For anyone who has travelled through the old Terminal 1 of Zayed International Airport, Nomad Abu Dhabi will be a sentimental, even surreal experience.
The event has repurposed the decommissioned terminal to become a sprawling art and design venue. Institutions and galleries from across the world have congregated under its tent-like roof, displaying artworks around the idiosyncratic, green-tiled pillar. Departure gates have become exhibition spaces, showcasing a mix of vintage and cutting-edge furniture pieces.
An alternative to traditional art fairs, Nomad was established in 2017 by Canadian-Italian architect Nicolas Bellavance-Lecompte as a travelling showcase for contemporary art, collectable design and cultural exchange. It is renowned for selecting unique and often historically important locations, from a 15th-century gothic structure in Venice to a monastery in Capri.
Terminal 1 has a significant place in Abu Dhabi’s history. The structure opened in 1982. It was designed by French architect Paul Andreu, who was also responsible for Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris and Terminal 3 at Dubai.
Termina 1 was decommissioned in late 2023, after the opening of Zayed International Airport's Terminal A. Victor Besa / The National
The Abu Dhabi terminal was decommissioned in late 2023, after the opening of Zayed International Airport's Terminal A. For many, it marked the end of an era.
Nomad Abu Dhabi leans into the former function of its venue. Visiting the event is akin to the sensation of entering an airport. Visitors are given a boarding pass and walk through checking booths before entering the main exhibition hall.
“I did a wide exploration of the region before choosing Abu Dhabi,” Bellavance-Lecompte says. “We visited 30 different sites that were part of modern heritage. It was important to find the right container that was not just a box. It had to be something significant in terms of architecture and generate a dialogue. I’m very grateful that we managed to find this venue thanks to the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi.
Nicolas Bellavance-Lecompte, founder of Nomad, likens the deserted terminal to an open canvas with great artistic potential. Victor Besa / The National
“The airport is special and, emotionally speaking, I also used to travel through here. This airport had been operating for over 40 years, and for everyone from the region and from the city to see this reappropriation of the airport is a great way to give life back to this building.”
When developing Nomad Abu Dhabi, Bellavance-Lecompte says he was keen on having a balanced representation between regional and global participants. “I’m happy to have almost 40 per cent regional projects,” he says. “We also involved many regional designers and artists in the departure lounge.”
The departure lounge is the first space visitors will interact with. The exhibition, developed in collaboration with Etihad Airways, features several works that resonate with the event’s aviation theme.
How to Be at Rest by Dubai-based American artist Christopher Joshua Benton. Victor Besa / The National
Lebanese artist Ali Cha’aban presents 12 PM Class, a 2019 work that comprises Persian carpets that have been folded like monumental paper planes. Christopher Joshua Benton, a US artist living in the UAE, is showcasing How to Be at Rest, a collaborative piece with bricolage chairs that have been modified by working-class South Asian and African labourers and artisans.
Emirati artist Zeinab Al Hashemi’s There May Exist features staked oil barrels that have each been covered in camel hide,
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