Palestinian artist Maisara Baroud’s limited-edition prints from his series I’m Still Alive will be exhibited at Zawyeh Gallery in Dubai's Alserkal Avenue. The pieces will also be sold as part of the exhibition.
Baroud is from Gaza, where his powerful figurative works, mostly in black and white, reflect his experiences living under Israeli occupation. Exploring themes of hope, resilience and the impact of conflict, Baroud’s work is emotive and draws from his immediate environment.
The artist lost his home and studio in October when Israel launched its attack on Gaza. Despite this, Baroud has been creating a drawing every day, and uploading it to his Instagram account as part of his I’m Still Alive series.
“Maisara’s work has always been powerful in terms of his techniques and concept,” Zawyeh Gallery director Ziad Anani tells The National.
“Since the start of the devastating genocide war in Gaza, Maisara has continued to create artworks without stopping, despite losing his home and studio to the destruction, which included all his paintings, tools, books and all of his memories. He says: ‘I draw as a means to tell my friends that I am still alive.’”
Zawyeh Gallery, which opened its first space in Ramallah, Palestine, in 2013, and then a second space in Alserkal Avenue in 2020, had previously worked with Baroud as part of a group exhibition in 2016, titled Narratives.
This year, Anani wanted to exhibit Baroud’s work, but it was impossible to obtain original pieces due to the logistical challenges of transporting work from Gaza to Ramallah. Instead, the gallery worked with a group of Ramallah artists, such as the cartoonist Mohammad Sabaaneh and artists Fuad Alyamani, Rahaf Natsheh, Salsabeel Anabtawi and Dania Omari, to collaborate with Baroud and create murals based on a selection of his drawings, which were then painted on the gallery walls.
The exhibition opened in Ramallah in April 18, and is due to close on July 7. This temporary homage to Baroud and his work was a means to translate and amplify his message, reaching a wider audience regionally and internationally.
Zawyeh Gallery has also been working with Baroud to produce a curated selection of his works as limited-edition prints, which will go on display in the Dubai space, along with smaller original works by young Palestinian artists. Baroud's limited-edition prints are now available to buy on Zawyeh’s website.
“These works represent a significant period, documenting the struggle in Gaza,” Anani says. “By preserving them as limited-edition prints, we ensure they live forever and so are the stories behind them.
“We plan to dedicate a space in the gallery in Alserkal Avenue to showcase these prints, alongside smaller original works and prints by various young and established Palestinian artists from Gaza, the West Bank and the diaspora,” Anani says.
“We believe that featuring Baroud's work in this context will enrich the space, offering people an opportunity to learn about the situation in Gaza.”
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Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
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