This week’s editorial musings
from magpie’s nest
The quote: If you’re not playful you’re not alive | David Hockney …
Creative spaces Sharjah Art Foundation (a regular in these pages!) is inviting applications for workspaces in Al Hamriyah Studios. There are three sizes from 32 to 110m², discounted rents from AED 1000 to 2500 per month, short or long leases, access to shared facilities including project spaces and the pantry; applicants must submit a portfolio and CV by 11 July. Info here …
Repton does Alserkal Repton Dubai is doing something that other schools could try – it runs a showcase exhibition of students’ workin fine art, photography, furniture, textiles, and product design (which many do) in a public space (which most don’t). Repton is showing nearly 100 works by Year 10 to 13 students at Jossa (warehouse 45), opening yesterday and running to tomorrow (19 June) …
Opp1: writing Fiker Institute has a one-month in-person short-story residency in Dubai this summer for creative writers, focused on short stories on the theme of Memory, Place & Power. Selected writers work from Fiker Institute’s Library for min three days each week resulting in at least 3,500 words of original fiction. Deadline 21 June, start 6 July. Apply here …
Opp 2: artists The Indian art resale agency Hacoco Art is looking for artists to figure in “a contemporary art showcase” that it is running in Dubai this August – and selected artists “may be considered” for extended support including collector introductions and “private sales opportunities. Email your portfolio to zinnia@thehacoco.com with 5–10 images of available works, artwork details, bio and an artist statement (max 200 words) by 30 June …
Opp3: theatre +63Kolektib (responsible for the excellent Metro Diaries) is running a three-month part-time residency for UAE-based writers and directors to create original short plays through collaboration, experimentation, and bold new writing – “we especially welcome stories exploring diaspora, identity, migration, gender, and contemporary life in the region”. Culminates in a performance event at Bayt Al Mamzar. Apply before 5 July here …
Opp 4: creative businesses Early-stage startups (max 2 years old) are invited to pitch at the fourth Al Quoz Creative Entrepreneurship Competition, to be held sometime in Q4 2026. First place gets AED 80,000, 2nd AED 50,000, 3rd AED 30,000. “Applicants must be actively engaged in the CCIs.” Deadline 12 July. Details here …
Opp 5: projects ‘Untitled’ is an Alserkal Arts Foundation programme that delivers a one-time grant to help complete artistic projects. It could apply eg to visual and performing arts, moving image, sound, curation, or writing. Deadline 19 July. Details here …
Opp 6: installation We Emerge Stronger is a major open call from Art Dubai and A.R.M. Holding: Submit a design for a permanent sculpture commission to be installed alongside some big names already in the HUNA Sculpture Park at H Residence, Dubai. And the commission is worth AED 1,000,000 … Deadline 25 July. Details here …
Gulf in A Time of War Kutubna Cultural Center is looking for archival materials that document culture and everyday life during the war between 28 Feb and 7 April 2026. “Journal entries, letters, photographs, artworks, videos, screenshots, conversations, hand made maps – anything that captures how that time was lived, felt, and remembered.” Submissions are free, and you may submit up to five items; selected works will be part of a public exhibition (3 Oct – 7 Dec) and associated archive. Submission deadline: 25 July. More here …
Digital delights Part two of Ruba Al-Sweel’s straight-to-Instagram film in six chapters, Angelheaded Towers, is now available. Quirky commentary on social media and more (“when everything will be visible, that’s tantamount to being blind …”) A new chapter is released every few months; follow along here …
Last chances Three good shows (coincidentally by female artists) are closing this week, so catch ’em while you can: Shalabia Ibrahim‘s stylised figures and simplified forms are both accessible and symbolic, Surabhi Sharma’s fascinating oral history of Indian women in film, Samar Hejazi‘s engrossing exploration of how forms shift, unravel, and reassemble over time …
Words with care Last week’s issue of Nick Thorpe’s Media Majlis newsletter for media folk carried a discussion on UAE media law (key takeaway: the truth is no defence) and referenced a really excellent download – Elnaggar & Partners’ Media Law Guide. Useful for anyone in the UAE posting on social media, writing for newspapers, or even producing a newsletter …
Supermarketing The Foundry’s rather good Supermarket exhibition has been extended until 28 June “due to the wonderful response from our visitors” …
Friendly fire Only 11% of people surveyed in 15 European countries view the USA as an ally, a historic low and down from 22% in November 2024, says a European Council on Foreign Relations survey (but majorities in every country except Bulgaria thought US-European relations would improve when Donald Trump left office) …
On a similar note … Remind me again, what was the war all about?
Useful app of the week Mole is a $19 macOS utility that combines five maintenance tools in one: junk removal, app uninstalls, disk analysis, system optimisation and live status monitoring. So covers what you’d otherwise split across CleanMyMac, DaisyDisk and iStat. Find it here …
Something for the weekend WenWare gives you an AI-imagined image from the past (based on an actual historic artwork) and you have to guess where and when the moment depicted is. Hard, but not impossible. Try it here …
Things we didn’t know no.94 Leo Fender (inventor of the first mass-produced solid-body electric guitar, founder of the business responsible for the Stratocaster) didn’t play guitar …
Earworm of the week Chinese American Bear : I Wanna Go Home
Be the first to comment