Dubai Meets Austin through 2050 Track Sponsorship, Pop-Up Museum, Panels, The Original Dubai Chocolate and Cultural Events on March 7-11, 2025
AUSTIN, TEXAS (FEB. 25, 2025)—Dubai’s Museum of the Future (MOTF), the flagship project by Dubai Future Foundation (DFF), announces their groundbreaking participation at SXSW®. The five-day immersive experience, which will take place from March 7 to 11, is centered around collectively imagining, inspiring, and designing the future. The extensive programming includes 20 curated experiences and will take place at Dubai’s official SXSW headquarters, the Museum of the Future House, located at Third Street and Congress Avenue in Austin, TX. It will offer SXSW attendees a window into the world-class city of Dubai.
The Museum of the Future, a seven-story cultural landmark in Dubai that opened in 2022, along with the Dubai Future Foundation, aims to spotlight the United Arab Emirates’ emergence as a global technology and innovation hub. The foundation is a sponsor of SXSW’s 2050 conference programming track, and will lead discussions on lunar colonization, sustainable food production, and artificial intelligence. Attendees can expect workshops, outdoor activations, networking opportunities, and a mix of Middle Eastern narratives exploring humanity, nature, and future technologies—from space-proofing cuisine to innovative food systems emerging from desert landscapes.
The Dubai-based Museum of the Future empowers people to shape humanity’s next chapter by journeying to the year 2071 and showcases a vision of progress that can inspire cities worldwide. The Museum of the Future House will offer SXSW attendees a glimpse into Dubai’s dynamic evolution, highlighting its rapid rise as a global hub for innovation, talent, and investment.
The pop-up museum exterior features eye-catching Arabic calligraphy, while inside, guests will explore a multi-sensory immersive experience inspired by space, humanity and the natural world. An outdoor space will highlight Emirati culture, with culinary experiences including tastings of the viral TikTok sensation, the original Dubai chocolate bars from FIX Dessert Chocolatier and traditional chai demonstrations by Project Chaiwala.
Internationally renowned Digital Visual Artist Refik Anadol (@refikandol) has created an immersive artwork called “Earth Dreams,” exploring the three elements of the Earth: air, land, and water. The AI-powered installation turns real environmental data into dynamic, ever-changing visuals. Using cutting-edge machine learning, the artwork reimagines real-life elements in a way that gives them color, immersing attendees in a mesmerizing, dreamlike exploration of nature’s hidden patterns. The exhibit is also on display at the Museum of the Future in Dubai and was first launched during the Dubai Future Forum, the flagship event of the Dubai Future Foundation and the largest gathering of futurists. This isn’t just a showcase – it’s an invitation to reimagine what’s possible.
“SXSW has always been a place where big ideas come to life,” said Majed Al Mansoori, Executive Director of Museum of the Future. “We are bringing a bit of Dubai’s perspective and flavors to Austin, where we hope to spark new conversations about how technology and culture can create positive change. We will bridge ideas from both East and West to reimagine what tomorrow could look like.”
Engaging discussions will spotlight diverse voices and perspectives different from the ones that usually dominate conversations about the future, from Arab filmmakers and award-winning writers to astronauts, navigating topics like artificial intelligence’s evolving role in society. The food panel track takes a deeper look at the future of food, where visionary leaders converge to reimagine food systems, using technology to create sustainable, culturally-connected solutions that could transform how we nourish the global community. Expect to hear from brands like Solar Foods, for example, who pioneer sustainability using solar energy to produce food. These events will prioritize those with a SXSW badge to access.
Notable speakers include Canadian Astronaut Shawna Pandya; Hazza Al Mansouri, the first Emirati Astronaut; Author and Urban scholar-practitioner Geci Karuri-Sebina; and Film Producer Gianluca Chakra, among many others.
For more information about how these visiting organizations bring Dubai to Austin through expert panels, art, and cultural programming during SXSW, please visit museumofthefuturesxsw.
The programming schedule is as follows and is subject to change:
Friday, March 7 – Monday, March 10
2050 Track sponsored by Dubai Future Foundation
Location: Austin Marriott Downtown – 304 E Cesar Chavez St, Austin, TX 78701
About: Dive into what the world could look like by the year 2050. Sponsored by DFF, the 2050 track focuses on long-term, big-picture thinking emphasizing scientific discovery. The programming features topics ranging from quantum computing and space exploration to robotics and foresight best practices. The Dubai Future Foundation works to make Dubai one of the world’s foremost future cities. By working closely with public and private sector partners, the organization builds a cohesive innovation ecosystem that includes accelerator programs, incubators, labs, regulatory sandboxes, and knowledge platforms – all to challenge the status quo and design a future-ready city powered by future leaders and disruptors.
Full Schedule: museumofthefuturesxs
Friday, March 7 – Tuesday, March 11
Museum of the Future House
Location: 3rd/Congress Parking – 3rd/Congress, Austin, TX 78701
10 a.m. to 10 p.m. || Open to the public, badge priority line
About: To reimagine the future, people must be open to new possibilities. Join MOTF on a journey to 2071. Pioneer new worlds and ways of living and return to shape today’s world for the better. Experience the future of space travel and living, climate change and ecology, health, wellness, and spirituality. Learn how technologies such as synthetic biology and artificial intelligence can combat climate change.
*The capacity is limited to 250 people at a time.
Speakers at MOTF House include astronauts Shawna Pandya and Hazza Al Mansour, visual artist Refik Anadol, award-winning novelist Hisham Matar, author and urban scholar-practitioner Geci Karuri-Sebina, and film director Gianluca Chakra.
Friday, March 7: Creator and Media Preview
12 p.m. || Private Event – Invite Only
Digital creators and top international techies are invited to this mixer event to capture a first look at The Museum of the Future activation. This will be a special sneak peek that will catapult creators into the future.
