Emirati abstraction, European post-impressionism, a solo exhibition by a celebrated Bahraini artist and a play that makes light of the bureaucratic absurdities of the workplace. There’s a lot going on in the UAE cultural scene this weekend – and we’re spoilt for choice.
Hamour Doesn’t Leave the Cubicle: Friday and Saturday at The Arts Centre at NYU Abu Dhabi
Hamour Doesn’t Leave the Cubicle is a play directed by NYU Abu Dhabi alumnus Reem Almenhali and written by Ahmed Almadloum. It is performed in Arabic with English subtitles. It touches on the absurdities of a workplace and resonates on a universal level, while being grounded in Emirati culture.
According to NYUAD, the play is set in “a world where the mundane meets the extraordinary, revealing different levels of bureaucracy that the characters navigate in every act, from writing an email to holding a funeral for a pen".
Friday and Saturday, from 7.30pm; The Black Box at The Arts Centre, NYUAD
Interwoven: Until November 10 at Mestaria Gallery
Bahraini artist Areej Rajab explores the human relationship with nature in her solo show at Alserkal Avenue’s Mestaria Gallery. The works on display cover a range of styles, from figurative pieces to those that lean towards the abstract. However, the commonality between the pieces is their bold colours and lively forms. Certain designs repeat as motifs, evoking the patterns found in nature and human behaviour alike.
Daily, 10am-7pm; until November 10; Mestaria Gallery, Dubai
Post-Impressionism: Beyond Appearances: Until February 9 at Louvre Abu Dhabi
Post-Impressionism: Beyond Appearances brings together a collection of masterpieces that offers a sharp insight into one of history's most affecting artistic eras. The 99 pieces on show include three paintings by Dutch master Vincent van Gogh, as well as works by Paul Gaugin, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Paul Cezanne.
The exhibition also aims to show how the legacy of the post-impressionists extended to the Middle East. It includes two works by the French-Egyptian artist Georges Hanna Sabbagh, who studied figures from the post-impressionist group Les Nabis, including Paul Serusier and Felix Vallotton.
Tuesday to Sunday, 10am-6.30pm; until February 9; Louvre Abu Dhabi
Hour Eternal: 20 Years of Emirati Abstraction: Until February 16 at Bassam Freiha Art Foundation, Abu Dhabi
Abdul Qader Al Rais, Najat Makki, and Hassan Sharif are among the 14 pioneering Emirati artists who are being featured in Hour Eternal. The exhibition is dedicated to exploring the development of abstract art in the UAE, showing how the medium has been used to examine the country’s cultural transformation, alongside existential themes of identity and memory.
The exhibition is one of four at Bassam Freiha Art Foundation. Vision of the Orient takes cues from the foundation’s inaugural exhibition by displaying 19th-century orientalist works. US artist Anthony James is presenting two installations at the foundation’s Sculpture Garden.
Finally, Lebanese artist Tarek Elkassouf is presenting more than two dozen sculptures crafted from limestone and gold in Boundaries. They explore the tensions between societal norms and liberation. Lines from Letters, an accompanying display, shows concept drawings by Elkassouf, offering insight into his process.
Daily, 10am-8pm; until February 16; Bassam Freiha Art Foundation, Abu Dhabi
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
Miss Granny
Director: Joyce Bernal
Starring: Sarah Geronimo, James Reid, Xian Lim, Nova Villa
3/5
(Tagalog with Eng/Ar subtitles)
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
BOSH!'s pantry essentials
Nutritional yeast
This is Firth's pick and an ingredient he says, "gives you an instant cheesy flavour". He advises making your own cream cheese with it or simply using it to whip up a mac and cheese or wholesome lasagne. It's available in organic and specialist grocery stores across the UAE.
Seeds
"We've got a big jar of mixed seeds in our kitchen," Theasby explains. "That's what you use to make a bolognese or pie or salad: just grab a handful of seeds and sprinkle them over the top. It's a really good way to make sure you're getting your omegas."
Umami flavours
"I could say soya sauce, but I'll say all umami-makers and have them in the same batch," says Firth. He suggests having items such as Marmite, balsamic vinegar and other general, dark, umami-tasting products in your cupboard "to make your bolognese a little bit more 'umptious'".
Onions and garlic
"If you've got them, you can cook basically anything from that base," says Theasby. "These ingredients are so prevalent in every world cuisine and if you've got them in your cupboard, then you know you've got the foundation of a really nice meal."
Your grain of choice
Whether rice, quinoa, pasta or buckwheat, Firth advises always having a stock of your favourite grains in the cupboard. "That you, you have an instant meal and all you have to do is just chuck a bit of veg in."
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Biog
Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara
He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada
Father of two sons, grandfather of six
Plays golf once a week
Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family
Walks for an hour every morning
Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India
2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business
As it stands in Pool A
1. Japan - Played 3, Won 3, Points 14
2. Ireland - Played 3, Won 2, Lost 1, Points 11
3. Scotland - Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1, Points 5
Remaining fixtures
Scotland v Russia – Wednesday, 11.15am
Ireland v Samoa – Saturday, 2.45pm
Japan v Scotland – Sunday, 2.45pm
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Company%20Profile
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
Sonchiriya
Director: Abhishek Chaubey
Producer: RSVP Movies, Azure Entertainment
Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Manoj Bajpayee, Ashutosh Rana, Bhumi Pednekar, Ranvir Shorey
Rating: 3/5
It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
