This week’s editorial musings from magpie’s nest<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The quote:<\/mark><\/strong> Sometimes you have to hug people you really don’t like. That way you’ll know how big to dig the hole in the back garden Anon [credit welcome]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n SB17 curators<\/mark><\/strong> Sharjah Art Foundation<\/a><\/strong>has named Angela Harutyunyan and Paula Nascimento<\/a> <\/strong>as the curators for Sharjah Biennial 17<\/strong><\/a>, due to open in January 2027. Harutyunyan is Professor of Contemporary Art and Theory, Berlin University of the Arts; she\u2019s written extensively on historical temporality and curatorial theory. Nascimento is an independent curator and architect based in Luanda, noted for her interdisciplinary focus on contemporary readings of historical themes in and around Africa and the Global South. Looks like SB17 is going to be strong on contemporary alternatives and how we got here from there …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Home entertainment centre<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong> Home Centre<\/strong><\/a> has come up with the idea of using its retail spaces as \u201cstages for culture, creativity, and community\u201d under the label Home Centre Collective \u2013 \u201cdesigned to be an ongoing space where authenticity, art, and community can meet and live, in-store\u201d. Dubai gets to see this in action on 4 July<\/strong>; looks like it will be a small-stage performance area for music, and artists and others) are invited to pitch themselves to hc.collective@landmarkgroup.com<\/a><\/strong> …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pottering about 2<\/mark> <\/strong>When we mentioned Harry Potter: The Exhibition<\/strong><\/a> last week, prices hadn\u2019t been set. We\u2019re now told it will cost adults AED 135 \u2013 a bit more than we were forecasting \u2013 with discounts for children and seniors. You have to book a timed slot, unless you pay extra for a VIP ticket (they\u2019re saying a visit should take 60-90 minutes). It\u2019s open from 25 July into September and our reporter\u2019s visit to one of the European iterations says it\u2019s well worth seeing if you\u2019re a fan. Book here<\/strong><\/a> …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eurofilm<\/mark><\/strong><\/strong> We didn\u2019t have room to list all the films showing at Abu Dhabi\u2019s Cultural Foundation as part of the European Film Festival<\/strong><\/a>, but nearly all of them would be recommended if we could. As it happens, we particularly like the look of Mond<\/strong><\/a> and The Musicians<\/strong><\/a> (today), Io Sto Bene<\/a><\/strong>andTouki Bouki<\/a><\/strong> (Friday), and Tarrac<\/strong><\/a> (Saturday). Tickets are a bargain AED 25, and the Festival ends on Sunday …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Buy now while stocks last …<\/mark><\/strong> The UAE\u2019s GDP reached AED 1,776bn<\/a><\/strong> last year, a 4% increase on 2023 \u2013 by contrast the G7 countries average 1.5%, the 38 OECD members managed a paltry 0.4%, and the GCC as a whole clocked 2.9%. Non-oil GDP, which now accounts for over three-quarters of the UAE\u2019s economy, grew by 5% YoY \u2013 and perhaps predictably the big contributors were transport (mostly airline passengers, aka tourists), construction, financial and insurance activities, and hospitality. Time to buy some shares?<\/p>\n\n\n\n … Tax the rich …<\/mark><\/strong> Is this the way things are going? Oman<\/strong> is set be the first Gulf country to impose a personal income tax<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 5% on earnings over OMR 42,000 per year (just over AED 400,000). It\u2019s part of efforts to reduce dependance on oil and gas revenues, especially in view of depressed petroprices which are expected to continue through 2026 (the Iran situation may change that of course). Officials say the tax will affect only 1% of the population, and in any case spending on housing, health care, and education will be allowable offsets …<\/p>\n\n\n\n … A piece of Rump<\/mark><\/strong> Developer Dar Global says all units at Dubai\u2019s (caps lock on) TRUMP INTERNATIONAL HOTEL AND TOWER<\/strong> are expected to be sold by the end of summer. Of course. You’ll have to wait till 2031 to move in, mind. Read more here<\/strong><\/a> …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Monkey see monkey do<\/mark><\/strong> The Monkey Project<\/strong><\/a> is a live experiment based on the idea that an infinite number of typing monkeys will eventually write all the works of Shakespeare. You get your own virtual monkey which types random characters at 10 per second and earns points for forming real words. magpie’s nominee is an orangutan named Twirilla Kadson<\/strong><\/a> …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Palais Pompidou<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong> Last week\u2019s commentary implied that Louvre Abu Dhabi membership<\/strong><\/a> might be slightly degraded by lack of free access to the Centre Pompidou in Paris (closed for renovation till 2030). Seems we were a bit previous \u2013\u2013 the Pompidou has temporarily relocated (in part) to the Grand Palais, newly reopened after an extensive refurb of its own. Free entry with a LouvreAD membership should work just fine there …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Drink up<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong> Coffee could be the key to staying strong while you get older. A seven-year study published in the European Journal of Nutrition<\/strong><\/a> found that regularly drinking four to six cups of coffee a day led to a reduced risk of \u201cfrailty\u201d<\/strong> in the 1,100 over-55s surveyed. True, the research was funded by Big Coffee but it does seem to be pretty rigorous …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Abundant opps<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong> Lots of open calls on the Opportunities<\/strong><\/a> page this time. As well as the three closing-real-soon-now entries listed below, the full roster includes three Dubai Design Week<\/strong><\/a> calls, a new art writing residency<\/strong><\/a> and a publishing grant<\/strong><\/a> both via Sharjah Art Foundation, and the National Pavilion UAE\u2019s first shout-out for the exhibition at the 20th Biennale Architettura di Venezia<\/strong><\/a> (May \u2013 Nov 2027). And that\u2019s just a selection …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last chance art<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong> Closing this week, worth seeing \u2013 Abdullah Al Othman<\/strong><\/a> at Iris Projects, Bashir Makhoul<\/strong><\/a> at Zawyeh, Layered Medium: We Are In Open Circuits <\/strong><\/a>at Manarat al Saadiyat, MyLesses<\/strong><\/a> at XVA<\/p>\n\n\n\n Useful app of the week<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong> Sophiana<\/strong><\/a> turns your writing into your own short video. The app \u2013 currently free for limited usage \u2013 asks what kind of tone you want to use, reads your pasted text, proposes some hooks, then generates a script for you to tweak. It uses the selfie camera to film you reading the script (the screen doubles as a teleprompter). You add captions, graphics, whatever, and save a film to upload to Tiktok, YouTube, or wherever your audience might be found. The basic idea is to bridge the divide between a medium which journalists, academics and other wordworkers find most comfortable; and the one their next potential audience prefers. It works pretty well … iOS only<\/strong><\/a> for now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Something for the weekend<\/mark><\/strong> Make music by waving your hands! Give The Arpeggiator<\/strong><\/a> access to your webcam, then start waving \u2013 left hand controls drum patterns, keys and synths on your right. Not sure there\u2019s a way of saving your meisterwerks, but maybe that\u2019s no bad thing. Try it here <\/strong><\/a>…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Things we didn\u2019t know no.94<\/mark><\/strong> 21% of Americans believe Bigfoot is real<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 at least according to a 2018 study, so the number may have changed now that there’s more truth and fewer conspiracies in the country …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earworm of the week<\/mark><\/strong> <\/a>For Nina : Hounds<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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