Here are 10 reasons to get excited about NYUAD Arts Center’s 2016/17 programme:
A rock ‘n’ roll “concert novel”
Charismatic Tony Award-winning singer-songwriter Stew and his longtime collaborator Heidi Rodewald present Notes of a Native Song, a rock-theatre song cycle inspired by the life of African-American writer and activist James Baldwin on November 2 and 3.
A five-hour performance inside a slowly flooding aquarium
The headline says it all. Timed to coincide with Abu Dhabi Art, this performance installation, from Lars Jan’s Holoscenes, evocatively symbolises global warming. Daily from November 16 to 19.
A UAE world premiere
Genre-smashing modern music ensemble Bang on a Can All-Stars have collaborated with everyone from minimalist founders Steve Reich and Philip Glass to free jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman and Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore. At the heart of their UAE debut, on February 2, will be the world premiere of a new piece by Emirati-American composer Mohammed Fairouz, commissioned by The Arts Centre and Abu Dhabi Festival.
The unveiling of a new performance space
Regular NYUAD visitors will already be familiar with the 150 to 250-capacity Black Box performance space, but things are getting bigger and better with the plush new 700-capacity Red Theatre venue. It will be inaugurated on February 8 and 9 with a performance of Steel Hammer – a crossover music and theatre collaboration between composer Julia Wolfe, SITI Company and Bang on a Can All-Stars.
A new world-music festival
Expect a block-party vibe over the weekend of February 16 and 17, when East Plaza will shake to the sounds of a two-day mini-festival starring danceable global grooves from Morocco’s Aziz Sahmaoui & University of Gnawa, Mauritania’s Noura Mint Seymali, Ukrainian folk quartet DakhaBrakha and Cambodian-American psych-rockers Dengue Fever.
A dance legend
Celebrated postmodern dance pioneer Trisha Brown will look back on an esteemed 50-year career with In Plain Site, a series of site-specific installations that will place her company in "unexpected" spots across the NYUAD campus. Twice daily, on February 24 and 25.
A fresh focus on the classics
Thumb up for two radical revisitations of the Greek masters. On March 14, Denis O'Hare will perform An Iliad, a solo play based on Homer's epic, while Soledad Barrio & Noche Flamenca will present a music-and-dance interpretation of Sophocles's Antigone on April 6 to 7.
A Holi-themed concert from a jazz mastermind
Regarded as one of the most inventive pianists of his generation, modern-jazz trailblazer Vijay Iyer will provide a live soundtrack to Prashant Bhargava's film Radhe Radhe (Rites of Holi), and perform with his trio on March 30 and 31.
Puppets, turntables, cinema and a string quartet – together
Closing the season on May 11, eccentric hip-hop DJ Kid Koala presents a multidisciplinary mash of mediums in Nufonia Must Fall – a theatrical adaptation of his graphic novel about robots in love. Really.
Everything is free
That’s right, tickets for all of the 20-plus eclectic happenings during the impressive 2016/17 season are entirely free. Mandatory registration typically opens around two weeks in advance – get on The Arts Centre mailing list for the latest information.
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
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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THE SPECS
Cadillac XT6 2020 Premium Luxury
Engine: 3.6L V-6
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 310hp
Torque: 367Nm
Price: Dh280,000
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
Recent winners
2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)
2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)
2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)
2014 Lia Saad (UAE)
2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)
2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)
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.”
How to vote
Canadians living in the UAE can register to vote online and be added to the International Register of Electors.
They'll then be sent a special ballot voting kit by mail either to their address, the Consulate General of Canada to the UAE in Dubai or The Embassy of Canada in Abu Dhabi
Registered voters mark the ballot with their choice and must send it back by 6pm Eastern time on October 21 (2am next Friday)
ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
