26 posts tagged “dubai”
dubai's newest and surely biggest gallery opened its doors last night, hosting hundreds of collectors, art lovers and dxb-hipsters.
ayyam is one of damascus' most celebrated and successful galleries and it just opened its first international outpost, a magnificently designed 7,500 sq ft lofted space in al quoz, dubai's fledgling take on ny's chelsea / london's shoreditch.
the opening show 'contemporary syria' displayed a massive and diverse range of work by young syrian artists as well as luminaries of modern syrian art like louay kayyali and safwan dahloul and made excellent use of the space's three disctict areas, with the sexy mezannine gallery displaying the show's big pieces including louay kayyali's 'thouma maza' or 'then what' - a legendary 1965 painting predicting the palestinian's looming despair with devestating effect.
my favorite section was the 'shabbab ayyam' (ayyam youth) in the main gallery area that showcased young emerging syrian talent. some great work, i'll need to go back to the gallery and note names and hopefully post some more photos too.
once again, the city of dubai astounds. the way the art scene has been developing and indeed blowing up recently is in line with the way things happen in dubai, people from all over the world see an opportunity and waste no time seizing it. due kudos to the art-scene and alquoz pioneers: B21 (Jeffar started the Dubai-Chelsea movement) and of course the standard bearers The Third Line.
i hope those redeveloping alquoz take note of the area's industrial-art heritage (dubai timelines here) when redesigining and rezoning the area.
disclosure: hisham samawi, the gallery's dubai-based partner (and cousin of Khaled Samawi, Ayyam's ex-banker founder) is a friend i have known for time and my primary golfing buddy.
Sana Munasifi touches on a great point in her recent review of the Fifth Annual Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Festival. She highlights the recently opened Abu Dhabi branch of the Arabian Oud House as an example of the type of grass-roots, ground-up, regionally relevant and contextual initiative (= investment) that may ultimately produce results (= returns) with more significant impact than those from grand Saadiyat like projects.
The way I see it, why not do both if you have the means to? And I imagine Abu Dhabi has the means to do almost anything it wants.
I sensed an outcry amongst the Dubai cultural movers and shakers when Saadiyat was launched which I always found astonishing. For years the standard art-opening conversations included rants on the regional governments' lack of investment and interest in the Arts & Culture industry. Yet when Abu Dhabi announces the biggest Arts & Culture project undertaken in modern times, there is a backlash about the way the money is being spent (trophy-museums, blatant tourism projects, unoriginal etc). As someone who has been active on a grass-roots level in the burgeoning regional culture scenes I have always believed that the most interesting movements and developments emerge through individuals and small groups and that these ground-up movements would benefit from a larger cultural eco-system which the mega projects planned in Abu Dhabi and Doha and Dubai will undoubtedly provide.
Back to Sana's article, she raves about a new find for me: Iraqi Oud player Naseer Shamma:
"Mr Shamma broke with oud convention with his work "Oriental Orchestra". Thisperformance at the festival saw 67 international musicians playing 15 ouds, ten kanoons (similar to the harpsichord) and nine nays (a kind of flute), with drums, tambourines and other instruments. The concert included solos and call-and-response phrases between Mr Shamma and different instrumental groups, but most songs featured the full orchestra. The multitude of minor tones created a clangy, dissonant sound, which was, as Mr Shamma admitted, shocking in its unorthodoxy. But the jingle of the orchestra injected his compositions with new, lively personality. It was a welcome change from the regional classics performed throughout much of the rest of the festival."
And she makes lots of great observations- my favorite:
"The festival, like much in the Emirates, was rife with status symbols. Seating sections included VIP, VVIP and Pearl and Diamond seating (I'm still unsure which was more elite)."
I am a real believer in Abu Dhabi, I think it (along with Doha) will be a fascinating global city in a few decades. Mohamed Bin Zayed and Hamad Bin Khalifa are currently the Middle East's most interesting leaders.
DUBAI NEXT: Face of 21st Century Culture
Firestation, Vitra Campus, June 5 – September 14, 2008
An exhibition by the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority in cooperation with the Vitra Design Museum.
Curators: Rem Koolhaas & Jack Persekian
Everyone knows the architectural landmarks of Dubai, but this new global city’s true achievement and future promise soars well beyond it’s dynamic growth and spectacular buildings. Dubai is first and foremost about its people – a vibrant, multicultural and cosmopolitan community made up of over 200 different nationalities. These people are the driving forces behind the widely published new forms of design, culture, communication and lifestyle that shape Dubai today. Nowhere else in the world is the radical transformation of what people think of nationalities, heritage and culture more evident than in Dubai.
This exhibition tells the story of Dubai from a cultural angle. It shows the making of 21st century culture, built upon the vision and heritage of the Emirati people and their fellow global citizens everywhere, as well as how these ideas take shape on architectural, urbanistic and cultural projects for the next decades. Being shown parallel to the exhibition “Living under the Crescent Moon” the exhibition “Dubai Next” will complement the museum’s focus on Arab domestic and contemporary culture in 2008.
with vm's massive capex outlays funding all these new stores, suspensions on dividends last year, i wonder if there's a risk of over-stretched finances here. the vm stock was one of the worst performing on the kuwaiti exchange in 2007 although its bounced back in 08 (still at below ipo levels though). '07 revenues were around US$25 million (net income around US$2.7), and current assets were around US$42 million. investments in bahrain and damascus and even doha will not generate returns anywhere near dubai / kuwait / saudi levels and all of the new stores will take some time to start contributing positively to the bottom line. 2008's q1 numbers are only in the black thanks to 'other income' of US$2.5 million. lets see if the group can match the visionary fashion plans with prudent financial planning. i certainly hope so. villa moda is an all too rare example of regional companies innovating and building exciting world-class brands rather than simply franchising. sheikh majid is a visionary who is considered an inspirational role model for many of us working in the fledgling 'cultural' industry in dubai and the wider region.
