KAWS:HOLIDAY has officially touched down in Abu Dhabi, unveiling one of the artist’s most striking large scale installations to date. Set against the atmospheric backdrop of Souq Al Mina, the glowing artwork brings global public art energy to the Middle East as part of Manar Abu Dhabi’s second public light art exhibition. In partnership with AllRightsReserved, the project introduces a new chapter in the worldwide KAWS:HOLIDAY journey.
A Monumental COMPANION Under the Desert Sky
The centrepiece of the exhibition is a towering, luminous COMPANION figure reclining peacefully while holding a radiant crescent moon. This gesture immediately pulls viewers into a moment of calm reflection, and the interplay of light and scale feels especially powerful beneath Abu Dhabi’s open desert sky. The installation celebrates imagination and the poetic contrast between the city’s futuristic landscape and the timeless quiet of the surrounding environment.
On View Through Early 2026
Running from November 15, 2025, to January 4, 2026, the immersive work gives visitors nearly two months to experience one of the most visually captivating entries in the KAWS:HOLIDAY series. Previous editions have appeared in iconic locations such as Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour and Japan’s Fumotoppara camping ground, and this Abu Dhabi stop continues the tradition of pairing KAWS’s accessible visual language with dramatic global settings. With its luminous presence and striking composition, the installation is already emerging as a major cultural highlight of the season.