Desert X, the site-specific, contemporary art exhibition held in the Coachella Valley in southern California, opened on Friday with the work of 13 artists for its third event.
Curated by Cesar Garcia-Alvarez and Neville Wakefield, the exhibition was scheduled to begin in February but was delayed because of the pandemic.
This year, the exhibition explores the desert as a place and idea, taking into account the political, social and cultural contexts that shape the stories of people who reside there.
Among those commissioned to take part is Saudi Arabian artist Zahrah Al Ghamdi, whose work involves large accumulations of material.
Her installation, titled What Lies Behind the Walls, is a monolithic wall made of 6,000 tiles containing cement, dyes and soil specific to the Coachella Valley and her homeland.
Visitors are encouraged to walk around the structure, which draws links between the desert of Saudi Arabia and that of the California valley.
Al Ghamdi, who represented Saudi Arabia at the 2019 Venice Biennale and participated in Desert X AlUla last year, was inspired by what happened at the US-Mexico border during Donald Trump's presidency.
"There should never be walls in between people, in between countries," Al Ghamdi told Reuters. "I took it as a sign that I have to create a wall that shows our similarities and how we can join as a culture and not separate from each other."
Egyptian artist Ghada Amer who is based in New York continues her Women's Qualities work, for which she asked people in the Coachella Valley to share words that describe the quality they identify with. The result is a group of words that have been arranged in the form of a circle at Sunnylands Centre and Gardens. The piece will be on view until Sunday, June 6.
The work features the words loving, nurturing, resilient, strong, caring, determined and beautiful.
It has been described by the organisers as a "meeting place where artist and community, aesthetics and ideology, nature and culture come together for reflection and contemplation."
The exhibition line-up also includes artists Felipe Baeza from Mexico, Serge Attukwei Clottey from Ghana, Alicja Kwade from Poland, Oscar Murillo from Colombia, and Vivian Suter from Argentina. Among artists from the US are Judy Chicago, Nicholas Galanin, Christopher Myers, Eduardo Sarabia (who lives in Mexico), Xaviera Simmons and Kim Stringfellow.
Desert X 2021, which opened on Friday, March 12, runs until Sunday, May 16. More information is available at the Desert X website here.
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Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
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Difference between fractional ownership and timeshare
Although similar in its appearance, the concept of a fractional title deed is unlike that of a timeshare, which usually involves multiple investors buying “time” in a property whereby the owner has the right to occupation for a specified period of time in any year, as opposed to the actual real estate, said John Peacock, Head of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates, a law firm.
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The biog
Name: Marie Byrne
Nationality: Irish
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption
Book: Seagull by Jonathan Livingston
Life lesson: A person is not old until regret takes the place of their dreams
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FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
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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
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