This week’s editorial musings from magpie’s nest<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The quote<\/mark><\/strong> To ask why we need libraries at all, when there is so much information available elsewhere, is about as sensible as asking if roadmaps are necessary now that there are so very many roads\u00a0Jon\u00a0Bing<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Home-grown prizes<\/mark><\/strong> The\u00a0fifth edition of the\u00a0UAE Designer Exhibition<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0at last year\u2019s Downtown Design, which showed furniture and products from around 30 emerging UAE-based designers, has won the \u2018Best Incubator\u2019 award in the\u00a02025 Monocle Design Awards<\/strong><\/a>. Seems well deserved; as the citation puts it, \u201cAbu Dhabi and Dubai have long imported star architects and designers from across the globe for major works\u00a0\u2026 The UAE Designer Exhibition is shifting the narrative\u201d in its emphasis on emerging local talent\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Library love<\/mark><\/strong> We have a lot of time for librarians, especially\u00a0school librarians<\/strong>; they\u2019re the tour guides for the countries of the imagination. A big hand then for Emirates Literature Foundation’s\u00a0School Librarians of the Year Award 2025<\/strong><\/a>, which had a record-breaking 106 nominations this year. The main SLOY winners were\u00a0Azza Mohamed, Qatr Alnada School, Abu Dhabi<\/strong>\u00a0for the public schools award; and\u00a0Marina Koniotou, Amity International School, Abu Dhabi<\/strong>, for the private schools section. (The capital did well \u2013 there were eight awards in total, and Abu Dhabi schools won six of them.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mouse to Yas<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0If Saadiyat is being groomed as Culture Corner, it looks like Yas has been designated for more popular entertainment.\u00a0Disney<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is to build\u00a0its seventh theme park<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0there, alongside the likes of the Ferrari and Warner Bros amusement parks, SeaWorld Abu Dhabi, and Yas Waterworld. Touted as \u201cthe most advanced and interactive destination in the Disney portfolio,\u201d it will be built and operated by Miral with Disney licencing its IP and providing \u201cdevelopment and management services\u201d (but no investment cash \u2013 Disney will be getting royalties and service fees)\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Delayed policies<\/mark><\/strong><\/strong> Dubai Opera<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0has introduced a new\u00a0latecomer policy<\/strong><\/a>: turn up late and you will not get into the auditorium until there\u2019s an intermission (and presumably not at all if there isn\u2019t one). This is \u201cto maintain an atmosphere of respect and focus for everyone in the theatre\u201d \u2013 and frankly it\u2019s what just every other formal theatre\/opera venue does. \u201cTogether, let’s honour the art\u201d intones the Dubai Opera message, rather than say \u201cIt\u2019s rude to arrive late and expect to take your seat. Also, turn off your phone and don\u2019t eat popcorn\u201d\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n 421\u00a0pump-priming<\/mark><\/strong> In a batch announcement,\u00a0421<\/strong>\u00a0has named\u00a015 artists and collectives<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0from the MENASA region as the participants elected for its\u00a0Curatorial Development Program, Artistic Research Grant, and Homebound Residency<\/strong><\/a>. They\u2019ll get grants and other financial resources plus professional support to work on \u201cprojects that explore critical issues related to human engagement with the environment\u201d\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n It tolls for thee<\/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.Dubai\u2019s toll gate operator\u00a0Salik<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0clocked up\u00a0revenues of AED 752m for Q1 2025<\/strong><\/a>, a third more than the same period last year. There were\u00a0158m chargeable trips<\/strong>\u00a0in total, thanks to the two new toll gates installed last November and the introduction of variable pricing at the end of January. It all meant\u00a0profits\u00a0for the period increased 34%\u00a0<\/strong>YoY to hit AED 371m, which should pay for a few more gates\u00a0…<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sign of the times<\/mark><\/strong> Kickstarter<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is introducing a new \u2018tariff manager tool<\/strong><\/a>\u2019 that will allow creators to add extra charges to projects that were already fully funded in order to deal with the higher and unexpected costs of the president\u2019s global trade war\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Biennial podworld\u00a0<\/mark><\/strong>We\u2019ve been listening to the\u00a0Biennial Bytes<\/strong><\/a>, the official podcast of the Sharjah Biennial, and it\u2019s really rather good. True, not all artists and curators are natural communicators via the spoken word;, and of course not all of them have English as their first language. But the opener sets the tone,\u00a0a conversation between Hoor Al Qasimi and the five curators of SB16<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Alia Swastika, Amal Khalaf, Megan Tamati-Quennell, Natasha Ginwala and Zeynep \u00d6z\u00a0\u2013 which says more about the thinking behind their selections than any press release or website copy can. And much the same goes for the other dozen or so Biennial Bytes we\u2019ve listened to, with\u00a0SB16 artists talking about their projects<\/strong>. Highly recommended, and at around 30 minutes per pod just about the right length. Available at the usual podcast stores, like Apple and Spotify, or directly\u00a0here<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Get one free<\/mark><\/strong><\/strong> Ewan Valentine\u2019s\u00a0Honda Civic Type-R<\/strong>\u00a0was stolen from his driveway in the British Midlands, and he used the insurance money to look for a replacement. He found one that looked identical \u2013 same colour, same extras, similar mileage \u2013 and bought it for \u00a320,000. But then he began recognising various items inside, like a Tesco sandwich bag containing the locking wheel nut and some Christmas tree pinecones in the boot. The penny finally dropped when he found\u00a0his own address<\/strong>\u00a0saved in the satnav\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Coincidence corner<\/mark><\/strong><\/strong> After the\u00a0US Copyright Office<\/strong>\u00a0published a 113-page report citing concerns about\u00a0using copyrighted materials to train AI<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(though it wasn\u2019t exactly a damning conclusion: \u201cseveral stages in the development of generative AI involve using copyrighted works in ways that implicate the owners\u2019 exclusive rights\u201d) the Trump administration emailed the office’s director,\u00a0Shira Perlmutter<\/strong>, announcing\u00a0her termination<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Art Week there<\/mark><\/strong><\/strong> Art Week Riyadh<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(5\u201313 April) clocked up more than\u00a017,000 visitors<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 not bad for an inaugural edition, albeit one that featured 50+ galleries, 200+ artists, 500+ artworks and 100+ activations across 13 locations\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tonight’s the Night<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0Two to catch this evening: Bong Joon Ho’s smash hit black comedy\u00a0Parasite<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0at Louvre Abu Dhabi, and the\u00a0Fridge’s good\u00a0Open Mic night<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0in Dubai\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Art diary<\/mark><\/strong><\/strong> At least two interesting\u00a0shows open\u00a0this week \u2013\u00a0Layered Medium: We Are in Open Circuits<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(radical works from the Seoul Museum of Art @ Manarat al Saadiyat) and\u00a0Unstable Grounds<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(the\u00a02025 NYUAD MFA grad show @ 421)\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Something for the weekend<\/mark><\/strong> The Alphabet Book Challenge<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>invites you to get from A to Z by guessing the word that 26 books each chose\u00a0for their themed alphabets, using as few hints as possible. Much fun. Play it\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Things we didn\u2019t know no.94<\/mark><\/strong> Los Angeles’ full name is\u00a0El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula<\/strong>\u00a0(the Porciuncula is the small Italian church where St Francis of Assisi lived. He founded the Franciscan order, and two Franciscans documented the original expedition and settlement that founded LA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earworm of the week<\/mark><\/strong> Real Lies : Towards Horses<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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