Art & Culture

The UAE’s Greatest Design Intervention: NOMAD Abu Dhabi at Terminal 1

BYLeila Khatib

November 24, 2025

For its debut in Abu Dhabi, NOMAD, founded by curator and visionary Nicolas Bellavance-Lecompte and brought to life through a catalytic global partnership with the influential VCA Agency Co-founded by Julia Chernova, chose an unexpected venue: the decommissioned Terminal 1 of Zayed International Airport.

Bellavance-Lecompte often describes space as a language, and his architectural training plays a defining role: “materiality, structure and concept are inseparable.” This sensitivity guided the choice of Terminal 1, a landmark of Arabian modernism designed by Paul Andreu. “When I stepped inside,” he recalls, “it was obvious. Architecturally powerful, civic, emotional, unforgettable.” For him, the building wasn’t a backdrop, it was the main character.
The result? A rare moment where design, craft, and the notion of transit collapse into one sensory experience, strengthened by engagement with local brands and regional creatives, grounding the fair within the cultural ecosystem of the UAE.

Below are the show highlights.

‘Last Call’ by KAMEH

Photo: Nikita Berezhnoy

In “Last Call,” Dubai-based artist KAMEH reanimates an overlooked icon of public life: the airport bench. Once silent witnesses to reunions, departures, and suspended emotions, these benches are transformed into reflective objects that hold memory rather than movement. Removed from urgency, they become protagonists— reminders of strangers seated side-by-side, of the quiet pause before a journey begins. Presented within “Departures,” NOMAD’s collaboration with Etihad Airways, the installation resonated deeply with their shade of “alert red.”

ANTIDOTE//In Transit

Photo: Sam Rawadi

In the former currency-exchange booth, Antidote Functional Bar reimagined the airport ritual. Created by cultural technologist Lubna Mobied, the installation debuts as both artwork and intervention, recasting the terminal as a place for stillness rather than rush. Titled “Antidote // In Transit,” the experience transforms waiting into intention. Produced by creatorandcurator, the spatial design mirrors Bellavance-Lecompte’s ethos of activating a space rather than overlaying it — working directly and sensitively with what already exists.

Antidote’s blends: Fix Me, Cure Me, Calm Me, and Boost Me, feature natural, evidence-based ingredients, including supplemented components sourced from Cymbiotika. In a space defined by movement, Antidote became a counterpoint: an invitation to breathe.

‘Destinations’ by Bottega Veneta

Marking 50 years of Intrecciato, Bottega Veneta presented “Destinations,” curated by Rana Beiruti. The exhibition featured the work of six artists and two creative studios from across the Middle East and North Africa: Abdalla Almulla, Amine Asselman, Esna Su, Nader Gammas, Shaha Raphael, and Zein Daouk, as well as the design studio Sayar & Garibeh and the architectural office bahraini — danish.

Each one-of-a-kind piece honored Bottega Veneta’s principles of craft and creativity. From ceramic sheets and volcanic stone to works inspired by Emirati Areesh and palm-frond braiding, the works dialogue with Intrecciato through different local materials, regional craft, and weaving traditions. Three pieces also include reserve leather from the Bottega Veneta atelier.

As Beiruti notes: “Some works draw on regional heritage… others interpret weaving beyond its physical expression, representing the interlacing of ideas, narratives, and cultures.”

‘The Dream Vault: A2Z Advisory’ by Design Collectus

The Dream Vault was literally a Treasury of Jewels showcasing a curated and jawdropping selection of dreamline and fantasy pieces from A2Z Advisory, staged within a private terminal. Designed and scenographed by Design Collectus, under the creative direction of its founder Amer Madhoun, a Dubai-based multidisciplinary interior design and architecture studio, the installation unfolded like the opening of a treasure chest: three scenes shifting from the stark architecture of the terminal into a world of saturated light and theatrical reveal.

Collectible objects, artworks, and furniture from a private collection served as characters guiding visitors toward the final moment, a monolithic display structure housing the jewels themselves. A2Z’s presence, grounded in its blend of Gulf-rooted insight and global curatorial perspective, becomes a meditation on narrative, materiality, and the intimacy of collecting.

‘Threads of Memory A Scent for NOMAD’ by Dastaangoi

Offering an olfactory portrait of the building’s cinematic stillness: tobacco for time, amber for the glow of waiting, and oud for regional depth, “Terminal 1 – A Scent for NOMAD” by Dastaangoi, founded by Amad Mian, was composed exclusively for NOMAD. The scent was available exclusively at the Art Jameel Shop at NOMAD.

‘The Amber Hour’ by Kamyen x MODU Method

Kamyen, in collaboration with Omar Al Gurg’s MODU Method, presented: “The Amber Hour,” an installation that reinterprets the majlis as an enveloping, light-filled sanctuary. Rather than treating high jewelry as static display, the space invites visitors into an atmosphere of warmth and proximity, closer to a personal living room or private jewelry cabinet than a conventional exhibition.

Inspired by the natural textures and organic imperfections of amber, the installation is deliberately tactile: sculptural surfaces, softened edges, and curated lighting create a setting where materiality and emotion converge. Within Terminal 1’s monumental architecture, The Amber Hour was a domestic-scale moment of quiet luxury, a dialogue between heritage, contemporary design, and the sensory rituals of adornment.