33 posts tagged “dubai”
Serendipity strikes. From my Inbox today:
Roads Were Open / Roads Were Closed is an interdisciplinary exhibition which maps varying approaches and practices around the experience, perception and memory of conflict-related trauma.
As well as presenting works by Fouad Elkoury, Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige, Tarek Al Ghoussein and Laila Shawa, this exhibition will feature a panel discussion with Joreige, Elkoury and curator Haig Aivazian. A series of corresponding films will be shown over the duration of the exhibition.
Note: Friday 5 September, at 9 pm there will be a panel discussion with participating artists Fouad Elkoury, Khalil Joreige and curator Haig Aivazian. Roads Were Open / Roads Were Closed at The always dependable Third Line 6 September – 2 October.
Roads Were Open / Roads Were Closed Film Series
Films are screened every Saturday for the month of September at The Third Line and CineStar Cinemas, Mall of the Emirates. This film series has been established to run in parallel with the Roads Were Open / Roads Were Closed exhibition.
Saturday 6th - Yawmun Akhar (A Perfect Day) at CineStar Cinemas - Mall of the Emirates / [Dir: Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Noriega, 2006, 88 mins, in Arabic with English subtitles] / Note: You must be above 21 to attend this screening
Saturday 13th - Ahlaam (The Dream) at The Third Line / [Dir: Mohamed Al Daradji, 2006, 110 mins, in Arabic with English subtitles]
Saturday 20th - Ashbaah Beirut (Beyrouth Fantome) at CineStar Cinemas - Mall of the Emirates / [Dir: Ghassan Salhab, 1999, 117 mins, in Arabic with English subtitles]
Saturday 27th - A selection of 3 Short films by Beirut DC at The Third Line / Min Beirut la'illi bihubboona (From Beirut to Those Who Love Us) /[Dir: Beirut DC, 2006, 5 mins, in Arabic with English and French subtitles]
Ka'anana 'Ashroun Mustahil (Like Twenty Impossibles) / [Dir: Anne Marie Jacir, 2000, 17 mins, in Arabic with English subtitles] / Intihar (Suicide) / [Directed by Eliane Rehab, 2003, 26 mins, in Arabic with English subtitles]
Seats are limited and on a strict RSVP only basis to maintain comfort and safety. For entry to the films screened at CineStar, a print out invitation must be shown upon entry.
Film series coordinator Mishaal Al Gergawi will introduce each film and directors/ panelists followed by a Q&A period. All films are free with doors opening at 8pm and films starting at 8:30pm
Dana El Bataji writing for Arab Media & Society believes that
MTV Arabia "has not only translated a western medium to suit an Arab
audience; it has also translated the western definition of what is and
isn’t cool and made it pertinent to the region. That is, by all
accounts, a laudable feat, especially given the cultural, social and
political divides between the west and the Arab world."
Wow. Really? Unfortunately I have yet to watch MTVa, not for lack of trying, I can just never seem to find it on the box, so I can't really comment directly on its laudable feat.
I was interviewed by the MTV international research team in the pre-launch phase (which in typical, and thusfar successful, Dubai Inc / AMG style was highly-condensed; speed to market paramount, thoroughness and preparation secondary) during their field-tour of the region as they looked to connect with and make sense of the attractive demographic called 'Arab Youth'. Amazingly, youths under the age of 24 now make up 50-65 percent of the population of the Middle East (Brookings Institute).
The MTV researchers (these guys' jobs were to basically travel the world identifying global youth cultures - rad) were obsessing over the conservative values of the 'Arab Street' and its much-trumpeted anti-American sentiment.
Now I admit that my experience working in the Middle East, predominantly marketing and selling American and European brands to
kids in the region (often appropriating regional creative talent to achieve
the task), may have provided me not with a skewered sample, one not totally representative of the region's youth population. Our audiences have usually been in the mid-to-high socio-economic brackets, well-traveled and open to the arts. But surely this is the very same audience MTVa is targeting. I don't see the channel winning over the (definitely present) conservative contingent which in any case probably isn't of great interest to the prospective MTVa advertisers. The fact that the channel predominantly broadcasts in English, playing English-language music videos and MTV's internationally syndicated shows (Cribs etc) will in itself filter out much of the conservative audience.
The power of the MTV brand internationally has always revolved around its anti-establishment credentials and it should be no different to kids in the Middle East. They will see right through a diluted, self-censored, polite MTV.
Kids in this part of the world are no less rebellious, angst-ridden, cynical etc than those in MTV's other markets, and they are certainly no less sophisticated at identifying disingenuous brands. With MTV a much diminished cultural force internationally, this isn't the time for dilly-dathering fence-sitting circumspection, it's the time for bold, confident ground-standing, feather-ruffling, two-fingers to the system type stuff.
And yet this is indicative of the path chosen by both Viacom and their regional partner AMG (the latter's perspective is understandable, it is after all a Dubai-government wholly owned entity):
Al Marzouqi is quick to defend the channel’s decision to openly censor
inappropriate content: “We’re applying the standards of the region to
the channel. We’re not applying global standards. Cutting scenes is
normal, and we’re dealing with it. We want a safe channel that people
can watch with their families.”
All in the fear of offending the mighty Saudi market.
Perhaps even more worrying was the fact that MTVa's online strategy was 'something to be worked out once the satellite channel was successfully up and running'. These kids like kids everywhere are anchored online, looking up at the TV as and when something interests them.
Purely anectodally, MTV Arabia doesn't seem to have hit a nerve yet (it's never on, no one talks about it- although there was some negative buzz about the winner of the VJ competition, facebook + myspace set the pulse), although I admit I am too old to truly be in tune with the target audience.
On the commercial front, it's too early to judge one way or the other on the channel's success. The regional broadcast industry is notoriously secretive and often non-commercially driven which makes assessing the market response that much more difficult. But what other youth-oriented platforms are available to advertisers? There's Rotana, ShowTime etc but it is a niche that needs filling and on that count alone, the odds are MTVa will probably be a financial success in the medium term.
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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.
