magpie – Page 16 – Art Performance Design Words: your guide to culture, design and creativity in the UAE

Abu Dhabi gets a new space for art

14 February 2024

The interesting building that has arisen next to the Manarat al Saadiyat and Berklee Abu Dhabi in the Saadiyat Cultural District is Saadiyat’s only private art foundation – indeed, as far as we know the only one in Abu Dhabi [ … ]

A farewell to Perrotin Dubai, but hello Bastok Lessel

14 February 2024

There was some excitement when Perrotin opened the doors of its modest gallery space in DIFC back in November 2022. A couple of other big name galleries were already here, but Custot and Leila Heller had set up in Alserkal [ … ]

Upcoming: 2024’s design and architecture festivals

7 February 2024

A calendar of events in and around the cultural life of magpie Click on the event name and its website will open in a new tab. You can look for specific events from the search bar at the top, or [ … ]

Modern heritage in Abu Dhabi: plaques on 60+ buildings

7 February 2024

There’s not much of the original Abu Dhabi to be seen in the city; the original pre-20th century fishing village was probably little more than a collection of barasti huts, maybe with a few more substantial coral- and stone-based buildings [ … ]

Abdullah Al Saadi’s Venice Biennale exhibition

7 February 2024

The National Pavilion UAE has detailed its exhibit at this year’s Venice Biennale. It’s titled Sites of Memory, Sites of Amnesia, and comprises eight artworks by Abdullah Al Saadi. We were enthusiastic about the choice of Abdullah Al Saadi (in [ … ]

Upcoming: 2024’s music festivals

31 January 2024

Third Richard Mille Art Prize won by Nabla Yahya

31 January 2024

Nabla Yahya as been named as the third winner of the $60,000 Richard Mille Art Prize. The Abu Dhabi born artist’s installation, SoftBank (2023), was one of the eight pieces selected for the Art Here 2023 exhibition currently running at [ … ]

The arts centre and the scent of love

31 January 2024

What’s an arts centre for? Arguably there are three key functions: to deliver artistic work that its audience might not otherwise experience, to test the boundaries of the art form by fostering new thinking, and to promote excellence – maybe [ … ]

Festival time in RAK

24 January 2024

Ras Al Khaimah Art, the new incarnation of the Ras Al Khaimah Fine Art Festival, opens to the public at 9pm on Friday 2 February. As ever, it’s at the Al Jazeera Al Hamra Heritage Village, which has increasingly been [ … ]

Shedding light on the matter: the arrival of the UAE light festival

24 January 2024

Regular readers will know that magpie has always been a fan of the Sharjah Light Festival, the 13th edition of which runs 7 to 18 February. Key locations in the emirate are being lit up – sustainably, of course – [ … ]