From a distance, the location for the Abu Dhabi International Sculpture Symposium looks like just another construction site. The air is filled with a fine white dust. Men in hard hats and yellow vests operate alarming-looking machinery. And a crane is grumbling on the sidelines. Buildings, though, are not the order of the day here. Instead, huge chunks of stone, housed in a series of open-sided tents, are being chipped, shaved and ground in preparation for the works of art they will become.
Just over five weeks remain of the emirate's first sculpture symposium, an event in which public works of art will be created by 17 internationally renowned artists, to be permanently displayed in locations around the city. Around 10 of the artists are based at the Armed Forces Officers Club, where they have been given a breezy seafront location as their studio, and where the public can come and observe them at work.
It is 10am and already several of the artists are in situ. Each has been given a white canvas tent in which to work. Some tents are buzzing with activity while others contain only huge blocks of pearly white marble, sprayed with the initials of artists who are yet to arrive. Husam Chaya, a Lebanese sculptor who was chosen by the panel as this year's emerging artist (every year there will be one from the region), waits as a 100-tonne crane grapples with his piece of marble. "They only need to turn it once more," he tells me, "and then it is on its base." So heavy are these materials that the crane is required whenever a piece needs moving or turning.
One of the biggest tents belongs to the Austrian artist Caroline Ramersdorfer, whose eight pieces of Turkish marble are being worked on by four helpers. Once the material is cut from the mountain using a diamond wire, they have the task of cutting it down to size so that the artist can work with it. "I need very precise angles," says Ramersdorfer, who has been participating in sculpture symposiums all over the world for 30 years. "It's wonderful, this marble, with huge quartz-like crystals. It's much harder than Italian marble, which is perfect for my piece."
The helpers are skilled workmen who have come from Aswan in Egypt (home to the Aswan International Sculpture Symposium). "They are incredibly hard-working men," says Ramersdorfer. "Aswan is famous for its granite. But marble has completely different characteristics, so it takes some time to get used to."
Plans for where the finished works will eventually reside are being decided by Abu Dhabi Municipality. "It would be nice to have a push towards knowing their final destination," says Ramersdorfer. "It's important for artists to see where their work will go. Direction is very important for my piece. It's a big job, not just installing the works, but also integrating them into the existing space and architecture."
Jon Barlow Hudson, a sculptor from the US who has also participated in scores of symposiums, has come down to the site to lend a hand. His piece, made from steel, is currently being housed elsewhere. "This a great site," he says. "There's lots of space, and the breeze blows the dust away. It has a beautiful vista. We make a lot of noise so it's good not to be too close to anybody."
For him, the sculpture symposium offers the chance to learn about a new culture, "and because it's an open event", he says, "in turn, the public can learn what goes into creating sculptures of this size". The artists' bond with the spectators is, says Ramersdorfer, an important one. "Some of them come every day to see what we're up to. It's like having a fan club."
The Abu Dhabi International Sculpture Symposium runs until April 7. Members of the public can observe the artists at work daily between 4 and 5pm at the Armed Forces Officers Club. For more information go to www.adiss-ae.com.
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
The language of diplomacy in 1853
Treaty of Peace in Perpetuity Agreed Upon by the Chiefs of the Arabian Coast on Behalf of Themselves, Their Heirs and Successors Under the Mediation of the Resident of the Persian Gulf, 1853
(This treaty gave the region the name “Trucial States”.)
We, whose seals are hereunto affixed, Sheikh Sultan bin Suggar, Chief of Rassool-Kheimah, Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon, Chief of Aboo Dhebbee, Sheikh Saeed bin Buyte, Chief of Debay, Sheikh Hamid bin Rashed, Chief of Ejman, Sheikh Abdoola bin Rashed, Chief of Umm-ool-Keiweyn, having experienced for a series of years the benefits and advantages resulting from a maritime truce contracted amongst ourselves under the mediation of the Resident in the Persian Gulf and renewed from time to time up to the present period, and being fully impressed, therefore, with a sense of evil consequence formerly arising, from the prosecution of our feuds at sea, whereby our subjects and dependants were prevented from carrying on the pearl fishery in security, and were exposed to interruption and molestation when passing on their lawful occasions, accordingly, we, as aforesaid have determined, for ourselves, our heirs and successors, to conclude together a lasting and inviolable peace from this time forth in perpetuity.
Taken from Britain and Saudi Arabia, 1925-1939: the Imperial Oasis, by Clive Leatherdale
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More coverage from the Future Forum
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year