magpie Weekly issue 7.39 / 23 July 2026

This week’s editorial musings
from magpie’s nest

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 from Frieze Masters in London that presents exceptional objects and artefacts from antiquity to the early 20th century; and Global Futures, a showcase of early to mid-career artists from the region. There will also be an “ambitious” commission for the inaugural Frieze Abu Dhabi Artist Award; and a clever new flagship exhibition project curated by Munira Al Sayegh’s Dirwaza Curatorial Lab called In Dialogue – brings together works by one established artist and one emerging artist from the UAE. We hear that a goodly number of galleries are signing up, with the bursaries of up to 30% for younger galleries working well …

Performers register here DCT Abu Dhabi has added a Performing Arts Registry to the musician and artist listings already included in its Registry of Cultural Organisations and Professionals – which seems to be rebranding as CulturAll (see what they did there?) Anyone who regards themself as a performing artist in the UAE is welcome to apply; it’s free, easy, will be required for any funding application, and will likely be the first stop for any institution looking to commission work. Sign up here (that option doesn’t yet seem to be available on the main website) …

‘Secret’ Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi people seem pretty knowledgeable about the place they live – 73% recommend hidden gems to family and friends, and 50% could name “a secret spot” in response to a DCT Abu Dhabi survey (them again). Top recommendation: the Art House Café at Etihad Modern Art Gallery in Al Bateen. Also mentioned by more than half of respondents: Hili Archaeological Park, Jebel Hafit (for camping), and the genuinely remarkable Emirates National Auto Museum …

Worth the detour None of those are listed in Detourmap, sadly, but it’s still worth patronising – it’s free, public-domain, asks for no sign-ups, and shows places you might never find on Google Maps (because Google ranks by popularity: famous places get the pins, the pins keep them famous). Try narrowing the search to ‘hidden gems’ and the Dubai Fountain vanishes while the Iranian Mosque in Satwa stays …

Now read on Back with DCT Abu Dhabi, its Books in the City initiative is a network of around 45 ‘reading locations’ across Abu Dhabi and Al Ain – cafés, heritage sites, malls, parks, clinics. Lots of good (albeit borrowed) ideas here: Meead gives a visitor a wrapped book without knowing its title or contents beforehand; NovelBrew puts QR-enabled access to a digital library in coffee shops; ‘Take a Book, Leave a Book‘ does what it says: Offline Reading Club is a two-hour no-digital-devices session of shared reading (free coffee during the session). More info abut locations etc here …

Accommodating Dubai’s residential market seems to be weathering the war pretty well, according to both betterhomes’ Q2 2026 Dubai Residential Market Report and Property Finder’s bi-monthly Market Pulse. Prices and tenant demand keep climbing despite a bit of a slowdown in Q2, and it looks as though prices are finding a floor; so bargains are going to be harder to find …

On the other hand Private-sector recruitment in the UAE dropped by 4% in the second quarter, says Cooper Fitch. It’s the first fall in more than four years …

Heartache in Gaza “Believe me, my heart aches for every innocent civilian on the Palestinian side, because this is not our aim or desire in any way.” Israeli President Isaac Herzog aches for the humanitarian toll in Gaza in this interview with Al Arabiya English. We didn’t find him entirely convincing …

Job opp 1 Rizq Art Initiative in Abu Dhabi is looking for a Partnerships & Development Lead to “play a key role in developing the partnerships, funding, and institutional relationships that will help the initiative grow”. Must be a strong writer, skilled researcher, and passionate about community-led cultural initiatives; min 5 years’ experience in grant writing, fundraising, partnerships, philanthropy, development, or project coordination preferred. This could be a really good one; details here …

Job opp 2 Nika Project Space in Dubai needs a Gallery Intern “eager to gain practical experience in a dynamic gallery environment and contribute to exciting art projects. CV and short cover letter to contact@nika-projects.com …

Not so social More than half the respondents to a survey by research firm Incogni agreed that “maintaining an online presence feels like work” and are posting less and more selectively. 44% agree political content and polarisation made them want to withdraw from social media. And 47% have deleted a social media or messaging app because of stress or anxiety – with delete rates higher among the young (61% of Millennials, 56% of Gen Z) …

