This week’s editorial musings from magpie’s nest<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The quote<\/mark><\/strong> The precise role of the artist, then, is to illuminate that darkness, blaze roads through that vast forest, so that we will not, in all our doing, lose sight of its purpose, which is, after all, to make the world a more human dwelling place\u00a0James Baldwin<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Modern circus<\/mark><\/strong> The days when \u2018circus\u2019 meant sad animals and sadder clowns are hopefully behind us, replaced by high-energy performance art with acrobatic choreography and something to say, This month sees not one but two really good contemporary \u2018circuses\u2019 in the UAE \u2013 Aussie company\u00a0Gravity & Other Myths\u00a0<\/strong>with\u00a0The Pulse<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0at Dubai Opera (get 50% off by using promocode PULSE50) and the Guinean\u00a0Circus Baobab<\/strong>\u00a0with\u00a0Y\u00e9\u00a0!<\/strong><\/a>at NYUAD Arts Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unfortunately, they\u2019re both on this weekend (9 and 10 May); if you have to choose, maybe go for Baobab (a) for the ticket prices and (b) for the backstory (read it here<\/a><\/strong>) …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Discount dad <\/mark><\/strong>rock<\/strong><\/mark> From 12\u201318 May, and for one week only, you can get\u00a0tickets to Live Nation shows<\/strong>\u00a0happening during the rest of the year for just\u00a0AED 99<\/strong>. That means big savings on some big names\u00a0\u2013 heritage rock from the likes of Guns N’ Roses,\u00a0Limp Bizkit,\u00a0David Gray,\u00a0Natalie Imbruglia<\/strong>, even\u00a0Rod Stewart<\/strong>; plus some great-looking comedy gigs, like\u00a0Gad Elmaleh<\/strong>,\u00a0Dave Chappelle<\/strong>,\u00a0Bill Burr<\/strong>. Tickets go on sale at 12pm on 12 May (when you\u2019re booking look for the ticket type labeled \u2018Concert Week Promotion). Info\u00a0here<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Art Here deadline<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0Louvre Abu Dhabi has extended the deadline for proposals to the fifth edition of\u00a0Art Here 2025<\/strong>\u00a0(and therefore the Richard Mille Art Prize too) \u2013 you now have until\u00a018 May<\/strong>\u00a0to get your submissions in. Details are\u00a0here<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n SAT03 curated\u00a0<\/mark><\/strong><\/strong> Sharjah Architecture Triennial<\/strong>\u00a0has named sociocultural anthropologist\u00a0Vyjayanthi<\/strong>\u00a0Rao<\/strong>as curator of its third edition (November 2026 to Match 2027). She\u2019ll be joined by her long-time collaborator, South African architect and publisher\u00a0Tau Tavengwa<\/strong>, as associate curator. \u201cWe hope to open up new ways of thinking about what a triennial like Sharjah can become over time,\u201d they said. There\u2019s a \u2018Meet the Curators\u2019 session at SAT’s HQ in Al Qasimiyah School at 4.30 to 6.30pm on 10 May; register\u00a0here<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cooking in Venice\u00a0<\/mark><\/strong>The\u00a0Biennale Architettura<\/strong>\u00a0opens in Venice this weekend, with the National Pavilion UAE featuring\u00a0Azza Aboualam<\/strong>\u2019s\u00a0Pressure Cooker\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/a>\u2013 an exhibition that explores the intersection of architecture, food security, and climate change through a series of experimental greenhouse assemblies. We\u2019ll have an appreciation of the show in our next issue from our correspondent; in the meantime if you\u2019re in Venice you can check it for yourself at the Arsenale\u2019s Sale d\u2019Armi. The \u00a0Biennale\u00a0Architettura\u00a0runs to \u00a023 November; info\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>, book tickets\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0…<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Bye bye Siri?<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0The\u00a0Perplexity iOS Voice Assistant<\/strong><\/a> is one of the more ambitious AI mobile assistants we\u2019ve seen \u2013 it actually connects to Reminders, Calendar, and other iOS features and blows Siri out of the water. On the App Store\u00a0here<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0…\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n MFA on show<\/mark><\/strong> This year\u2019s MFA cohort from NYUAD are opening a show this evening at the Arts Center\u2019s Project Space. The title,\u00a0A Room of One\u2019s Own<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, obviously borrows from Virginia Woolf\u2019;invites viewers to consider the possibilities that emerge when artists are given the freedom to create \u2013 which just about sums up the point of an MFA. Details\u00a0here<\/strong><\/a>; it runs to 25 May\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tonight\u2019s the night\u00a0<\/mark><\/strong>There\u2019s a lot more going on this evening \u2013 a Curators Talk with the always interesting\u00a0Nada Raza<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0at NYUAD Art Gallery; Magadalena Wajdzik (piano) and Carlos Teixeira (flute) in a programme at Alliance Fran\u00e7aise Dubai for the last concert of the\u00a0UAE Classical Talents Season<\/strong><\/a>; Manel Mallat\u2019s tribute to\u00a0Edith Piaf<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0at the Zabeel Theatre\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Media access<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0Applications are now open for the multi-platform storytelling course at\u00a0CNN Academy Abu Dhabi<\/strong><\/a>. Participants will complete core courses on topics such as Ethics in Journalism, the Art of Storytelling, and the Art of Anchoring; it runs September to November 2025 in Abu Dhabi, will be delivered in English via in-person and online workshops, and is open to UAE residents and nationals over the age of 17 (it’s aimed at school-leavers and students with an interest in the media). The deadline for applications is 30 June; info is\u00a0here<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vindication<\/mark><\/strong>?\u00a0The International Court of Justice has dismissed Sudan\u2019s claim that the UAE was backing the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in the civil war there. The ICJ didn\u2019t adjudicate on the merits of the case, just decided it lacked the jurisdiction (because when the UAE signed up to the Genocide Convention in 2005, it entered a reservation to Article IX, which gives the ICJ jurisdiction to hear disputes between states relating to the interpretation, application, or fulfilment of the treaty). The UAE says this clears everything up\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Something for the weekend<\/mark><\/strong> You shouldn\u2019t need this inducement to donate the price of a pizza to help a people that have been subjected to daily atrocities for 18 months, but a bargain $16<\/strong> buys the Crips for eSims for Gaza Bundle<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 237 games<\/strong> for a variety of platforms with all proceeds going to relief efforts in Gaza. Shop\u00a0here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Things we didn\u2019t know no.94<\/mark><\/strong> According the US Mint’s 2024 annual report, making and distributing a one cent coin<\/strong> costs 3.69 cents. (Trump has now told the Mint\u00a0to stop making them, which some say might end up being the One Good Thing he did.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earworm of the week<\/mark><\/strong> Wet Leg : Catch These Fists<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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