This week’s editorial musings from magpie’s nest<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The quote<\/mark><\/strong> It is important to use your hands. That is what distinguishes you from a cow or a computer operator\u00a0Paul Rand<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Art Basel Gulf<\/mark><\/strong> Looks like the rumoured $20m deal for Art Basel to take over Abu Dhabi Art isn\u2019t happening \u2013 Art Basel is coming to the region next February as\u00a0Art Basel Qatar<\/strong><\/a>, a curated boutique show of around 50 galleries. Naturally\u00a0we have the details<\/strong><\/a>, some of the back story, and lots of speculation\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Elementary<\/mark><\/strong> It\u2019s\u00a0Sherlock Holmes Day<\/strong>\u00a0today (apparently because 22 May is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle\u2019s birthday. So shouldn\u2019t it be Conan Doyle Day?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Dubai Guinness World Record is back<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0This one is for the\u00a0Largest Awareness Ribbon Mosaic in Support of Inflammatory Bowel Disease<\/strong>. It\u2019s 30m2<\/sup>and was assembled using over 20,000 purple IBD awareness ribbons. \u201cThis powerful visual representation of solidarity aims to shed light on the challenges faced by IBD patients while symbolising hope for improved care and increased awareness.\u201d Let\u2019s hope it works …<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Mamluks are coming<\/mark><\/strong><\/strong> Louvre Abu Dhabi\u2019s 2025-2026 season<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0looks like another good one, opening 17 September with\u00a0Mamluks: Legacy of an Empire<\/strong>. The Mamluks could do with more exposure in the West: they were slave-soldiers in the 9th century Abbasid caliphate, destroyed the Crusader kingdoms of Outremer, ruled an area that included Egypt, Syria, the Levant, Saudi Arabia and parts of Anatolia from 1250 until 1517, made Cairo the dominant city of the Islamic world in the later Middle Ages, and promoted craftsmanship, architecture and scholarship. Should be lots of decorative goodies on show \u2013 \u201ca remarkable selection of objects\u201d as the press bumf puts it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The other big exhibition is next year\u2019s Picasso, the Figure<\/strong>, exploring the artist\u2019s approach to the human form and tracing his engagement with mythological, surrealist, and classical themes throughout his career. Lovely stuff …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nahas for Venice\u00a0<\/mark><\/strong>Lebanon\u2019s Venice Biennale artist for next year will be\u00a0Nabil Nahas<\/strong>, with\u00a0Nada Ghandour<\/strong>\u00a0as curator of the country\u2019s Pavilion …<\/p>\n\n\n\n AI slop on the beach<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0The first ten titles in a\u00a0Chicago Sun-Times<\/em>\u00a0‘summer reading’ list turn out to be\u00a0AI fakes<\/strong>. “We are looking into how this made it into print … It is not editorial content and was not created by, or approved by, the Sun-Times newsroom … We value your trust in our reporting and take this very seriously”\u00a0intoned the publication<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0as it looks for someone else to blame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ted Gioia\u2019s take<\/strong><\/a>, as always, makes an interesting read. \u201cThe article starts with a recommendation for Tidewater Dreams by Isabel Allende … The book simply doesn\u2019t exist. I\u2019ll predict, however, that an AI-generated book with this title will show up on Amazon within a few days. When you live in a world of AI hallucinations, this is how the business model plays out …\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Open doors<\/mark><\/strong> door.link<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0is \u201ca handpicked music selection, grown over time, algorithm-free, made for listening and dancing\u201d (mostly listening, in fact) which harks back to a time when without automatic playlists or ads, discovering music was the result of deliberate research, which made the listener, at the very least, selective …\u201d There are 150 or so \u2018doors\u2019 to date, typically 45-50 minutes long. Check it out\u00a0here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n New New Media opp\u00a0<\/mark><\/strong>Saudi Arabia\u2019s pioneering new media arts centre\u00a0Diriyah Art Futures<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0has launched an open call for applications to its second Emerging New Media Artists programme \u2013 a unique and \u201cfully supported\u201d one-year programme, well worth checking out if you are 35 years or younger, at graduate or postgraduate completion stage, and have some experience in New Media and Digital Art. Apply by\u00a016 June<\/strong>. We\u2019ll have details on the\u00a0Opportunities<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0page in a day or so, but in the meantime check it out\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tonight’s the Night<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0Second night (of four) for\u00a0MTDXB’s\u00a0Guys and Dolls<\/a><\/strong> at Sunmarke School in JVT: an adaptation of Yasmina Reza’s\u00a0Carnage<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0at SUAD on Reem Island: and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)<\/strong><\/a> at Zabeel Theatre (second night of four)\u00a0…\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Something for the weekend<\/mark><\/strong> One Million Chessboards<\/strong><\/a> is a game with (yep) one million chessboards \u2013 moving a piece on one board moves it for everyone, instantly, on all boards. Technically brilliant, and probably guaranteed to make your head explode …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Things we didn\u2019t know no.94<\/mark><\/strong> Haribos<\/strong> are so-named because\u00a0the sweet business’s founder Hans Riegel<\/strong> lived in Bonn<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earworm of the week<\/mark><\/strong> Amore : Queri\u00f3<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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