Eid Al Fitr may be a relatively quiet moment on the local arts scene, but it also marks the last few days of several exhibitions in the UAE, as galleries and institutions prepare to launch a new slate of shows.
From a sculptures examining how we internalise the ugliness of the world, to works by francophone women artists living in the UAE, here are three exhibitions to see this weekend.
Lumieres de Femmes at Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi
Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi is hosting an exhibition in honour of International Women’s Rights Day. Titled Lumieres de Femmes, it has been organised in collaboration with AD'Art Collective, a francophone community of artists in Abu Dhabi, as well as The Feminin Pluriel Collective, a global network for women across professional and artistic sectors. The exhibition is supported by arts patrons Fairouz and Jean-Paul Villain.
Lumieres de Femmes features works by 23 French and francophone women artists living in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It brings together paintings, photographs, illustrations and ceramics.
Participants include French artists Karine Roche, a painter known for vibrant landscapes that blend urban and natural elements, and Benedicte Gimonnet, who takes a minimal approach to exploring the interactions of colour and light, as well as Emirati artist Khulood Al Jabri, who embeds cultural motifs in her dynamic and textured canvases.
Monday to Thursday, 8am-4pm; Friday, 8am-4pm; until March 29; Atrium of SUAD Campus, Abu Dhabi
Vestiges at Ayyam Gallery
Athar Jaber's first solo exhibition in Dubai presents a series of sculptures produced as far back as 2014, but which he believes embody his artistic intentions.
The works, which feature contorted and disfigured human bodies, aim to explore how we internalise the ugliness of the world today.
“People are sometimes disturbed or shocked by my work,” the Iraqi-Dutch sculptor told The National. “But then, look at what we have been fed through the media. Seeing what we've seen, I can't make beautiful things that just embellish and adorn.”
“It speaks more to a state of being,” he added. “An interior one of anxiety, of uncertainty, of unclear identity. I won't speak for everyone, but I think many of us feel that, right?”
Monday to Friday, 10am-6pm; Saturday, noon-6pm; until April 1; Ayyam Gallery, Dubai
Of Dust and Woven Air: Seher Shah at Green Art Gallery
In Of Dust and Woven Air, Karachi-born artist Seher Shah uses drawing, printmaking and poetry to explore the concepts of absence and memory.
The exhibition draws inspiration from The Dacca Gauzes by Indian-American poet Agha Shahid Ali, which conjured up Shah's memories of her maternal family and their experiences in various cities. The poem spurred what the exhibition describes as “emotional cartography” that draws a line between the seaports of Chittagong, Chennai and Kochi, as well as Karachi and the Arabian Sea.
Through her works, Shah “reveals a quiet poetry of loss and erasure, tracing what lingers long after it has disappeared”, the exhibition description states.
Monday to Saturday, 11am-7pm; until April 5; Green Art Gallery, Dubai
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday (All UAE kick-off times)
Lecce v SPAL (6pm)
Bologna v Genoa (9pm)
Atlanta v Roma (11.45pm)
Sunday
Udinese v Hellas Verona (3.30pm)
Juventus v Brescia (6pm)
Sampdoria v Fiorentina (6pm)
Sassuolo v Parma (6pm)
Cagliari v Napoli (9pm)
Lazio v Inter Milan (11.45pm)
Monday
AC Milan v Torino (11.45pm)
UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Fernandes pen 2') Tottenham Hotspur 6 (Ndombele 4', Son 7' & 37' Kane (30' & pen 79, Aurier 51')
Man of the match Son Heung-min (Tottenham)
Greatest Royal Rumble results
John Cena pinned Triple H in a singles match
Cedric Alexander retained the WWE Cruiserweight title against Kalisto
Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt win the Raw Tag Team titles against Cesaro and Sheamus
Jeff Hardy retained the United States title against Jinder Mahal
Bludgeon Brothers retain the SmackDown Tag Team titles against the Usos
Seth Rollins retains the Intercontinental title against The Miz, Finn Balor and Samoa Joe
AJ Styles remains WWE World Heavyweight champion after he and Shinsuke Nakamura are both counted out
The Undertaker beats Rusev in a casket match
Brock Lesnar retains the WWE Universal title against Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
Braun Strowman won the 50-man Royal Rumble by eliminating Big Cass last
