This week’s editorial musings
from magpie’s nest
The quote: Master your instrument, master the music, and then forget all that and just play | Charlie Parker …
Update Four weeks into the war, and now comes the rain and the promise of tornadoes … and postponements. Sharjah Art Foundation has suspended tours and public programming, including the annual March Meeting (postponed indefinitely). Culture Summit Abu Dhabi, normally in April, is now scheduled for 8-10 December. Also in Abu Dhabi, Middle East Film and Comic Con moves to 11-13 September; and the Offlimits festival at Etihad Park (Shakira, Jonas Brothers) will now be 21 November. Other stars of yesteryear getting a raincheck include Christina Aguilera who will now be at Etihad Arena on 25 September (other Etihad Arena events seem to be running as scheduled) …
Fair deals Art Dubai had already flagged its new dates as 14–17 May – but hasn’t yet said much about the “more focused and flexible format” that we’re promised. Presumably one factor will be how many galleries can’t or won’t make it; apart from anything else, many airlines have suspended commercial flights to the Gulf until the end of April to mid-May, which means people and freight can’t get in (BA and Cathay Pacific among others have gone further and cancelled Dubai services up to 31 May). The Art Newspaper reports that the dropouts will still be required to pay for their booths, with a spot reserved for them in 2027; while galleries who do make it in May will not be required to pay booth fees – instead they’ll be charged a percentage of their sales, capped at the booth fee equivalent …
Back to work In normalcy news, the British budget garment retailer Primark opens a massive store in Dubai Mall today, the first of three in Dubai; and the authorities have told private schools, nurseries, and universities they can request a return to in-person learning – Taaleem schools got in early and will be back on Monday …
Happy birthday Dubomedy Next month Dubomedy will be celebrating 18 years of comedy in the UAE – Ali Al Sayed and Mina Liccione founded the empire on (appropriately enough) April Fools Day 2008. At the time there simply wasn’t a stand-up scene: Dubomedy came with gigs, workshops, and festivals too. It’s hosting a series of fun Sundays throughout April, with evenings that mix comedy, music, games, and interactive performances – starting with a free comedy workshop on 29 March (well, it’s nearly April) and culminating on 26 April with a special Dubomedy alumni showcase, followed by a DJ set and party. Inbetween are the usual Sunday Night gigs – Social Distrikt 7pm, free admission but you ought to buy something, RSVP if you want a seat because these evenings fill up fast)
Sign here Sharjah’s newish Base.39 ‘creative district’ is looking to build “a supportive platform for self-expression, meaningful connections, and creative and artistic exchange across our events, cultural gatherings, and activations” – and to that end it’s putting together a register of performers (all genres) and “creative workshop practitioners”. If you’re interested, contact ajalrashid@srtip.ae with some details about yourself …
Write on If you’re interested in learning calligraphy, here’s the registration link for a DiarBid/Dubai Culture Arabic Calligraphy Program – “a curated series of workshops and specialised classes designed to build real skill, confidence, and artistic direction in Arabic calligraphy”. It’s free, all materials are provided, and it runs Saturdays and Sundays (5-7pm) at Al Jalila Cultural Centre. Participants get the chance to exhibit their work at the end …
D is for dirham The UAE’s dirham currency symbol wasn’t ready for the last version of the Unicode Standard, which among other things decides what characters get included on keyboards. Looks like it will now be encoded in the September 2026 release, when the D-with-two-bars will replace the carat symbol currently above the 6 key. In the meantime we’ll just have to carry on typing ‘AED’ …
Brand logic This is such a good idea – scan or upload the label on a garment, or type in the details, and you’ll get information about how the material will behave, age, and respond to care; you can also ask specific questions about the garment. It’s from Casa Branda (a newly-launched “independent brand integrity index”), but it’s the sort of thing a confident retailer ought to be doing …
Job ops Sharjah Art Foundation is recruiting for an Assistant Curator (Masters degree plus five years experience or Bachelors plus eight years) and a Senior Coordinator, Performance (experience working in festivals, performance venues, or cultural institutions). Get in quickly – they’re both attracting a load of applications already …
Speak LinkedIn Translate English into LinkedIn-speak. Eg “I have been running magpie weekly newsletter for more than 10 years” translates into “I’m incredibly proud to have been leading and scaling the Magpie weekly newsletter for over a decade now. 🚀 It’s been an amazing 10+ year journey of consistent growth, community building, and delivering value every single week. #Leadership #Newsletter #Entrepreneurship #Consistency”. Essential stuff (and the website can also do more traditional translation). Try it here …
A Picasso for €100 The charity raffle is back for a third time, offering the chance to win an original Picasso (Tête de femme (1941), a gouache on paper valued at €1 million, provided by Opera Gallery) and research by Fondation Recherche Alzheimer. The draw takes place on 14 April; get your tickets here …
Useful app of the week Sava OS is a web browser extension (seems to work with most) that gives you a familiar desktop-like interface that is highly customisable — you can create dynamic layouts folders for links, notes, YouTube feeds, embeds, whatever; or go for a super-minimal uncluttered option. Bags of potential, and free (for now). Try it here …
Something for the weekend Your new essential timewaster: you have 100 jumps to get from one ledge to another. Length of press decides how far you jump. Simple, but addictive. Try it here …
Things we didn’t know no.94 Octopuses have three hearts: two pump blood to the gills, the third pumps oxygenated blood to the rest of the body. That third one stops beating when an octopus swims, so they prefer crawling (swimming tires them out quickly) …
Earworm of the week Barry Can’t Swim : Chala (My Soul Is On A Loop)
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