Can you name a few Filipino artists living in the UAE? If you are at a loss, a new artist collective hopes to change that, starting with its first exhibition in Dubai.
Sa Tahanan Collective – "at home" in Tagalog – is run by Augustine Paredes and Anna Bernice De Los Reyes. It aims to direct more visibility towards Filipino talent, and also help those individuals find each other.
The ethos was just wanting Filipinos in the Middle East, particularly artists in Dubai, to take up space, and introducing Filipino artistry and creativity to this city
“The ethos was just wanting Filipinos in the Middle East, particularly artists in Dubai, to take up space, and introducing Filipino artistry and creativity to this city,” Paredes says.
Largely self-funded, the art show opens on Thursday, December 17, at Warehouse 44 in Alserkal Avenue. It features 12 artists, including filmmakers, poets and photographers – half of whom live in the UAE, while the rest reside abroad – with 20 artworks on view.
“It talks about home, yearning for home, with references to being Filipino,” Paredes describes it.
A public programme will unfold over the weekend, which includes film screenings, live poetry readings, live art and a streetwear showcase by Filipino apparel brand Dayo.
When it came to selecting the artists, Sa Tahanan Co founders started with names they knew, then cast their net wider, finding artists to collaborate with online. “We were educating ourselves along the way, looking at artists outside of the Middle East and looking at the Filipino diaspora globally,” Paredes explains.
Filipinos have been largely absent from the regional gallery circuit, though a number have been making strides in their own right. Paredes is one of them, exhibiting at Campus Art Dubai in 2019, then publishing his own collection of visual poetry this year. He is also a cohort of the Salama bint Hamdan Emerging Artists Fellowship (Seaf) 2021.
De Los Reyes is an artist who works in Dubai and has written for Vice Arabia and Global Art Daily. A graduate of NYU Abu Dhabi, she focuses on social research and decolonising Filipino identity in her work.
Though not necessarily represented by galleries, other artists have displayed their works at Gulf Photo Plus’ group exhibitions, Showcase Gallery and FN Designs.
“We’re always behind-the-scenes, but how would it feel to put ourselves out there and manifest and demand for space,” Paredes says.
“We’re not claiming to be the first to hold an all-Filipino exhibition,” he adds, highlighting other collectives such as Brownmonkeys, founded in 2007 with focuses on graffiti and graphic design.
A member of the Brownmonkeys, Cholo Juan, will be exhibiting one of his hallucinogenic paintings and will be painting live on Saturday, December 19.
Other artists in the exhibition include photographers Nino Consorte, who has captured apocalyptic shots of the recent Taal Volcano eruption in the Philippines, and Angelo Aguilor, more commonly known as Angel-O, whose quirky analog photographs play on happenstance in urban life.
Works by Ava Victoria and Goldie Siglos bear signifiers instantly recognisable to Filipinos – the label for White Flower ointment, a medicinal oil used in for common ailments; a Good Morning cotton towel, a necessity in the tropical heat that has become a symbol for the working class.
A print of Tammy David's Did I Ask to Be Born? cake, which turned into a viral meme, will also be on view. It started as a humorous birthday cake in 2018, but has recently been adopted as a tongue-in-cheek quip for Covid-ridden 2020, transformed into illustrations and eventually, a photographic print.
Mox Santos's absurdist still lifes, composed of assemblages of odd objects, contrast Paredes's more sombre and dark For All The Nights I Dance With You In My Sleep, a painterly still life of dried flowers.
Elle Batung's delicate homage to home shows a young slumbering woman with a house tucked under her chest, while Kimberly Elliott, a Filipino-American artist in France, playfully breaks down everyday encounters in her Instructional series.
The film screenings include director Bagane Fiola's River (2018), part of Sharjah Art Foundation's Sharjah Film Programme last year, which tells the story of brothers from Moro communities seeking to travel beyond their surroundings, and the premiere of Anna Miguel Cervantes's We Do Not Exist Here, which imagines an alternative Philippine histories.
Prices for the artworks range from Dh300 to Dh1,500, with all proceeds going to Kids for Kids, a Philippine youth organisation tackling climate change and currently distributing relief goods to those affected by Typhoon Goni.
After the exhibition, Sa Tahanan Co will continue to sell artworks on its website. The collective plans to develop monthly initiatives, including artist critique sessions, with the first few online.
The website will also feature a directory of Filipino artists and creatives in the region and beyond, serving as a reference tool for collaborations and commissions.
Funding remains a matter of uncertainty, although the group have received some support for the current show in the form of a small stipend from Alserkal. “I’m hoping that other institutions will support us. We’re open for collaborations,” Paredes says.
For now, the duo behind the collective are set on making a mark, or at least a strong introduction, on those who may not have encountered Filipino art before. Ultimately, Paredes says, the biggest impression they want to make is on their kabayans: “It is for the Filipino first and foremost.”
Sa Tahanan Collective’s show runs from Thursday, December 17 to Saturday, December 19 at Warehouse 44, Alserkal Avenue. More information at satahanan.co
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
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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Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
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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.
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.”
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
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- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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