This week’s editorial musings from magpie’s nest<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The quote:<\/mark><\/strong> Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it, and above all, accurately so they will be guided by its light\u00a0Joseph Pulitzer<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Bricks as books<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0The winner of the thirteenth edition of\u00a0The Christo and Jeanne-Claude Award<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0is\u00a0Hannan Arshad<\/strong>, a UAE-based Indian artist and graphic designer, with\u00a0Safekeeping Stories<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 an interactive installation that aims to preserve Mughal architectural and cultural knowledge via recreations of traditional Lakhori bricks engraved with the artist\u2019s own interpretation of Mughal miniatures. The bricks are arranged to resemble a library, inviting viewers to physically remove a brick\/book from the structure to look at it. As usual, it will be unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art in November …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Art fair booths are so yesterday<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0Art Basel Qatar<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0has hit the ground running with some unconventional moves, naming the Egyptian-born artist\u00a0Wael Shawky<\/strong>\u00a0as Artistic Director and outlining a new \u201copen format\u201d for the fair \u2013 instead of the conventional booths there will be solo presentations by galleries \u201cresponding to a central thematic framework\u201d. That theme is \u2018Becoming<\/strong>\u2019, aka \u201ca meditation on humanity\u2019s ongoing transformation and the evolving systems that shape how we live, believe, and create meaning\u201d. Art Basel Qatar will run 5-7 February next year.\u00a0We\u2019ll have more on this story in a day or so\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n See me, feel me<\/mark>\u00a0<\/strong>Louvre Abu Dhabi\u2019s\u00a0Quantum Dome Project<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0is a 25-minute VR experience that provides a SF-like historical context for three significant artefacts from the permanent collection \u2013 a marble bust of Augustus (and 1st Century Rome), a manuscript page from the 13th century De Materia Medica (Baghdad\u2019s House of Wisdom at its most potent), and the 17th\u201318th century Mughal armour known as Four Mirrors. This looks a clever interpretation of the museum\u2019s storytelling remit; it was described as \u201can experience where visitors can engage with history not as distant observers but as active participants\u201d.\u00a0Tickets are AED 120<\/strong><\/a>, though that does include general museum admission\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n WADs going on<\/mark><\/strong><\/strong>\u00a0This year\u2019s\u00a0World Art Dubai<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(\u201cthe MENA region\u2019s biggest art fair\u201d) finished its four-day run with more than 14,000 visitors to see the multiple activities and 400-plus exhibitors (including 120+ described as \u2018galleries\u2019). The visitor profile was interesting: fully 25% described themselves as \u2018tourists\u2019 rather than locals. Art-related activities (artists, galleries, curators, interior designers) accounted for 46% of them; 22% were buyers and collectors, ranging from \u2018investors\u2019 to \u2018occasional art buyers\u2019. Bookings for WAD 2026 (23-26 April) are being taken now\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Coming soon (maybe)<\/mark><\/strong> We’ve been looking at\u00a0Zaha Hadid Architects’ masterplan for Khalid Bin Sultan City<\/strong><\/a>, an ecologically-sound but otherwise undramatic mixed-use development adjacent to BEEAH\u2019s headquarters in Sharjah and promoted by BEEAH as part of its reinvention as a whole-environment concern. There\u2019s no word yet on how big Khalid bin Sultan City will be, how many people and workplaces it will house, and when it will be built, or even started; but at least we have some nice renders …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chic eats<\/mark><\/strong> The\u00a0Prix Versailles<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0gives prizes to the World\u2019s Most Beautiful places, including restaurants. Interior design takes precedence over the food in these awards, but\u00a0the top two spots in the 2025 list<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0go to Dubai eateries \u2013 the Emirati-styled\u00a0Gerbou<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0in Nad al Sheba (highly recommended) and the Michelin-starred 14-places-only\u00a0Smoked Room<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0on The Palm (highly priced) …<\/p>\n\n\n\n SAT’s plans<\/mark><\/strong> We took the opportunity to look in more detail at the curators and curatorial statement for the third\u00a0Sharjah Architecture Triennial<\/strong><\/a>, due to open at the\u00a0end of next year. In general we like the look of it; there are no details yet, but the theme \u2013 \u2018Architecture Otherwise’ \u2013 does suggest a range of tools, methods and spatial interventions to create \u201cthe kind of settings often deemed marginal\u201d …\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Buy now<\/mark><\/strong> Dubai\u2019s new\u00a0First-Time Home Buyers initiative<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0might offer a bit less than the name implies \u2013 there\u2019s\u00a0priority access<\/strong>\u00a0to new launches (but the scheme applies only to off-plan sales), \u201cpreferential pricing<\/strong>\u201d (but that\u2019s down to whatever the participating developers decide), and \u201ctailored mortgage solutions<\/strong>\u201d (which again is down to individual banks, and none have announced any tailoring as yet). Your bank is probably one of them; you qualify if you\u2019re a UAE resident aged at least 18 and don\u2019t currently own a freehold property in Dubai. Dubai Land Department says it expects\u00a05,000 new buyers<\/strong>\u00a0will take up the scheme this year\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Making Arabic<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong> \u2018The History of Letters and Diacritical Marks<\/strong><\/a>\u2019 is a short Sharjah Public Libraries exhibition \u2013 part of SPL\u2019s centennial celebrations \u2013 that features rare manuscripts and artefacts from the Sharjah Quran Complex collection. It traces 14 centuries of development in Arabic script, from its earliest forms to the refinement of diacritical marks and the flourishing of Arabic calligraphy, to offer \u201ca compelling look into how the script evolved into an art form and a vessel of knowledge\u201d. It runs to 20 July in\u00a0Al Rahmaniyah Mall<\/strong><\/a>, out on the edge of Sharjah city, but the trip is worth it\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n What’s on<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong><\/strong> It’s the start of summer, so there’s not too much going on \u2013 which is why the Agenda listings section is filled with comedy. Most of the arts-centre type places are running camps for kids, for instance, though there are several art exhibitions still running. And there’s one starting this week:\u00a0Bruno Sfeir<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0at Artbooth in Abu Dhabi. The Spain-based Uruguayan-Lebanese painter is very stylish, with constructivist influences in his\u00a0expressions of inner experience. Which might sound like artspeak, but check it out for yourself and you’ll see what I mean …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Useful app of the week<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0Thesaurus on steroids:\u00a0Power Thesaurus<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0is\u00a0a genuinely useful tool for writers \u2013 a clean, fast web app that gives crowd-sourced associations and related content for a given word. We got 715 related terms for \u201cmagpie\u201d\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Something for the weekend<\/mark><\/strong> Primesweeper<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is (of course) Minesweeper with prime numbers. The new Wordle for maths freaks?\u00a0Try it here\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Things we didn\u2019t know no.94<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0Each king in a\u00a0deck of playing cards<\/strong>\u00a0represents great leader from (European) history \u2013 King David (spades), Alexander the Great (clubs), Julius Caesar (diamonds), Charlemagne (hearts \u2013 and he\u2019s the only one without a moustache. Even though images of him usually show a full beard, including max upper lip coverage)\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earworm of the week<\/mark> <\/a><\/strong>Model\/Actriz : Diva<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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