FEATURES - magpie

Making contact: the Tamaaas Festival

9 February 2025

Tamaas means ‘contact’ in Arabic (and Farsi too, as it happens). That’s a neat summary of what we should expect from an arts centre – contact as communication and connection, but also contact as collision. Maybe we’ll get all three [… more]

Sharjah Biennial Prize winners

9 February 2025

Sharjah Art Foundation announced Aziz Hazara, Pallavi Paul and Pratchaya Phinthong as winners of the Sharjah Biennial Prize during the opening gala dinner of the Biennial’s 16th edition last week (no, we weren’t invited, since you asked). The winners were selected by architect/curator Paula Nascimento, co-curator [… more]

Under pressure: food security in Venice

8 February 2025

The Pavilion of the United Arab Emirates has outlined its plans for the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale. Curated by Azza Aboualam, architect and Assistant Professor at Zayed University’s College of Arts and Creative Enterprises, it has the [… more]

COMMENT

Comment: 13 February 2025

7 February 2025

This week’s editorial musings from magpie’s nest The quote If you want new ideas, read old books Shane Parrish Last-minute music The Tamaas Festival is the latest offer from NYUAD’s Arts Center in its perennial quest to bring clever, imaginative, exciting new music to Abu [… more]

COMMENT

Comment: 6 February 2025

6 February 2025

This week’s editorial musings from magpie’s nest The quote Labels are for jam jars Richard Flanagan Today’s the day Happening today (thursday): the first day – of three – for the Sharjah Biennial opening programme. Pritzker prizewinner Riken Yamamoto talks about the transformative power of [… more]

COMMENT

Comment: 30 January 2025

31 January 2025

This week’s editorial musings from magpie’s nest The quote Keep your eye on the donut, not the hole David Lynch Biennial bit The opening events of Sharjah Biennial 16 run from 6 to 9 February, mostly in and around the galleries of Arts Square but [… more]

Room at the top: Art Dubai expands its management team

22 January 2025

Art Dubai Group has made two significant additions to its leadership team. In March Dunja Gottweis (above right), former Global Head of Gallery Relations at Art Basel, will become the Director of Art Dubai Fair, taking over for the 2026 [… more]

Five lessons from ten years: Bill Bragin reflects

16 January 2025

As we celebrate our first decade at The NYU Abu Dhabi Arts Center I’m proud that our journey has helped to spark a transformation of the way performing arts are experienced in the UAE. Here are five ways that we [… more]

2024 Richard Mille Art Prize goes to Nicène Kossentini

13 December 2024

The Richard Mille Art Prize 2024 – an award and $60,000 – has gone to the Tunisian artist Nicène Kossentini for her video work Landscapes, shown at Louvre Abu Dhabi along with the four other artists shortlisted for the Art [… more]

COMMENT

Comment: 12 December 2024

12 December 2024

This week’s editorial musings from magpie’s nest The quote It took me 15 years to discover I had no talent for writing, but I couldn’t give up because by that time I was too famous Peter Benchley Musical notes Dubai [… more]