This weekend offers a wealth of ways to become immersed in art, including watching classic films at Cinema Akil and hand-painting at Louvre Abu Dhabi.
Here are four things to try.
Book an Easel at Louvre Abu Dhabi
Running every Sunday until September 22, Louvre Abu Dhabi’s Book an Easel programme invites adults to try their hand at painting, no matter their experience level.
The activity, which costs Dh150, includes an easel, paint, canvas and all the art materials needed to get visitors' creative juices flowing. The course includes a 30-minute skill development activity as a warm-up, before painters take on the easel at the museum’s Art Studio. The workshop is open to 15 participants weekly, and booking ahead is advised.
Kutubna Cultural Centre
Kutubna Cultural Centre is a bookstore at its core, but since marking a soft opening last year, it has blossomed into something larger. The centre is now formally celebrating its opening through One Hundred Years of Painting: Arab Art from 1916 to 2017, an exhibition that is running until October 13. It features 27 paintings drawn from two collections of Arab art in Dubai, the International House Group collection and Al Noon Residence collection.
These include paintings by Amine El Bacha, Shakir Hassan, Saliba Douaihy, Fateh Moudarres, Georges Sabbagh and Najat Makki.
Cinema Akil's summer of classic film
Cinema Akil's Summer of Classics programme is presenting 17 titles from around the world. And while there's a good chance visitors may have seen some of them, it's less likely they would've been watched on the big screen within the past 10 years.
This weekend, Cinema Akil is presenting the 1965 mystery The Sleeping Car Murders by Costa-Gavras. The film follows a group of people on an overnight train from Marseilles to Paris who become embroiled in a murder investigation.
Other films in the line-up include Mike Newell’s 1994 film Four Weddings and a Funeral centres on the misadventures of a steadfast bachelor who contends with love across several social occasions; and Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1987 classic The Last Emperor will also be playing. The Oscar-winning film is dedicated to the final monarch of China's Qing dynasty.
Claude Sautet’s The Things of Life, meanwhile, is a 1970 romantic drama that revolves around a car accident, ricocheting between events surrounding it. Finally, M Night Shyamalan’s The Sixth Sense, arguably the finest title of the master thriller’s oeuvre, will be also playing. The film tells the story of a child psychologist who treats a young boy who regularly encounters the dead.
Made in Tashkeel
For those diffident about trying out the easel, perhaps there's inspiration to be found at the returning Made in Tashkeel exhibition. The show features 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 on display, 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 work and gain much-needed exposure. Like every year, there are gems to be discovered and promising talents to look out for.
How Alia's experiment will help humans get to Mars
Alia’s winning experiment examined how genes might change under the stresses caused by being in space, such as cosmic radiation and microgravity.
Her samples were placed in a machine on board the International Space Station. called a miniPCR thermal cycler, which can copy DNA multiple times.
After the samples were examined on return to Earth, scientists were able to successfully detect changes caused by being in space in the way DNA transmits instructions through proteins and other molecules in living organisms.
Although Alia’s samples were taken from nematode worms, the results have much bigger long term applications, especially for human space flight and long term missions, such as to Mars.
It also means that the first DNA experiments using human genomes can now be carried out on the ISS.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
RESULTS
Lightweight (female)
Sara El Bakkali bt Anisha Kadka
Bantamweight
Mohammed Adil Al Debi bt Moaz Abdelgawad
Welterweight
Amir Boureslan bt Mahmoud Zanouny
Featherweight
Mohammed Al Katheeri bt Abrorbek Madaminbekov
Super featherweight
Ibrahem Bilal bt Emad Arafa
Middleweight
Ahmed Abdolaziz bt Imad Essassi
Bantamweight (female)
Ilham Bourakkadi bt Milena Martinou
Welterweight
Mohamed Mardi bt Noureddine El Agouti
Middleweight
Nabil Ouach bt Ymad Atrous
Welterweight
Nouredine Samir bt Marlon Ribeiro
Super welterweight
Brad Stanton bt Mohamed El Boukhari
IF YOU GO
The flights: FlyDubai offers direct flights to Catania Airport from Dubai International Terminal 2 daily with return fares starting from Dh1,895.
The details: Access to the 2,900-metre elevation point at Mount Etna by cable car and 4x4 transport vehicle cost around €57.50 (Dh248) per adult. Entry into Teatro Greco costs €10 (Dh43). For more go to www.visitsicily.info
Where to stay: Hilton Giardini Naxos offers beachfront access and accessible to Taormina and Mount Etna. Rooms start from around €130 (Dh561) per night, including taxes.
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Richard Jewell
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Brandon Stanley
Two-and-a-half out of five stars
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
The specs: Macan Turbo
Engine: Dual synchronous electric motors
Power: 639hp
Torque: 1,130Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Touring range: 591km
Price: From Dh412,500
On sale: Deliveries start in October
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
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Super heroes
Iron Man
Reduced risk of dementia
Alcohol consumption could be an issue
Hulk
Cardiac disease, stroke and dementia from high heart rate
Spider-Man
Agility reduces risk of falls
Increased risk of obesity and mental health issues
Black Panther
Vegetarian diet reduces obesity
Unknown risks of potion drinking
Black Widow
Childhood traumas increase risk of mental illnesses
Thor
He's a god
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Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
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Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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SPAIN SQUAD
Goalkeepers Simon (Athletic Bilbao), De Gea (Manchester United), Sanchez (Brighton)
Defenders Gaya (Valencia), Alba (Barcelona), P Torres (Villarreal), Laporte (Manchester City), Garcia (Manchester City), D Llorente (Leeds), Azpilicueta (Chelsea)
Midfielders Busquets (Barcelona), Rodri (Manchester City), Pedri (Barcelona), Thiago (Liverpool), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Ruiz (Napoli), M Llorente (Atletico Madrid)
Forwards: Olmo (RB Leipzig), Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad), Morata (Juventus), Moreno (Villarreal), F Torres (Manchester City), Traore (Wolves), Sarabia (PSG)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
- Camden, London
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Islington, London
- Kensington and Chelsea, London
- Highlands, Scotland
- Argyll and Bute, Scotland
- Fife, Scotland
- Tower Hamlets, London
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