For many in the art world, artist Chant Avedissian is known for his nostalgic stencil paintings of Egypt’s Golden Age. In 2013, his series Icons of the Nile (1991-2010) set a record for the highest price for a piece by a living contemporary Arab artist when it sold for more than $1.5 million at Sotheby’s Doha. Avedissian died in Cairo in 2018.
But four brothers from Downtown Cairo remember him as a neighbour, a childhood friend and the artistic protege of the city’s culturally active Armenian community. Their father, George Mikaelian, a bookshop owner and arts patron, supported Avedissian’s work throughout his career in Egypt. “I kept asking my father, 'What are we going to do with all these paintings?'” says Hratch Mikaelian, the eldest of the brothers. “He just said: 'You will see, you will see.'”
George's ensuing collection, amassed over decades, is now the subject of the exhibition Chant Egyptien, on view at ArtTalks in Cairo. It shows how Avedissian experimented prolifically with a variety of styles and mediums. “Every one of Chant’s exhibitions had its own subject and style; he developed his styles a lot,” says Chris Mikaelian, Hratch’s younger brother who took art lessons at the same studio as Avedissian.
Armenian folkloric dance traditions, the lives of rural Egyptian women, Islamic arts and Egypt’s ancient heritage were among the subjects that the artist captured in painting, photography and costume design. They were the stepping stones for his Icons of the Nile portraits, which he produced in the later decades of his life.
Owner of the Reader’s Corner bookshops, George was born in Cairo in 1914 to Armenian parents. The chain's main branch was in Downtown Cairo, with others in Egypt’s luxury hotels, including Le Meridien and Nile Hilton.
Beyond selling books, George was a founding member of the committee Les amis de la culture Armenienne, which aimed to support the younger generation of Egyptian-Armenians. “Some of the meetings were held at the Reader’s Corner bookshop,” says Hratch, who liked to listen in on the conversations. “They were a very interesting group who came from different walks of life, and they really cared about the culture of what they called the future generation, which was me and my brothers at the time.”
But George also took a personal interest in art and bought works from young Egyptian artists such as Ismail Sami and Hassan Heshmat. “My father always encouraged young artists. At that time nobody gave them exposure because very prominent Egyptian artists dominated the scene,” says Hratch. “Not all of them were very good, but he kept buying their works to encourage them.”
When we took the paintings out of storage, we saw them completely differently. Some had been packed for 30 or 40 years
Hratch Mikealian,
family friend of the late Chant Avedissian
Avedissian, the son of Armenian refugees, was born in Cairo in 1951, and lived two blocks from the Reader’s Corner. “Our parents knew each other, and we were part of the same clubs,” says Chris, who has a passion for fashion design and works as an arts consultant today. “Chant and I took private drawing lessons together at the same studio. But Chant didn’t need any lessons because he was so talented. He could produce an artwork in just a few seconds.”
Their teacher was Alexandrian artist Nora Azadian who helped Avedissian plan his first exhibitions. “With the help of Mrs Nora, Chant started organising exhibitions from a young age. My father supported him because he liked his work,” says Chris. “It was a relationship that went beyond buying and selling art.”
But the opportunities for young artists in Egypt were limited. “I used to see Chant at my father’s shop and ask him frankly, 'What are you doing?'” recalls Hratch. “Because I could see the challenges that young Egyptian artists faced.”
In 1970, Avedissian travelled to Canada to pursue his studies at the School of Art and Design in Montreal. Then, after a brief return to Egypt, he moved to Paris in the late 1970s to attend the National Higher School of Decorative Arts.
Avedissian first began his explorations of Egyptian culture in the '70s. “He had just returned from Montreal, and maybe he was feeling nostalgic about Egypt and its ancient history,” says Chris. Among the works on display at the exhibition today, is a series of paintings derived from the Pharaoh Akhenaten's daughter, who appears in ancient portrayals with an elongated head. “They are among my favourite of Chant’s work,” says Chris.
He also took an interest in photography, with the support of photographer Shake Alban, who ran a studio in Cairo. “He took excellent photographs of the mosques of Old Cairo, and also travelled to Upper Egypt. He used a Rolleiflex camera with black and white film. At the time, it was difficult to find negative film and printing paper in Egypt,” says Chris, who worked at Alban’s studio. “I helped to source the materials, and he gifted me his collection of photographs.”
And while Avedissian celebrated Egyptian culture, he was involved in Cairo’s Armenian community. “He was always happy to help and contribute paintings or postcards,” says Chris. In the mid-1970s, he designed the costumes for the Armenian folkloric dance group Sardarapat. Two of the ensuing designs are part of George Mikaelian’s collection today, and are on display at ArtTalks.
The experience led to the artist producing a series of paintings of Armenian dancers, which is also on show at the exhibition. “You can feel the movement in the paintings, as if they are really dancing,” says Chris.
In 1981, Avedissian returned from Paris and began an important collaboration with Hassan Fathy. The pioneering architect introduced Egypt’s vernacular mud and adobe building traditions to modern design. Travelling together across rural Egypt, the pair produced a book of Fathy’s work, accompanied by Avedissian’s photographs.
Throughout, Avedissian's photographic endeavours seeped into his paintings. “He painted life in Egyptian villages, the homes in the Nubian style, historic mosques,” says Chris. His paintings of the women from rural Egypt, known as the Falahas, which he began in the '70s, also form part of George’s collection.
These motifs and influences would no doubt culminate in the renowned stencil paintings of the 1990s, which the artist became known for until his death in 2018. The exhibition includes some of these works, which are on loan from other private collections.
The Reader’s Corner still exists in Downtown Cairo, and George’s sons took over the business after his death in 1986. The shop has now evolved into an arts advisory and framers. Yet Cairo’s once-burgeoning Armenian community has dwindled considerably.
Hratch says that going through the collection overwhelmed him with memories. “When we took the paintings out of storage, we saw them completely differently. Some had been packed for 30 or 40 years. I get emotional talking about it because it was our childhood and our youth. It was a beautiful period where there was a lot of collaboration. Everything was done with love, there was no conflict or competing interests.”
He hopes the exhibition will inspire a younger generation of Egyptian artists. “There’s a serious movement of Egyptian art that is noticeable in Zamalek and Downtown Cairo. We feel that Chant should have his position there as well, as an Egyptian-Armenian artist.”
Chant Egyptien is on view at ArtTalk in Zamalek, Cairo, until Saturday, January 15
SM Town Live is on Friday, April 6 at Autism Rocks Arena, Dubai. Tickets are Dh375 at www.platinumlist.net
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
The Details
Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5
Ticket prices
General admission Dh295 (under-three free)
Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free
Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets
Scoreline
Syria 1-1 Australia
Syria Al Somah 85'
Australia Kruse 40'
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
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.”
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
