FEATURES – magpie

How to find the world’s best city for contemporary art

8 September 2026

What’s the world’s best city for contemporary art? It all depends on how and what you measure, of course, but such assessments have traditionally been made on vibes (“does this place feel buzzy?”) plus some feel for how much money [… more]

Diary dates

7 September 2026

For our own benefit we maintain a calendar of key upcoming events in the region. It’s updated regularly with new entries as we hear about them, so bookmark this page and check back regularly. Here are the highlights for the [… more]

Joy to the world: The Arts Center’s new season

4 September 2026

Bill Bragin is back from Edinburgh. He saw 45 shows there in two weeks (he says he’s slowing down – a few years ago he was managing 8 or 9 per day). It’s partly pleasure, partly work; on his visit [… more]

Hollywood heavyweights consider AI: who owns the IP?

28 August 2026

A series of conversations about the use of AI in Hollywood started in 2023, informal but high-powered. They were organised by Susan Ruskin, dean of the American Film Institute, and top producer Kathleen Kennedy (whose CV includes dozens of major [… more]

Frieze Abu Dhabi lists its galleries: less is more

28 August 2026

The inaugural Frieze Abu Dhabi, which runs 19–22 November at Manarat Al Saadiyat, will have 84 galleries from a total of 36 countries in its two commercial sections and two further selection-by-curator areas. That’s a lot less than the last Abu Dhabi Art, which [… more]

SAT03: redefining architecture?

29 July 2026

The theme and participants for the third Sharjah Architectural Triennial (14 November 2026 to 14 April 2027) have been published, and they both look a meaty counterpoint to the more usual design/technology-led architectural get-together. That theme for SAT03 is ‘Architecture [… more]

Guggenheim Abu Dhabi gets its opening date: 11 December 2026

28 July 2026

It may have taken 20 years, but at last we have a firm opening date for Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. On 11 December it joins New York, Venice and Bilbao in the Guggenheim Foundation’s desire to bring post-1960s art to the [… more]

magpie Weekly issue 7.39 / 23 July 2026

23 July 2026

The quote: It’s only words – unless they’re true | David Mamet … Frieze filling out Frieze Abu Dhabi (19-22 Nov at Manarat Al Saadiyat) will have two new curated sections – Frieze Masters Abu Dhabi, a local version of the historical-survey format [… more]

magpie Weekly issue 7.38 / 16 July 2026

16 July 2026

The quote: If you resolve to give up smoking, drinking and loving, you don’t actually live longer; it just seems longer | Clement Freud … More books for Sharjah Pushing ahead with its image-building in the book world, Sharjah Book Authority has signed for exclusive [… more]

magpie Weekly issue 7.37 / 9 July 2026

9 July 2026

The quote: Art galleries should hang terrible paintings from the same period as their masterpieces so that visitors can realise quite how amazing the good paintings are | James Marriott … Dubai’s cultural sector ambitions The newly announced Dubai Cultural Strategy 2033 – part [… more]