ABU DHABI // In an old bathtub at the Emirates Heritage Club, a smiling mannequin covered in dirt makes an arresting statement on careless water consumption.
The art installation, Sand Bath, is part of the three-week Green Abu Dhabi exhibit at the Al Bateen Marina that runs until November 6.
Suhail Jashanmal, 35, the curator of the show, said that the 27 pieces on display were a call to residents to think more about sustainable living.
"We consume four times as much water per person in this country, and probably have 10 times less than other countries. This is all about that excess," he said.
Through the creation, exhibition and auction of environmental-themed collages, art installations, photographs and photo montages, he hopes to inspire residents to "paint the town green".
Partial proceeds from the sale of the exhibits will go towards the Emirates Wildlife Society (EWS), which has coordinated projects including the clean-up of Abu Dhabi's mangroves - the coastal saltwater shrubs that have played an important role in the emirate's marine ecology. Green Abu Dhabi was Mr Jashanmal's brainchild, conceived a year ago with help from friends as a reaction against what he felt to be an indifference towards ecological issues. One offensive act of apathy last summer, he said, spurred him on to action. He was walking on Saada Street when he saw a fire.
"It was a mangrove, a bush probably, on fire," he said.
It took him about 10 minutes to douse the flames, which had consumed an area the size of a coffee table. He was not angry until he saw swimmers and fishermen nearby.
"They had been there before and watched it grow to that size," he said. "They had seen it smoking. They were three or four metres away.
"I was thinking about this apathy, this indifference," he said. "I was about to fall into that trap. So I did something."
Over the next six to eight months, he asked four local and international artists - Genoveva Kriechbaum, Fatema al Mazrouie, Tini Meyer and George Lewis - to explore themes of environment, heritage, resources and future sustainability issues in original works for Green Abu Dhabi.
Sponsors and partners include Masdar, the Indian Embassy, Sheikh Khalifa Medical City and Abu Dhabi Media Company, which publishes The National.
Ms Kriechbaum's work involves the layering of photographs on top of one another such as excavator treads overlaid on a pastoral beach scene or the Sheikh Zayed Bridge construction project blended with an image of camel herds.
"There are various layers telling different stories," she said. "You have the past, the future and a new creative present."
Ms Kriechbaum, an Austrian expat, said that while petrol has driven the economy, "you need water for culture and civilisation as well".
Ms Meyer, a German multimedia artist and creator of the Sand Bath, experimented with using broken mangrove roots painted gold for another work. "The roots were gold," she said. "They're precious and valuable to us."
The most important piece for her was a cement sculpture mixed with a year's worth of fish bones she had collected from Mina Port. The work is a commentary on overfishing.
"The sculpture makes the Arabic word 'samuk', which means fish," she said. "It was made to look fossilised."
Ms al Mazrouie, an Emirati artist, created murals exploring the erosion of local heritage in modern times, from the declining popularity of applying kohl to darken eyelids, to her feelings about the beauty of the Emirati burqa.
"We've also chosen an artist from abroad, with George Lewis," Mr Jashanmal said. "He's an Arabist." One of Mr Lewis's subjects is a black and white photograph of a Bidoon man - someone without nationality - and his Kuwaiti companion.
"This woman and this guy had a relationship," Mr Jashanmal said. "They are two together, but one is considered stateless and ostracised. In order to go forward, we must act upon our problems. That's what the point of this whole thing is, about acting."
All the works on display are for sale, with an estimated value of Dh940,000. About a quarter of the show has sold, Mr Jashanmal says.
For more information on Green Abu Dhabi including a community art auction on October 26 to raise money for EWS-WWF, visit www.greenabudhabi.org.
mkwong@thenational.ae
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Scorline
Iraq 1-0 UAE
Iraq Hussein 28’
MATCH INFO
Maratha Arabians 107-8 (10 ovs)
Lyth 21, Lynn 20, McClenaghan 20 no
Qalandars 60-4 (10 ovs)
Malan 32 no, McClenaghan 2-9
Maratha Arabians win by 47 runs
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3EName%3A%20DarDoc%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Abu%20Dhabi%3Cbr%3EFounders%3A%20Samer%20Masri%2C%20Keswin%20Suresh%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20HealthTech%3Cbr%3ETotal%20funding%3A%20%24800%2C000%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Flat6Labs%2C%20angel%20investors%20%2B%20Incubated%20by%20Hub71%2C%20Abu%20Dhabi's%20Department%20of%20Health%3Cbr%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%2010%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Raha%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Kuwait%2FSaudi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Tech%20Logistics%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2414%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Soor%20Capital%2C%20eWTP%20Arabia%20Capital%2C%20Aujan%20Enterprises%2C%20Nox%20Management%2C%20Cedar%20Mundi%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20166%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Winners
Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski
Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea
Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona
Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)
Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)
Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)
Best National Team of the Year: Italy
Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello
Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)
Player Career Award: Ronaldinho
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203S%20Money%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202018%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20London%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ivan%20Zhiznevsky%2C%20Eugene%20Dugaev%20and%20Andrei%20Dikouchine%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%245.6%20million%20raised%20in%20total%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
- Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
- Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
- Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlmouneer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dr%20Noha%20Khater%20and%20Rania%20Kadry%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEgypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E120%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%2C%20with%20support%20from%20Insead%20and%20Egyptian%20government%2C%20seed%20round%20of%20%3Cbr%3E%243.6%20million%20led%20by%20Global%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A