Giorgio Mardinian commuted to Abu Dhabi today for the second time this week to spray-paint a wall.
The self-proclaimed graffiti addict and his fellow artists worked on a huge mural on Yas Island, commissioned to complement the hip-hop musical stylings of Nelly Furtado, who will perform in the capital tonight.
It was the second of two days of graffiti festivities led by the British artist Tom "Inkie" Bingle.
It may not be the underground canvas that some graffiti artists dream of - the side of a train, a seemingly impossible-to-reach highway sign - but in the UAE, where there is zero tolerance for vandalism, street artists such as Mr Mardinian have accepted that if they cannot practise their art on the street, they can fulfil their passion at sanctioned venues and organised events.
And, surprisingly, there are plenty of them. Mr Mardinian, a 30-year-old from Italy, finds an event to attend almost every week at malls or nightclubs, for MTV Arabia, or for the clothing store Topshop.
"Nowadays graffiti is very commercial. It's wanted in commercials, video clips, backdrops, nightclubs, restaurants," he said.
At heart, Mr Mardinian is a purist. Instead of drawing figures, he sticks to lettering, the original graffiti form. He misses his underground days in the UK, where he lived for a decade and got caught by police four times. And every year when he visits family in Lebanon, where graffiti goes unpunished, he goes out spraying until three in the morning.
"When you're doing it illegally, you're getting a buzz out of it - adrenaline. When you're doing it legally, it's half the fun - especially when you get commissioned to do something," he said.
Still, as the only outlet for their creativity, he and other graffiti artists in the UAE appreciate the events, and often organise them themselves.
Kris "Bozign" Balerite, a 27-year-old Filipino who grew up in Dubai, puts together spray-painting and other hip-hop-related events every week. That is the only way to build appreciation for them, he said.
"We don't just stand in the background and say, 'Why don't they have stuff like this in Dubai?'," he said. By promoting street art and street music, he said, "it will bear fruit some day".
Mr Balerite, who paints characters and images, said he discouraged illegal work because it gave the genre a bad name. "I'm an artist," he said. "I want to do my thing in a gallery."
In addition to opening exhibits or holding workshops, local artists can find commissions in clubs that host hip-hop DJs from abroad, or as backdrops in television commercials.
They have an open invitation from the Dubai Festival City Mall to paint a fence that encircles a parking lot.
It sits next to a park for skaters, which is a sport often associated with graffiti, explained Tom Miles, the director of shopping centres for Al Futtaim Group, which runs Festival City.
Mr Bingle, the British artist, said he supported promoting all categories of the art - both lettering and drawing - in galleries and in public places. He was just glad their skills had become viable as a profession, namely graphic design.
"When I was younger, you weren't really encouraged to do it as a career path," he said.
"Graffiti people see it as going out and doing it illegally. That's how it started, but it doesn't have to stay there," he said. "They're quite purist."
Now Mr Bingle teaches others, leading workshops for children as young as six and lecturing college students in graphic design.
On Yas Island, he and other graffiti friends from the UK led workshops for children. Local artists helped them paint the mural, which portrayed a day-to-night scene with the Abu Dhabi skyline on one side and Yas Island on the other.
Mr Mardinian grabbed the chance to participate, even if it meant driving back to Abu Dhabi. He had already made the trip on Sunday for a separate graffiti gathering after the organiser gave him a call.
"He told me, 'We need you to come down and represent'," Mr Mardinian said. "So I said, 'The pleasure's all mine, I'm there'. You just say it, and I'm there."
chuang@thenational.ae
The cost of Covid testing around the world
Egypt
Dh514 for citizens; Dh865 for tourists
Information can be found through VFS Global.
Jordan
Dh212
Centres include the Speciality Hospital, which now offers drive-through testing.
Cambodia
Dh478
Travel tests are managed by the Ministry of Health and National Institute of Public Health.
Zanzibar
AED 295
Zanzibar Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, located within the Lumumba Secondary School compound.
Abu Dhabi
Dh85
Abu Dhabi’s Seha has test centres throughout the UAE.
UK
From Dh400
Heathrow Airport now offers drive through and clinic-based testing, starting from Dh400 and up to Dh500 for the PCR test.
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.
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
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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.
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- 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.
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EQureos%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EUAE%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELaunch%20year%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2021%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E33%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESoftware%20and%20technology%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%243%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Mane points for safe home colouring
- Natural and grey hair takes colour differently than chemically treated hair
- Taking hair from a dark to a light colour should involve a slow transition through warmer stages of colour
- When choosing a colour (especially a lighter tone), allow for a natural lift of warmth
- Most modern hair colours are technique-based, in that they require a confident hand and taught skills
- If you decide to be brave and go for it, seek professional advice and use a semi-permanent colour