The Restaurant That Gets There First: IKKA’s February Exhibition
Breaks the Art Circuit Rulebook Again
4th February-28th February 2026
Dubai(News Desk):: In January, high above Jumeirah, a restaurant overlooking the Dubai skyline stepped into a role once reserved for galleries. IKKA became the only restaurant in Dubai with a permanent in-house art gallery, debuting new contemporary art in the UAE before it reaches the gallery circuit. This February, it does it again with the debut of On Practicing Recovery by Paris-based Saudi visual artist Reem Ali, following successful exhibitions at Parisian galleries and marking her Dubai debut.
From 4 to 28 February 2026, On Practicing Recovery marks the second chapter in IKKA’s permanent, rotating in-house gallery programme. The exhibition follows January’s launch and continues IKKA’s role as a site of first encounter, introducing a more intimate and reflective body of work.
Ali’s work explores recovery not as resolution, but as an ongoing, non-linear process shaped by domestic space, memory and women’s inner lives. Working across video and photography, and informed by her background in biology, she creates restrained, contemplative works that sit in deliberate contrast to the vibrant surroundings in which they are presented.
As IKKA moves into its second in-house exhibition this February, art appears over dinner, between shared plates and cocktails, set to the pulse of a DJ and the energy of a rooftop evening inside the Peruvian–Japanese restaurant at Hyatt Centric Jumeirah. Here, the first encounter with new work unfolds through atmosphere, movement and shared experience rather than in isolation.
IKKA is the only restaurant in Dubai to operate a permanent, monthly rotating in-house art gallery fully integrated into the dining experience. Launched in January, the programme challenges the traditional sequence of the art world, where galleries typically serve as the starting point. At IKKA, artworks debut here first, before moving into the wider Dubai gallery circuit – allowing art to be encountered in a live, social setting rather than a formal one.
Presented within IKKA’s in-house gallery, On Practicing Recovery is experienced alongside the rhythm of the restaurant itself. Music, conversation, food and movement form part of the context through which the work is encountered, creating a layered viewing experience that exists in deliberate harmony with its surroundings.
Building on January’s launch, the exhibition further solidifies IKKA’s role as a curator of never-before-seen art entering the UAE. This devotion to art reflects IKKA’s broader philosophy on dining. At IKKA, art unfolds in the same way dining does, through time, presence and shared experience, an ethos informed by Chef Jose Luis’s background in the arts and woven into the restaurant’s identity. This approach shapes a unique experience that feels social and immersive.
Exhibition Details:
Exhibition: On Practicing Recovery
Artist: Reem Ali
Dates: 4th February – 28th February 2026
Timings: 4:00 PM- 01:00 AM
Venue: IKKA, Hyatt Centric Jumeirah Dubai
Reservations: +971 43 021 275
