This week’s editorial musings
from magpie’s nest<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The quote<\/mark><\/strong> Life\u2019s tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late Benjamin Franklin<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Dubai gets a museum too<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0The big news in Dubai this week was the announcement of\u00a0DUMA, the Dubai Museum of Art<\/strong><\/a>. So far there\u2019s a tweet from Sheikh Mohammed, a starchitect \u2013\u00a0Tadao Ando<\/strong>, who has a good track record for cultural buildings like this \u2013 and\u00a0some renders. We know it will be on a new man-made island in\u00a0Dubai Creek, it will have five stories with galleries on two of those, and it will have \u201ctraining programmes\u201d. Which leaves a whole lot unsaid: like, there\u2019s no start date, no target opening date, no idea of floorspace, no budget (though it will be developed by the Al-Futtaim Group, so presumably paid for by them at least in part) and of course no word on collection or curatorial policy \u2013 though it might be significant that it\u2019s not a museum of\u00a0modern<\/em> art (DMOMA? MOMAD?). The exact location is a bit vague, too, though it would seem to be somewhere around Festival City. Still, the renders are pretty \u2013 thought he structure itself looks a bit inelegant to us, something of a surprise since Tadao Ando\u2019s studio has usually majored on cool minimalism …<\/p>\n\n\n\n More light<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong> Manar Abu Dhabi<\/strong><\/a>, the city\u2019s public light art exhibition, looks like it’s growing into a mini arts festival \u2013 the just-released details of 23 site-specific light sculptures, projections, and installations (by 15 artists and collectives from 10 countries) includes\u00a0expansion to Al Ain<\/strong>\u00a0plus a really interesting\u00a0programme<\/strong>\u00a0of talks, workshops, and performances. Not\u00a0enormous (yet), but the eight\u00a0talks<\/strong>\u00a0include ‘The Future of Art Without AI: Is It Possible?’, performances feature the very hip\u00a0Bedouin Burger<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Haepaary<\/strong> plus\u00a0Tarek Yamani<\/strong>, and there are\u00a0lectures<\/strong>\u00a0by participating artists for uni\u00a0students plus hands-on workshops for the rest of us. There\u2019s a raft of \u2018partner programmes\u2019 too. So, an incipient festival vibe. Manar Abu Dhabi runs 1 Nov to 4 Jan (Al Ain) and 15 Nov to 4 Jan (Abu Dhabi). Lots of info\u00a0here<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0… Art is good for you<\/mark>\u00a0<\/strong>Researchers at King\u2019s College London<\/strong><\/a> measured the monitored heart rates, skin temperature, and hormone levels of 50 people aged 18 to 40 as they viewed paintings by Manet, Van Gogh, and Gauguin. Half saw the originals, half saw reproductions. Those looking at original artworks showed a 22% drop in the stress hormone cortisol<\/strong>, compared to only 8& among those seeing copies. All in all, its seems viewing actual art simultaneously engages the immune, endocrine, and nervous systems, promoting both physical and emotional wellbeing<\/strong>. Hooray!<\/p>\n\n\n\n More museum<\/mark><\/strong><\/strong> Al Ain Museum<\/strong>, the country\u2019s first, has reopened following extensive (and really quite sensitive)\u00a0redevelopment<\/strong><\/a> by Dabbagh Architects. It’s bigger, better and well worth a visit. Standard tickets<\/strong><\/a> are AED 47.25 …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fight fires fast<\/mark><\/strong> You really want the people who got the Guinness World Record\u00a0for the fastest time to climb the stairs of Burj Khalifa while wearing full firefighter gear<\/strong><\/a> to be firefighters. Let\u2019s hear it for Majid Al Ali<\/strong>, Abdulla AL Shamsi <\/strong>and Ahmad Al Jasmi<\/strong> from Dubai Civil Defence, who made the total of 160 floors in 52 mins 30.6 secs …\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Who’s buying art<\/mark><\/strong> Some key takeaways from the newly published Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting 2025<\/strong><\/a>, another of Dr Clare McAndrew\u2019s number-crunching analyses \u2013 1.\u00a0<\/strong>HNWIs are still keen on art, allocating 20% of their wealth to it 2.\u00a0<\/strong>boomers collect paintings,\u00a0Gen Zs want digital art and film and video art, millennials spend on prints, photography, and works on paper\u00a03.\u00a0<\/strong>women outspent their male peers by 46% on average. More fun facts here<\/strong><\/a> …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alt.Dubai<\/mark><\/strong> Is there an indie music scene in Dubai? Sure, but maybe it lacks a focal point. Alterna.tiv<\/strong><\/a> on 15 Nov is looking to provide one \u2013 a roomful of art done differently, another for DJs, a stage for indie\/alt bands, and a general \u2018lets-build-a-community vibe. Worth checking out: details here<\/strong><\/a> …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don’t miss<\/mark><\/strong> Dubai Design Week<\/strong><\/a> fills d3 with free exhibits, shows, and more alongside the pay-to-enter Downtown Design <\/strong>and Editions<\/strong>. Always buzzy: 4-9 Nov. And if you have kids, check out the Poetry in Action<\/strong><\/a> shows at the Cultural Foundation this weekend: a completely brilliant introduction to poetry …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last chance to see<\/b><\/mark> <\/mark>Monif Ajaj<\/strong><\/a>‘s elegantly detailed\u00a0colour\u00a0at\u00a0Fann \u00e0 Porter:\u00a0Abdelkader Benchamma<\/strong><\/a>‘s cosmologies at\u00a0Gallery Isabelle:\u00a0Afra Al Dhaheri<\/strong><\/a>‘s structural musings at Sharjah Art Foundation\u00a0…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Book ahead<\/b><\/mark> <\/mark>Roberto Bolle<\/strong><\/a> and some friends dance at Dubai Opera on 6 Nov<\/strong><\/a>: Cirque du Liban<\/strong><\/a> brings acrobatics plus aquatics to Abu Dhabi from 13 Nov<\/strong><\/a>:\u00a0Bj\u00f6rn Again<\/strong><\/a> does Dubai on 21 Nov<\/strong><\/a> …\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Useful app of the week<\/mark><\/strong><\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0Monocle 2.0<\/a><\/strong> lets you blur all the stuff on your Mac screen apart from the window you\u2019re working in to help you focus. It\u2019s clean, simple, a bit customisable, and effective. There\u2019s a seven-day free trial then a one-off $9 …<\/p>\n\n\n\n Something for the weekend<\/mark><\/strong> Maze Garden<\/a><\/strong> lets you draw your own maze, add obstacles, navigate around it in 3D, and share it with others for them to solve.\u00a0Try it here<\/a>\u00a0…<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Things we didn\u2019t know no.94<\/mark><\/strong>\u00a0There is no\u00a0difference between a hurricane<\/strong>, a cyclone<\/strong> and a typhoon<\/strong>; they just happen in different places \u2013 hurricanes\u00a0in the North Atlantic and the Northeast Pacific, cyclones in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean, typhoons in the Northwest Pacific\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
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"