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The Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage

ADACH general information 20 August 2007

The Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage grew out of the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation in late 2005 to promote cultural and historical aspects of Abu Dhabi. ADACH is located next to Qasr Al Hosn - a well known Abu Dhabi historical building. The center includes a library, see below for contact details and opening times. A good place to visit to wander around the courtyard and learn a bit about Abu Dhabi and the UAE beyond sand and shopping malls.

Activities include

• Music and Theatre shows
• Cinema screenings for adults and children. Mostly hollywood type films but occasional more interesting screenings from other countries.
• Exhibitions of art & photography
• Art courses

Course offerings include classes and tuition in (an example selection):

• Ceramics
• Mosaic
• Portrait Painting
• Arabic Calligraphy
• Silk Painting & Fabric Painting on Abayas
• Art of Flower making
• Mixed Media Painting on canvas or wood
• Sculpture
• Photography in English

Qasr Al Hosn Palace

The Qasr al-Hosn Palace (also called Qasar, Qaser, Qasr Al Husn, Hisn Palace, sometimes The Old Fort or The White Fort) is the oldest historic building in Abu Dhabi and is located on Sheikh Zayed the First Street (Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa) next to the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation. Qasr Al Hosn is Arabic for palace/fort. The palace is undergoing a restoration program scheduled for completion in 2009, when the it will be open to visitors as a national museum and a natural history museum. Full details of the project are expected to be announced on 02 Dec 2007 (UAE National Day).

The palace grew out of a watchtower built on the Abu Dhabi island around 1760, and expanded in about 1793 under instruction from Sheikh Shakbut bin Dhiyab. The structure included a protected fort and living quarters for his family and was the main defensive feature of the town at the time.

Moving on to 1939, the ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan, signed an oil exploration concession and used some of the revenue generated to begin a major redevelopment of the fort area.

The Al Nahyan family moved out of Qasr Al Hosn Palace when the late President of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, became the ruler of Abu Dhabi in 1966. The Palace then became an administrative centre until the 1990s. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan ordered a renovation of the building between 1976 and 1983 when it was painted white, hence the reference to the "White Fort".

The palace now houses the Cultural Foundation, which runs the Documentation and Research Center, and often has exhibitions and displays.

ADACH website says:

The Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) is a government institution in charge of safeguarding, conserving and promoting the heritage and culture of Abu Dhabi. It was established by Law No. 28 of 2005, issued on the 14th of October 2005.

The Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage is administered by a Board of Directors chaired by HE Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan.

• promotion of literature and arts
• encouragement of artistic creativity
• safeguarding cultural assets
• development of museums
• promotion of archaeological research
• historical urban planning
• management of cultural landscapes
• conservation of the intangible heritage
• development of cultural tourism

Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture & Heritage contact details

Old Airport Road
PO Box 2380
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Tel +971-2-6215300 or +971-2-6195400, Fax +971-2-6336059, email info@cultural.org.ae

Opening hours for ADACH (from ADACH 20 August 2007)

• Sunday to Thursday open 8am to 10pm
• Fridays open 5pm to 8pm with movies at 8pm on Fridays
• Saturday open 9am to 1pm & 5pm to 8pm

Last update Tuesday 22-Apr-2014

Discussion topics - add your comments, corrections, questions

• Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture & Heritage
• Qasr Al Hosn

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