Sharjah Art Foundation's Focal Point opens on Wednesday, December 16, with independent art books and magazines available just in time for holiday shopping (or literary stockpiling). This is the third edition of the popular fair, a place to pick up hard-to-find publications by artists, scholars, and writers from the Global South.
More than 80 artists and publishers have shipped books and magazines to Sharjah, where they will be at stalls organised by the foundation for the four-day event. This year, the fair takes place outside in the large courtyard of Bait Al Shamsi and is slightly scaled back due to safety concerns over the coronavirus, with no publishers present in person and less live programming. In the past, related events have include a lecture-performance with Berlin's Fehras Publishing Practices and a symposium put together with Asia Art Archive.
The focus for this year is on books, magazines and zines from the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, with a number of small print-run Arab titles including the magazine Khaleejesque; publications from Sudan's Dabanga Gallery; and the Kayfa Ta book series from Amman and Cairo. Local galleries and institutions are also pitching up, with sellers including the Africa Institute, Art Jameel, the Emirates Fine Arts Society and Warehouse421.
Sharjah Art Foundation is selling some of its recent publications, such as Corniche, a Focal Point project that has grown into an annual anthology of work by UAE comic artists. There is also the catalogue Hassan Sharif: I Am The Single Work Artist, including a new scholarship on the Emirati artist. Contributors to Corniche will be available for book signing at the fair.
Our top five picks
The indie comic magazine TokTok, which started up again after closing in 2016. The brainchild of five Egyptian artists, the publication takes its inspiration from the toktok, or small street taxi, that winds its way through Cairo, transporting passengers from all different backgrounds.
In the newly released LIFTA: Future Palestine, the Mexico City publisher LIFTA Volumes has put together what it calls a "book of exercises and experiments". Poems, blueprints, stories, essays, conversations, sketches and photographs discuss what it is to be Palestinian today, touching on notions of exile and return, science-fiction, memory, nationhood, and political rhetoric.
Regular publishers at Focal Point, Chimurenga from South Africa and Afterall from London have collaborated on the new book FESTAC '77: The 2nd World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture. Part of Afterall's highly regarded Exhibition Histories series, in which the publisher rethinks art history through the prism of exhibitions, the book looks at the 1977 Lagos festival that was the culmination of years of pan-Africanist culture and politics. It also forms part of the co-publisher's Chimurenga Library series.
The booth that sells Funambulist, a magazine devoted to anticolonial, antiracist, and feminist struggles, sold out on the first day last year, so get to their section early. The cult magazine comes out in print every two months, with articles looking at the Haitian revolution, performance in North Africa and the genealogy of jerk chicken. The stall will have the latest issue, focused on the pan-African political project, as well as back titles for sale.
Finally, Sharjah Art Foundation's monograph series pays tribute to Palestinian artist Abdul Hay Mosallam Zarara, who died in August, leaving behind a career devoted to Palestinian culture and struggle. Jordanian artist Ala Younis, who worked with him in Amman, has edited the book Abdul Hay Mosallam Zarara, devoted to his life and work; it also includes English translations of his memoirs and press clippings.
Focal Point runs from Wednesday, December 16 to Saturday, December 19, from 4pm to 10pm until Friday, and from 2pm to 10pm on Saturday. Tickets must be booked in advance
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua Based: Dubai, UAE Number of employees: 28 Sector: Financial services Investment: $9.5m Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors. In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
John Heminway, Knopff
Read more about the coronavirus
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Ukraine%20exports
%3Cp%3EPresident%20Volodymyr%20Zelenskyy%20has%20overseen%20grain%20being%20loaded%20for%20export%20onto%20a%20Turkish%20ship%20following%20a%20deal%20with%20Russia%20brokered%20by%20the%20UN%20and%20Turkey.%3Cbr%3E%22The%20first%20vessel%2C%20the%20first%20ship%20is%20being%20loaded%20since%20the%20beginning%20of%20the%20war.%20This%20is%20a%20Turkish%20vessel%2C%22%20Zelensky%20said%2C%20adding%20exports%20could%20start%20in%20%22the%20coming%20days%22%20under%20the%20plan%20aimed%20at%20getting%20millions%20of%20tonnes%20of%20Ukrainian%20grain%20stranded%20by%20Russia's%20naval%20blockade%20to%20world%20markets.%3Cbr%3E%22Our%20side%20is%20fully%20prepared%2C%22%20he%20said.%20%22We%20sent%20all%20the%20signals%20to%20our%20partners%20--%20the%20UN%20and%20Turkey%2C%20and%20our%20military%20guarantees%20the%20security%20situation.%22%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
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