The 14th Made in Tashkeel exhibition is presenting works by more than 100 artists associated with the art institution.
Many of the artists are presenting more than one work, meaning the exhibition at FN Designs in Dubai’s Alserkal Avenue is brimming with art. The walls are decked floor-to-ceiling with paintings and photographs, risoprints and AI-generated images. Installations are sprawled across the floor, whereas smaller sculptures are curated on top of the centre tables. There is a sense of awe at the sheer number of works exhibited, not to mention the wide array of mediums they cover.
The exhibition is an annual mainstay event by Tashkeel. It is especially significant for emerging talents in the country, giving them a chance to present their works and gain much-needed exposure. Like every year, there are gems to be discovered and promising talents to look out for.
The exhibition is a gesture of “appreciation towards our members and participants in our workshops,” says Karam Hoar, marketing and communication specialist at Tashkeel.
There are several works produced by longtime members of the institution, including Emirati artist Badr Abbas, whose paintings touch upon Dubai motifs with a cubist’s flair and incorporate characters dressed in traditional attire alongside urban elements including sign posts and storefronts, all playfully deconstructed and arranged.
Boushra Almutawakel is exhibiting a series of introspective photographs, self-portraits that are superimposed with red acrylic paints. Mohamed Ali, meanwhile, shows a selection of his astrophotography, capturing celestial bodies and nebulae with stunning detail.
Mozhdeh Zandieh-Grayson is presenting an installation piece that reflects upon the concept of hope, with white pebbles clustered in a path towards a curving mirror. On the other side of the mirror are a series of smaller black and silver stones, alluding to realised and withered aspirations.
Mohamed Alastad is also exhibiting a piece titled Burqa. The Emirati artist is known for his unique artistic method, which involves burying tarps with metals along coastlines, letting them impress textures and colours over a period of time, before unearthing them. Alastad utilises the same technique in Burqa.
The exhibition is also dedicating a wall to art that explores Palestinian identity. Embroidery motifs are prevalent across several works, which range from the abstract to the figurative. There are also prints and mixed media artworks, as well as AI-generated images, including one by Sheikha Lateefa bint Maktoum, who is the director and founder of Tashkeel. The image features a woman dressed in traditional Palestinian clothing holding a watermelon.
“Of course, with the current situation, we are trying to shed some light on what's happening in Gaza,” Hoar says.
Sheikha Lateefa has several works in the exhibition, a fair share of them generated by AI. In fact, there are more than a dozen works in the exhibition that have been produced using AI. The works have come about as a result of a collaborative programme between Tashkeel and Museum of the Future, which took place in October.
The aim of the workshop, Hoar says, was to recognise AI as an artistic tool and not so much a threat. “It [explored] how art can be generated via AI,” Hoar says. “People are [somewhat] afraid of AI, but it’s really a tool. It doesn’t control you.”
Many of the risoprints displayed have also been produced as part of workshops hosted by Tashkeel. Risoprints are made using a special machine, which is something in between a photocopier and screen printer. Risograph machines print one colour at a time, requiring pages to be manually refer into the machine. The results can be surprising but nonetheless visually striking.
The risoprint workshops at Tashkeel are recurring, with another one to be offered sometime in July. “The magic about risograph is that it lets you mix elements, layers and colours with [unexpected results],” says Hoar. The risographs displayed come from artists as young as 17, and playfully mix Arabic calligraphy together with human forms.
Made in Tashkeel is also offering a sneak peek into its upcoming restaurant. A farm to table concept that revolves around Emirati cuisine, Gerbou will be opening “very soon”, Hoar says, at Nadd Al Sheba, beside Tashkeel’s main headquarters.
Images at the exhibition offer a glimpse of the restaurant. One of the highlights of its interior design is the chairs crafted from the wood of ghaf trees, which hold special significance in UAE culture.
Made in Tashkeel has long been a dizzying celebration of artworks produced by up-and-coming talents in the UAE. This seems especially true this year.
There are more than a few gems in the panoply of works being presented this year, and the space in itself offers an uplifting atmosphere, brimming with creativity and potential.
Made in Tashkeel is running at FN Designs in Dubai’s Alserkal Avenue until August 27
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
SPECS
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What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
What are the main cyber security threats?
Cyber crime - This includes fraud, impersonation, scams and deepfake technology, tactics that are increasingly targeting infrastructure and exploiting human vulnerabilities.
Cyber terrorism - Social media platforms are used to spread radical ideologies, misinformation and disinformation, often with the aim of disrupting critical infrastructure such as power grids.
Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
The biog
Hometown: Birchgrove, Sydney Australia
Age: 59
Favourite TV series: Outlander Netflix series
Favourite place in the UAE: Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque / desert / Louvre Abu Dhabi
Favourite book: Father of our Nation: Collected Quotes of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
Thing you will miss most about the UAE: My friends and family, Formula 1, having Friday's off, desert adventures, and Arabic culture and people
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
