Emirati artists Salmah Al Mansoori and Maktoum Marwan Al Maktoum and Libyan artist Alla Abdunabi are the three creatives taking part in this year’s Beyond Emerging Artists programme.
The annual initiative, organised by Abu Dhabi Art, provides a platform for emerging artists based in the UAE to develop their practice and create ambitious projects. The artists develop new commissions, revealing them at Abu Dhabi Art. This year’s fair will take place between November 19 and 23 at Manarat Al Saadiyat.
Beyond Emerging Artists is being curated by Issam Kourbaj. The Syrian artist is internationally renowned, and has had his work exhibited worldwide, including at the British Museum, Kettle's Yard in Cambridge, Amsterdam’s Tropenmuseum and the Penn Museum in Philadelphia.
Kourbaj selected the three artists taking part in the programme this year. Their work spans installation, sculpture and conceptual storytelling, touching upon themes of identity, memory and the layered histories of place.
“It was challenging to select just three from among so many exciting emerging artists put forward,” Kourbaj said. “Like many creatives around the world, young artists in the region are directing their gaze towards excavating the present and engaging with urgent matters of our time, whether environmental, social or historical.”
Kourbaj also hinted that the artists will develop work that is “inspired by Al Ain, both as a source and a canvas for new ideas”.
The artists themselves shared statements reflecting on how the garden city will serve as an anchor to their work.
Al Mansoori, a multidisciplinary artist who often documents forgotten places in her work, said she wants to “share stories from my hometown that are often overlooked”.
Al Maktoum said he was looking forward to “investigating the archaeological histories of our country in sites such as the ones found in Al Ain”.
Abdunabi, meanwhile, said she wants to create “site-specific work that listens to the buried histories of the land”.
International exposure
After the works are unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, they will go on to be featured in other events around the world. This opportunity to present work globally is a staple part of the Beyond Emerging Artists platform.
Last year’s cohort – which featured Fatma Al Ali, Dina Nazmi Khorchid and Simrin Mehra Agarwal – will be presenting their works at Sotheby’s Maison in Hong Kong this month, followed by an exhibition in London.
“We are proud to present the 2025 edition of Beyond Emerging Artists in Hong Kong for the very first time, marking an exciting milestone in the programme’s journey,” Afra Almteiri, acting unit head of Abu Dhabi Art Programmes, said. “This exhibition not only showcases the creativity and vision of emerging UAE-based artists but also builds a vital cultural bridge between the UAE and Hong Kong. It reflects our commitment to fostering dialogue, discovery and the global reach of contemporary art from our region.”
FINAL SCORES
Fujairah 130 for 8 in 20 overs
(Sandy Sandeep 29, Hamdan Tahir 26 no, Umair Ali 2-15)
Sharjah 131 for 8 in 19.3 overs
(Kashif Daud 51, Umair Ali 20, Rohan Mustafa 2-17, Sabir Rao 2-26)
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
The%20specs
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The five pillars of Islam
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
RESULT
Al Hilal 4 Persepolis 0
Khribin (31', 54', 89'), Al Shahrani 40'
Red card: Otayf (Al Hilal, 49')
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
The biog
Age: 46
Number of Children: Four
Hobby: Reading history books
Loves: Sports
Veil (Object Lessons)
Rafia Zakaria
Bloomsbury Academic
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
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Price: On request
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