This week’s editorial musings
from magpie’s nest<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The quote<\/mark><\/strong> Our heads are round so our thoughts can change direction Francis Picabia<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s the end of Abu Dhabi Art\u00a0as we know it<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0Having established itself as\u00a0the biggest regional art fair<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0of 2025, Abu Dhabi Art\u00a0will have just one more edition (19-23 Nov<\/strong><\/a>)\u00a0before being reborn as\u00a0Frieze Abu Dhabi<\/strong><\/a>. Good thing or bad? We wandered through the background, asked a couple of local gallerists what they made of the news and the recent\u00a0Art Basel Qatar<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0announcements, and wondered what the future holds \u2013 for the Gulf\u2019s art ecosystem, for Gulf-adjacent artists, and for\u00a0Art Dubai<\/strong><\/a>. Is the region big enough for\u00a0three<\/em>\u00a0art fairs a year, each aiming for 100+ galleries?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Accessible ZNM …<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong> The\u00a0Zayed National Museum<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is the first cultural institution in the Middle East to\u00a0sign up to the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower programme<\/strong><\/a>. This international imitative enables individuals with hidden disabilities, such as chronic pain, autism, anxiety and dementia, to discreetly indicate that they may require additional support by wearing a Sunflower lanyard or pin; trained museum staff will be identified by their own Sunflower pins (the museum aims to have \u201cup to\u201d 80% its staff fully trained by the December opening)\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n … Accessible art<\/mark>\u00a0<\/strong>With funds raised by Taj Hotels through the estimable\u00a0Art be a Part<\/strong><\/a>, a new school bus has been donated to Dubai\u2019s\u00a0Special Needs Future Development Center<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(supports special needs students) with a paint job by French-Tunisian\u00a0calligraffiti\u00a0artist\u00a0eL Seed<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and a group of children of determination. The result: \u201ca moving artwork that tells a story of inclusion, empowerment, and the boundless possibilities of artistic collaboration\u201d. Great idea. The bus will now be used daily to transport students from their homes to the SNF centre …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sounds right<\/mark><\/strong><\/strong> The third\u00a0Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(30 Jan \u2013 23 Apr) will be titled\u00a0In Interludes and Transitions<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0drawn from \u201ca colloquial phrase invoking the cycles of encampments and journeys in nomadic communities in the Arabian Peninsula, taking as a point of departure the movements, migrations, and transformations that continue to connect the Gulf region with the world”. Interestingly, there\u2019s\u00a0something of a focus on “movement, processions, and cultural transmission” with sound-based artworks alongside visual art, music, and performance. It will have 70+ artists and 20+ new commissions …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Filling in<\/mark><\/strong> Of course it\u00a0had to happen: the long boring strip of E11 between Abu Dhabi and Dubai is due for major development, staring with the southern end \u2013\u00a0AD Ports<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0has\u00a0signed a AED 2.47 bn deal<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0with Dubai-based\u00a0Mira Developments<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0to build a massive mixed-use community, including 14,000 apartments, 1,700 villas, 1,000 townhouses, three hotels, golf courses, schools and, of course, “one of the region\u2019s largest shopping malls”. It looks as though it will take up a chunk of space between the E11 and E311 near Khalifa Industrial City when it\u2019s ready in 10 years time …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Driver-free Ubers<\/mark><\/strong> The Chinese autonomous driving startup\u00a0WeRide<\/strong><\/a>, which is has the early lead in the (ahem) drive for driverless taxis, is now officially active in Abu Dhabi via a new \u2018Autonomous<\/strong><\/a>\u2019 ride-hailing category in the Uber app \u2013 the first time Uber has offered the option anywhere in the world. It\u2019s limited to routes around Yas, Saadiyat, Al Reem, and Al Maryah, plus the airport (downtown comes next year). WeRide has actually been\u00a0trialling with Uber<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0for a year, with standard bookings occasionally matched with a WeRide Robotaxi; now it\u2019s an explicit option at the same price as Uber Comfort.\u00a0WeRide’s Robobus has just announced that it be operating across nine stops on\u00a0Al Marjan Island<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0in RAK; Dubai comes next year for buses and taxis, with both WeRide and Pony.ai getting trials\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last-chance opps<\/mark><\/strong> You only have till\u00a020 Oct<\/strong>\u00a0to get in some ideas for\u00a0an exhibition proposal at 421<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And also getting near is the 31 Oct <\/strong>deadline for the Design Doha Prize<\/strong><\/a>. Four designers are selected across four different design categories (Craft, Product Design\u200b. Furniture Design\u200b, “Emerging Talent”); each gets QR 200,000<\/strong>, about the same in AED …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Real-time life<\/mark><\/strong> Utterly banal, but somehow strangely life-affirming: a database of\u00a0publicly accessible webcams<\/strong><\/a>, from majestic landscapes to launderettes. None in the UAE, of course …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Useful app of the week<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0Digital Creativity Tools<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0does exactly what it says \u2013 it\u2019s an online\u00a0directory of useful tools and resources to help you create stuff online, mainly free. Good for students, but also loads of inspiration for the rest of us\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Something for the weekend<\/mark><\/strong> Wordslide<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0is (another) daily word puzzle: rearrange the letters in a grid by sliding them along the rows and columns so that it forms words both vertically and horizontally. Harder than it looks\u00a0…\u00a0Try it here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Things we didn\u2019t know no.94<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0A\u00a0group of flamingoes is called a ‘flamboyance<\/strong>‘. Just perfect\u00a0…<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Earworm of the week<\/mark> <\/a><\/strong>Mandy, Indiana : Pinking Shears<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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