This week’s editorial musings from magpie’s nest<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The quote<\/mark><\/strong> If you want new ideas, read old books\u00a0Shane\u00a0Parrish<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Last-minute music<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0The\u00a0Tamaas Festival<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>is the latest offer from NYUAD\u2019s Arts Center in its perennial quest to bring clever, imaginative, exciting new music to Abu Dhabi from around the world. We have\u00a0a deep dive<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0into the four acts playing tonight, and all of them are excellent. The price is good, too \u2013 the Arts Center\u2019s usual AED 105 buys you entrance to one of the two gigs, but there\u2019s a AED 150 combo ticket too \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Help for galleries<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0Dubai Culture is introducing an\u00a0International Art Fairs Grant\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>to provide financial support for Dubai-based galleries looking to exhibit at art fairs abroad. The grant will cover up to half the cost of a booth, and \u201cup to\u201d seems to mean \u201cwhatever proportion of the booth includes Emirati or UAE-based artists\u201d. Art Dubai will be running the scheme for Dubai Culture.\u00a0Here\u2019s our take on it<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dirhams in Diriyah<\/mark><\/strong><\/strong>\u00a0The first\u00a0Sotheby’s auction in Saudi Arabia<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0did pretty well \u2013 sales were bang in the middle of the expectation range at just over $17 million for the 117 lots, with luxury objects and sports memorabilia among the art. The novelty may have played a part, Sotheby\u2019s certainly pushed the boat out to impress the buying audience, and big-money sales for local artists perhaps reflected a nationalistic enthusiasm. But things look good for the auction house\u2019s investment in the region\u00a0\u2026 \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Artspace replaces Glass-Kantor<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0Sidney\u2019s Artspace has appointed Victor Wang, previously of Beijing\u2019s M WOODS Museum, as its new director. Interesting because he succeeds\u00a0Alexie Glass-Kantor<\/strong><\/a>, who\u2019s now at Art Dubai with a remit for partnerships and institution building …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hatta trick<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0We\u2019ve just come across\u00a0this opportunity<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0for photographers (not necessarily pros): it\u2019s one of HIPA\u2019s competitions, this one focussing on Hatta. Submit up to three photos or one vid (min 30 max 60 secs). The top three winners get prizes, max AED 20,000 for video and AED 15,000 for photography. Deadline is 27 February …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Make more of the museum<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0Louvre Abu Dhabi is inviting local small businesses to submit productions for a retail collection that draws inspiration from the museum\u2019s architecture and will be sold under the label \u2018Made With Louvre Abu Dhabi<\/strong><\/a>\u2019. We\u2019re digging into the details and will have more in the Opportunities page shortly, but for now we can see the Louvre is looking for exclusive, branded products that will be sold it its shop as well as the designer\u2019s own retail outlets. The deadline for proposals is 10 March.\u00a0More info\u00a0here<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Footfall<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0And\u00a0Louvre Abu Dhabi\u00a0has reported a record\u00a01,422,021 visitors<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0in 2024, the highest annual attendance since it opened. International visitors made up a whopping 84 percent of the total. Louvre AD director Manuel Rabat\u00e9 called 2024 \u201ca defining year for the museum\u201d …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last chance for an MFA<\/mark><\/strong> If you\u2019d like to try for NYUAD\u2019s two-year\u00a0Master of Fine Arts in Art and Media<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(MFA) course, get in quick \u2013\u00a0applications<\/strong><\/a> for Fall 2025 close on 15 February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Something for the weekend<\/mark><\/strong> Which way round?\u00a0Find out here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Things we didn\u2019t know no.94<\/mark><\/strong> 87% of tracks on Spotify have fewer than 1,000 streams, which mean the acts don’t get paid \u2013 songs with less than 1,000 streams have been demonetised by Spotify (which incidentally donated Kr1.7m \u2013 about $150k \u2013 to Trump’s inauguration).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earworm of the week<\/mark><\/strong> The Cliffords : Shattered Glass<\/a><\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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