Festive Abu Dhabi The Abu Dhabi Festival – postponed from earlier this year – has confirmed new dates: 10 Oct to 19 Dec. A few of the original artists obviously couldn’t reschedule (eg Jon Baptiste, Hauser, Elham Al Marzouqi) but several could (eg American Ballet Theatre, Algarabía, Minsoo Sohn, Dhafer Youssef) and they’ve added a couple of dates – like the UAE National Orchestra with guest conductor François López-Ferrer and pianist David Khrikuli, and Hans Zimmer (again). Overall it’s a gratifyingly busy programme, if a bit mainstream. Details here …

Bespoke sneakers This weekend (25-26 July, 11am-8pm) sees a three-day Bespoke Sneaker Fair (aka retail opportunity) at Design Dome, City Walk – hand-painted sneakers by the store’s co-founder Diviya Tilani (“we all deserve to wear footwear with character”). Prices start at a character-testing AED 650 …

EU stops Venice’s €2m grant The European Commission has confirmed that it is indeed stopping a multiyear grant worth €2m to the Venice Biennale over Russia’s renewed participation at the event. ArtNet quoted a spokesperson as saying European taxpayers’ money should be used to support cultural events that “safeguard democratic values [and] foster open dialogue, diversity, and freedom of expression”, values which “are not respected in today’s Russia”. There again, the Biennale said the cancellation would have “no significant impact on the budget, the balance sheet, or the scheduled and ongoing activities” …

Design for Sharjah (and Milan) We recently noted that Sharjah’s BASE39 has partnered with the Isola Design Awards to host the actual ceremony. We’ve just seen the award details, and they include a BASE39 Special Category for UAE-based designers; the focus is on design solutions that address regional environmental challenges. Prize: three months’ residency at BASE39 (complimentary creative licence, access to workspaces and prototyping and fabrication facilities, mentorship, matchmaking with manufacturers and investors, development support, exhibit at BASE39 and at Isola’s Milan Design Week show. We’re clarifying some details before we add it to the Opportunities page, but here’s some info to be going on with. Apply by 27 August …

Sikka calls The open call for Sikka 2027 (Al Shindagha next Jan) has been extended to more categories of would-be participant – art, workshops, performance, culinary and of course retail. Deadline remains 17 Aug; info here.

And Sikka also has a short-run open call for a four-month Creative Studio Residency in Al Shindagha – creative space, collaboration, knowledge exchange, professional development – for applicants active in visual arts, design, architecture, creative technology, “and other cultural and creative industries”. It went live on 20 July and the deadline is 27 July. Info here …

Who to believe? Gallup has just updated its annual survey of Americans’ feelings about more than a dozen institutions. Headlines: confidence in newspapers was near a record low at 17%, TV news inched up to 14% from 11% (but was still second-worst – only Congress was lower, with 9% confidence), and confidence in Big Tech was at 20%, down from a 2020 high of 32%. Way out ahead: the military, at 61% …

Last chance Three exhibitions we really liked are ending this week: Foundry’s Supermarket show of artists with no gallery representation, and the two Maraya shows – Salmah Al Mansoori‘s thoughtful exploration of memory, material, and place; Noor Al Suwaidi‘s reflections on colour and place. And we just noticed that the excellent Charlie Koolhaas show at XVA has been extended – but only until tomorrow (24 July) …

Useful app of the week Harper is a free open-source grammar checker for macOS that runs entirely on your device. No accounts, no telemetry, no cloud; we’re checking it out, but it does look a good alternative to the likes of Grammarly. Find it here …

Something for the weekend Tiled Words is yet another daily word game – arrange the tiles to make words, with a bit of simple crosswordery to get started. Fiendishly hard. Try it here …

Things we didn’t know no.94 No, the Great Wall of China is *not* visible from space to the naked eye …

A brief farewell This the last edition before the newsletter takes a summer break. We’ll be working on (much-needed) redesigns for both magpie Weekly and the magpie website. And we’ll still be doing the journalism thing, with articles, updated opportunities and what’s-on listings being placed regularly on the site; and our active social media posting dept will stay busy on all the usual channels. See you again in September!

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