This week’s editorial musings
from magpie’s nest
The quote: If you don’t call it art, you’re likely to get a better result Brian Eno …
Public art direction The appointment of Elvira Dyangani Ose as director of the forthcoming Abu Dhabi Public Art Biennial looked an ambitious and imaginative move when it was announced in January: she has a good rep as a curator and organiser with strong opinions. She wasn’t due to start full-time until October – no dates (or indeed any other details) have been given for the Public Art Biennial, but we hear it is aiming for a November start – and she had been looking to balance the Abu Dhabi role with her current position as director of Barcelona’s MACBA modern art museum for the next few months. ArtNet says she will now step down early in April (rather than late July); apparently her bosses denied her request to juggle both roles until the summer. Dyangani Ose has been at MACBA since 2021, the first woman and the first person of colour to lead the institution …
Now read on Many galleries produce monographs and/or printed catalogues for their major shows, but Efie Gallery is going a bit further with the launch of an actual online bookstore. Says Efie: “Each title extends the life of our exhibitions beyond the gallery space, bringing together newly commissioned essays, archival materials, and critical reflections that deepen engagement with the artists’ practices”. Price per book appears to be AED 150, which is pretty decent for a short-run high-quality print publication containing lots of pics and contributions from named notables …
Pregnant with possibilities Laughter Factory is offering free tickets to its March shows to women in their third trimester (“with an obvious bump”). The tag is celebration of International Women’s Day, which falls on 8 March, and the argument is that “in the final months of pregnancy babies already respond to their mum’s voice, laughter, and the world around her”. A bit tough maybe if you’re not pregnant, or not pregnant enough, but the March tour is worth seeing anyhow – Andrew Ryan, Yash Bhardwaj, and magpie favourite Rula Korban: 6-7 and 13-14 March in Dubai, 12 March in Al Hamra: early-bird tickets discounted to AED 140 until 28 February for the unpregnant …
Job op 1 Leila Heller is looking for a Gallery Administrator – “someone with gallery administration experience who thrives in a fast-paced, detail-oriented environment”. Specifics include knowledge of UAE financial, legal, and compliance processes and fluent English (“Arabic is a plus”). Send resumé, cover letter and three references to info@leilahellergallery.com by 3 March …
Job op 2 We’ve just noticed that the first university in the MENA region dedicated entirely to arts and culture, Riyadh University of Arts (opening in Riyadh later this year), is looking for full-time lecturers in composition/music theory, voice, piano and “performance” – but the deadline for applications is tight – Sat 28 Feb. More info here …
Museum rep Salama Nasser Al Shamsi, Director of Cultural sites for DCT Abu Dhabi, has been elected President of ICOM UAE (ICOM is the International Council of Museums, a genuinely important forum for debate and development representing 57,000 members in 129 countries which last November held its 27th General Conference in Dubai). A 16-year veteran of the culture and museums sector, Al Shamsi should be a great choice at an interesting time for the evolution of museums generally, especially in our region. As she says, “museums are not static spaces; they are living environments that reflect who we are as a society and how our identity evolves over time” – and right now the UAE is a leader in both. Upcoming issues might revolve around development of the profession and especially the need to embrace ethical standards and sustainable practice in museums …
ADMAF award winner Abdulrahman Al Madani has been named as the winner of the 2025 Gulf Capital ADMAF Visual Arts Award (lots of kudos plus AED 20,000 cash) for his short film Oug – winner of Best Narrative Short Film Award at RAKart. It follows a childless Emirati couple set to buy a gift for their newborn nephew, only to find themselves caught between family expectations and social pressures to have children. The arrival of the husband’s overbearing mother brings up buried tensions …
Future’s past The Museum of the Future is approaching five million visitors since it opened in Feb 2022. Its four-year record also includes hosting 620 events, 224 educational programmes and workshops, and Sarah Jessica Parker …
UAENO for WAPA The UAE National Orchestra has joined the World Association for Performing Arts, a significant move in establishing its presence locally and internationally – WAPA offers opportunities for collaboration and joint initiatives, touring, and personnel swaps for professional development …
RAK count We thought this year’s Ras Al Khaimah Art Festival was the best yet – the best organised and with the best art and film programme (and we have high hopes for the RAK Contemporary Art Biennale which debuted this time). The Festival is reporting 40,000 visitors; it had 164 artists from 49 countries, and the Open Call for submissions for the 2027 edition will be live from 3 Apr …
Useful app of the week tldraw is a very fast, very minimal online whiteboard for drawing, flowcharting and dropping ideas generally. No sign-up needed; runs on the web, export as SVG or PNG, totally free …
Something for the weekend The Color Game shows you five colours and you have to reproduce them. Sounds simple but is REALLY hard. Try it here …
Things we didn’t know no.94 Not only did Norway top the medals table at the Winter Olympics (41 in total), it also led in terms of medals per person – 73.6 medals per 10m inhabitants (next best was Switzerland at 25.5) – and per dollar of GDP (84.98 medals per $1tn GDP: next best Slovenia, winner of four medals at an equivalent 54.8 per $1tn GDP) …
Earworm of the week Altin Gün : Bir Nazar Eyledim
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