With the UAE art season under way, Artsy, a leading online marketplace for art, has launched two initiatives that focus on the Mena region.
Middle East Galleries Now
The first, Middle Eastern Galleries Now, is an online presentation with at least 21 galleries from the UAE, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Palestine, including Carbon 12, 1x1 Art Gallery, Tabari Art Space, Lawrie Shabibi, Q0DE, Art d’Egypte and Zawyeh Gallery.
Akin to an art fair, the virtual exhibition, which opens on Monday and runs until the end of the month, will include booths for visitors to browse through and allow them to buy artworks directly from the galleries.
"This is the first time Artsy has staged an Artsy-led exclusive event for our Middle Eastern gallery partners," Dustyn Kim, the platform's chief revenue officer, tells The National. She says with the impact of the pandemic on international travel, the sale could provide support for the galleries and bolster their visibility on the platform, which has more than two million registered collectors.
“With this event, we’re providing a much-needed online timed event for these galleries to showcase their programming and ultimately help them make sales to international collectors, as well as open up a new pool of buyers to them,” Kim says.
Artsy has staged curated collections of Middle Eastern art in the past, though the latest initiative hints that more galleries in the region may be embracing the online marketplace, or at least, are curious to see how profitable it can be.
One example is 1x1 Art Gallery in Dubai, which is working with the platform for the first time. “I have been in conversation with Artsy for many years, but have always resisted,” says 1x1’s founder Malini Gulrajani. “Now I feel collectors are more open to buying online.”
Physical art fairs are usually where big sales happen for galleries and, Gulrajani says, her concern is whether the same trend is true in the virtual realm. “From my experience, it has been difficult to sell high-priced works online, but I have been hearing from galleries and from the people at Artsy that this has changed over the last year and big ticket items are doing well.”
Another Dubai gallery, Carbon 12, is also participating in the event with new works by Emirati artist Sarah Almehairi. Co-founder Nadine Knotzer recalls that the gallery was one of Artsy’s early adopters and says its return to the platform is driven by the hope “to increase online exposure for the artists and the gallery” and to establish new contacts.
It seems both galleries are putting Artsy to the test to see if Middle Eastern art sales could flourish on the platform, which is based in the US and has often gravitated towards American and European markets. “Collectors have been very eager to add [Almehairi’s] work to their collections in the Middle East,” Knotzer says. She believes Middle Eastern Galleries Now could allow the gallery “to have a larger audience learn about her practice”.
“We are definitely interested to see the reach of Artsy in this case.”
Middle Eastern Galleries Now opens just ahead of Art Dubai, which will push through with a scaled-down physical fair at the end of the month. This year, Carbon 12 is not returning to Art Dubai as an exhibitor. Knotzer explains the gallery opted to focus on its programme, including a new show with one of its longstanding artists Monika Grabuschnigg and other online initiatives. “An online platform can in no way be a replacement for either a proper exhibition or a serious art fair, [but] in times like the ones we are facing, we galleries should be very thoughtful about the projects, fairs and exhibitions we commit to,” she says.
Fundraising exhibition with ArteEast
Artsy’s second Mena-focused initiative is a three-part fundraising exhibition in partnership with ArteEast, a non-profit organisation focused on promoting contemporary arts of the Middle East and North Africa.
Titled Legacy Trilogy: Past, Present, Future, the exhibition features 83 artworks by 53 artists from the Middle East or who have ties to the region. It replaces ArteEast’s annual benefit auction and acts as a response to the Covid-19 crisis, particularly in the arts.
“We saw artists were being impacted by the pandemic, as galleries closed and exhibitions were cancelled,” says Beth Stryker, ArteEast’s executive director. She organised the show with members of the ArteEast curatorial team, Olivia Farhat and Lila Nazemian.
“From the beginning, we planned to offer artists a share of the proceeds, with the remainder supporting the digitisation, preservation and presentation of the ArteArchive, which consists of thousands of films and video works by artists from the Mena region and its diasporas.”
Stryker says the archive project, launched in 2019, includes films from Syria, Iraq and Egypt that are at risk of being lost. “We have a duty to preserve and share this work with the public.”
Split into three editions, the first – Past – features the works by artists who have been involved in ArteEast's programming over the years, including Iranian-American Hadieh Shafie, known for her colourful and textured works made of paper scrolls, Huda Lutfi, the Egyptian artist whose works investigate history and collective memory, as well as Nicky Nodjoumi and Tarek Al Ghoussein.
The Present section includes works selected by curators and scholars such as Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, founder of the Barjeel Art Foundation in Sharjah, and co-director of Beirut Art Residency, Nathalie Ackawi. Artists chosen range from more established names such as Ahmed Mater and Hera Buyuktasciyan to emerging artists Ruba Salameh and Yazan El Zubi.
The final edition – Future – turns the spotlight on a new generation of artists such as Yasmine Nasser Diaz, a Chicago-born artist of Yemeni descent, and French-Moroccan artist Sara Ouhaddou.
The works in the trilogy range from $700 to $16,000 and upwards. The exhibition ends on Wednesday, April 7.
More information is available at www.artsy.net
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
Signs%20of%20%20%20%20%20%20%20heat%20stroke
%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3EThe%20loss%20of%20sodium%20chloride%20in%20our%20sweat%20can%20lead%20to%20confusion%20and%20an%20altered%20mental%20status%20and%20slurred%20speech%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EBody%20temperature%20above%2039%C2%B0C%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EHot%2C%20dry%20and%20red%20or%20damp%20skin%20can%20indicate%20heatstroke%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EA%20faster%20pulse%20than%20usual%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EDizziness%2C%20nausea%20and%20headaches%20are%20also%20signs%20of%20overheating%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EIn%20extreme%20cases%2C%20victims%20can%20lose%20consciousness%20and%20require%20immediate%20medical%20attention%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A
FIXTURES
UAE’s remaining fixtures in World Cup qualification R2
Oct 8: Malaysia (h)
Oct 13: Indonesia (a)
Nov 12: Thailand (h)
Nov 17: Vietnam (h)
