This week’s editorial musings from magpie’s nest
The quote The only end of writing is to enable readers better to enjoy life, or better to endure it Samuel Johnson
Documenting the UAE The inaugural Dhikhr Award, launched by the NYUAD Institute to recognise “individuals who have made exceptional contributions to preserving and advancing the understanding of the UAE’s history and culture”, has gone to Frauke Heard-Bey of the Centre for Documentation and Research in Abu Dhabi (author of the classic From Trucial States to United Arab Emirates, among many other works) and the late David Heard – her husband, a noted geologist late of ADNOC, and donor with his wife of the substantial Frauke Heard-Bey and David Heard collection of archive materials about the Emirates. A good choice, and a good way to mark National Day.
Dubai’s reputation Dubai is the world’s fifth best city brand (behind London, New York, Paris, and Tokyo) says the latest Brand Finance Global City Index which surveys perceptions of a hundred cities as places people would want to live, work, study, visit, retire, and invest in. Abu Dhabi comes in at 30; download your own copy here to see why.
We’re rich Boston Consulting Group’s annual global wealth report suggests that global net wealth – financial wealth plus liabilities and real assets – grew by 4.3% in 2023 to hit $477 trillion. The UAE contributed $2.9tn of that and is growing faster than the average (up 10% over 2022). Hooray!
Bee happy The winner of the 12th Christo and Jeanne-Claude Award was unveiled at the opening of Abu Dhabi Art a couple of days ago. It’s a bee hotel by Sara Farha and Khaled Shalkha from Datecrete Studio, constructed from their date pip based cement alternative Datecrete: “beautiful, useful, and important” said the Award’s director. Here’s our take on it, and if you fancy your chances here are the application details for the next edition.
Footfall in Venice The National Pavilion UAE recorded a total of 308,719 visitors for its eighth participation at 2024 Venice Biennale with Abdullah Al Saadi: Sites of Memory, Sites of Amnesia. That means nearly half the Biennale’s total of around 700,000 visitors made it to the Sale d’Armi for the UAE. There’s still info on the website here, along with a virtual tour here.
Shedding light on Saudi One of the best reasons for visiting Saudi Arabia – the always excellent Noor Riyadh festival of light art – opens today and runs to 14 December. Held across three locations (King Abdulaziz Historical Center, Wadi Hanifa, JAX) it has 60+ works by Saudi and international artists. Info here.
Meet and eat Mysk.ae now has an outlet in the lobby of the NYUAD Arts Center – just right for coffee or a snack before a show (great wraps and salad bowls too: the jackfruit wrap is recommended).
Meanwhile the Mahaweb Art Café in Goshi Warehouse Village is reopening this evening, 6-9pm, promising “a vibrant atmosphere filled with art, creativity, and community spirit”. Go!
And if you want some art on your plate, try Fouquet’s at Louvre Abu Dhabi – chef Balveer Balkisson has recreated the colours and styles of Cézanne, Gauguin, Van Gogh and Seurat in a four-course menu (AED 325) to celebrate the Post-Impressionism: Beyond Appearances exhibition. So Van Gogh’s “swirling emotions” are captured in cauliflower puree; Seurat’s pointillism is realised in “a colourful carrot and beetroot gradient”. It’s available Tuesday to Sunday, midday to 11pm up to the end of the show on 9 February. Book here.
Making records After a brief hiatus, Dubai is back in the Guinness World Record game – this time with The Longest Line of Sustainable Pizzas. We’re not sure what a sustainable pizza is, mind, and the press release forgot to mention just how long it was. So being Proper Journalists, we asked; seems it was 657.76m (aka 2,059 pizzas). And indeed, it does look really quite long in the photoshoot at the Festival Bay Intercon.
Bluesky starter pack of the week … A collection of art and design creatives plus associated publications etc is here.
… Make more of Musk Elon Musk’s star jumps have been turned into a font here. Probably ok for ransom notes.
Three to book ahead Mezzotono and Nesrine under the stars on Sharjah’s Al Noor Island next weekend (and Mezzotono also do Abu Dhabi’s Cultural Foundation a couple of days later); an evening of bike films and BBQ at the fourth Dubai Motorcycle Film Festival; and the stunning young British piano star Benjamin Grosvenor, even at an impressively inflated price.
On the other hand it looks as though The Streets has postponed (was due 30 Nov at the Coca-Cola) …
Something for the weekend A musical sketchpad: draw something, then listen to it here.
Things we didn’t know no.94 Your brain burns 400-500 calories a day. That’s about a fifth of your total energy requirements.
Earworm of the week Young Fathers : I Saw
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