Creative enterprises across the nation have announced several new happenings to be part of Dubai Art Season, the umbrella term for all artistic goings on in March and April.
Art Dubai revealed more of the programme for the eleventh edition (March 15-18) including the inaugural Modern Symposium – a conference on art produced during the 1940s-1980s period, which features some of the world’s leading experts on the subject. It also announced a visual and gastronomic experience as part of the fair called Cooking Liberty by Beirut-based collective Atfal Ahdath as well as a new interactive artwork commission to be set up in the bar area of the fair by Moroccan artist Meriem Bennani.
The big change over at Design Days Dubai (March 14-17), the sister fair with a sole focus on design, is that they have a new director. William Knight replaces Cyril Zammit as the managing director and head of design at the Art Dubai group and will be in charge of the whole design portfolio, which as well as the fair, includes Dubai Design Week and Downtown Design.
Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, the government body that oversees Dubai Art Season, held under the patronage of Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, announced Sikka Around The City. It is a new initiative as part of Sikka Art Fair (March 11-21), the fair dedicated to UAE-based artists that will place art all around the city in public installations.
The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi's education programme surrounding the forthcoming exhibition The Creative Act (March 7 - July 29) has also been unveiled.
Several fun workshops for all ages will take place between March and July – they include making art with every day objects, running and jumping in paint to make pictures and even parent and child workshops for those under the age of 5 to make an artwork together with their caregivers.
In Sharjah, the Barjeel Art Foundation have three major exhibitions coming up including one at Yale University in the US and one at the national gallery in Jordan. In the UAE, Maraya Art Centre is the location for Beloved Bodies II (March 4 - October 4), an exhibition exploring the human body and an exhibition from Iraqi artist Sadik Kwaish Alfraji (March 4- May 6), which will feature a large panoramic video installation.
Other galleries, such as those in Alserkal Avenue and that in the capital’s Warehouse 421 will have strong exhibitions to mark the annual art season and even as far afield as Qatar, which will be hosting the New York Times’ Art For Tomorrow conference, also has a robust programme of exhibitions organised by the museum authority.
• Dubai Art Season runs throughout March and April. For more info visit www.dubaiculture.gov
aseaman@thenational.ae
Company profile
Name: Homie Portal LLC
Started: End of 2021
Founder: Abdulla Al Kamda
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Current number of staff: 14
Investment stage: Launch
Investors: Self-funded
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The Little Things
Directed by: John Lee Hancock
Starring: Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, Jared Leto
Four stars
Cherry
Directed by: Joe and Anthony Russo
Starring: Tom Holland, Ciara Bravo
1/5
More on Quran memorisation:
Tips to avoid getting scammed
1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday
2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment
3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone
4) Try not to close the sale at night
5) Don't be rushed into a sale
6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: DarDoc
Based: Abu Dhabi
Founders: Samer Masri, Keswin Suresh
Sector: HealthTech
Total funding: $800,000
Investors: Flat6Labs, angel investors + Incubated by Hub71, Abu Dhabi's Department of Health
Number of employees: 10
The specs: 2019 Lincoln MKC
Price, base / as tested: Dh169,995 / Dh192,045
Engine: Turbocharged, 2.0-litre, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power: 253hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 389Nm @ 2,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.7L / 100km
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: SmartCrowd
Started: 2018
Founder: Siddiq Farid and Musfique Ahmed
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech / PropTech
Initial investment: $650,000
Current number of staff: 35
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Various institutional investors and notable angel investors (500 MENA, Shurooq, Mada, Seedstar, Tricap)
MEDIEVIL (1998)
Developer: SCE Studio Cambridge
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Console: PlayStation, PlayStation 4 and 5
Rating: 3.5/5
A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
SPEC SHEET: NOTHING PHONE (2A)
Display: 6.7-inch flexible Amoled, 2,412 x 1,080, 394ppi, 120Hz, Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Processor: MediaTek Dimensity 7,200 Pro, 4nm, octa-core
Memory: 8/12GB
Capacity: 128/256GB
Platform: Android 14, Nothing OS 2.5
Main camera: Dual 50MP main, f/1.88 + 50MP ultra-wide, f/2.2; OIS, EIS, auto-focus, ultra XDR, night mode
Main camera video: 4K @ 30fps, full-HD @ 60fps; slo-mo full-HD at 120fps
Front camera: 32MP wide, f/2.2
Battery: 5,000mAh; 50% in 30 minutes with 45-watt charger
Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC (Google Pay)
Biometrics: Fingerprint, face unlock
I/O: USB-C
Durability: IP54, limited protection from water/dust
Cards: Dual-nano SIM
Colours: Black, milk, white
In the box: Nothing Phone (2a), USB-C-to-USB-C cable, pre-applied screen protector, Sim tray ejector tool
Price (UAE): Dh1,199 (8GB/128GB) / Dh1,399 (12GB/256GB)
Guns N’ Roses’s last gig before Abu Dhabi was in Hong Kong on November 21. We were there – and here’s what they played, and in what order. You were warned.
- It’s So Easy
- Mr Brownstone
- Chinese Democracy
- Welcome to the Jungle
- Double Talkin’ Jive
- Better
- Estranged
- Live and Let Die (Wings cover)
- Slither (Velvet Revolver cover)
- Rocket Queen
- You Could Be Mine
- Shadow of Your Love
- Attitude (Misfits cover)
- Civil War
- Coma
- Love Theme from The Godfather (movie cover)
- Sweet Child O’ Mine
- Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb cover)
- Wish You Were Here (instrumental Pink Floyd cover)
- November Rain
- Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden cover)
- Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover)
- Nightrain
Encore:
- Patience
- Don’t Cry
- The Seeker (The Who cover)
- Paradise City
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
Company Profile
Name: Direct Debit System
Started: Sept 2017
Based: UAE with a subsidiary in the UK
Industry: FinTech
Funding: Undisclosed
Investors: Elaine Jones
Number of employees: 8
Company Profile
Company name: Hoopla
Date started: March 2023
Founder: Jacqueline Perrottet
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Investment required: $500,000