This week’s editorial musings from magpie’s nest<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The quote<\/mark><\/strong> Keep your eye on the donut, not the hole\u00a0David\u00a0Lynch<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Biennial bit<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0The opening events of\u00a0Sharjah Biennial 16<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0run from 6 to 9 February, mostly in and around the galleries of Arts Square but also taking in performances, activations and screenings in four other locations around the emirate (there are shuttle buses). In total SB16 has more than 300 works, including 80 commissions, by around 140 participants.\u00a0Here’s the website<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n This weekend’s festivals<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0Al Hosn Festival<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is running in Abu Dhabi (runs to 9 February) and\u00a0LitFest<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0has just started (to 3 Feb).\u00a0Sikka Art & Design Festival<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0starts tomorrow (to 9 Feb) \u2013 the Sikka website wasn\u2019t working when last we tried it, though you may have better luck now, and there seems to be no overall directory\/guide available. Still, there\u2019s always something at Sikka that makes the trip to Al Shindagha worthwhile …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Art openings<\/mark>\u00a0<\/strong>A splurge of gallery shows are opening in the next few days, too many goodies to list here (check the\u00a0Agenda<\/strong><\/a>). But we\u2019re aiming to see top glass art from\u00a0Dale Chihuly<\/strong><\/a>, porcelain as a metaphor for the soul by\u00a0Melis Buyruk<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0Adrian Pepe<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s poetic meditation on fragmentation and renewal, and\u00a0Sola Olulode<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0on myths and holiday memories …<\/p>\n\n\n\n ArtMap maps art<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0The newest edition of\u00a0ArtMap<\/strong>, created by thejamjar for Dubai Culture, aims to provide “a detailed overview of art galleries, exhibitions, festivals, and programmes in the UAE”. The meat is a comprehensive listing of galleries and other institutions; we couldn\u2019t see any obvious omissions, though there were a few pretty generous inclusions (just because something\u00a0says it’s a gallery doesn’t make it so). There\u2019s some magazine-style editorial up front, with a predictable emphasis on Dubai (so Dubai public art gets a feature, Abu Dhabi public art doesn’t); the actual location maps are clear and useful, though obviously things can get a bit crammed on the Dubai page because of the clustering. There’s also a whole section called ‘Calendar’, which is completely empty; but then maybe that’s what\u00a0magpie<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is for … You should be able to pick up a paper copy at cultural and arts institutions and events, or access a PDF\u00a0here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now hear this<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0We’ve been listening to\u00a0Live In The Khaleej<\/strong><\/a>, an album of jazz-meets-Arabica by Ghazi Faisal Al-Mulaifi and members of Boom.Diwan playing with Arturo O\u2019Farrill and others from his \u00a0Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra. The results combine Latin jazz and \u00a0traditional Kuwaiti\/Gulf vibes, and we like it a lot.\u00a0Find it here<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Goldie-looking Cybertruck<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0Dubai Gold Souk Extension is giving you, yes you, the chance to win the region\u2019s first\u00a024K gold Tesla Cybertruck<\/strong><\/a>. You\u2019ll need to spend AED 500 at participating outlets to get a ticket for the raffle; enter before 31 January. Or you could just save your money (and probably your self-esteem and a bit of the planet too) …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Demon barber trimmed<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0The Sydney Opera House production of\u00a0Sweeney Todd<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0lands in Dubai for a week from 1-8 February. The prices are high \u2013 this is a full-cast show with high production values, so tickets nominally start at AED 360 \u2013 but Dubai Opera is offering 25% off all ticket categories if you book online using promocode\u00a0SWEENEY25<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How many bicycles?<\/mark><\/strong> Prove you\u2019re human by playing\u00a0Doom Captcha<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0instead of completing one of those boring “select all images”\u00a0puzzles. You have to blast three enemies to pass \u2013 which is surprisingly difficult …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Something for the weekend<\/mark><\/strong> Amazingly, the BBC still maintains an archive of games for the BBC Micro \u2013 also playable on Proper Computers.\u00a0Here\u2019s one we like<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0..<\/p>\n\n\n\n Things we didn\u2019t know no.94<\/mark><\/strong> That 10,000-steps-a-day goal has nothing to do with science \u2013 it comes from a 1965 marketing campaign by a Japanese company\u00a0selling pedometers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earworm of the week<\/mark><\/strong> Hania Rani \u00a0: Abu Simbel<\/a><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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