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi. Dh168 per participant, 3pm to 6pm on July 5 and 6. Tel: (600) 565566. louvreabudhabi.ae

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Words: Anna Seaman.
Anna is an arts and culture specialist in the UAE, and a regular contributor to What’s On. Find out more at annaseaman.com