Syria’s tightly woven art community is in mourning as it bids farewell to Buthayna Ali, an artistic powerhouse who redefined the country’s creative landscape.
Her death at the age of 51 was announced by the Madad Art Foundation, founded by Ali, in an Instagram post in the early hours of October 18.
“With hearts filled with sorrow and acceptance, we mourn the mother, sister, teacher and pioneer artist, Dr Buthayna Ali, founder and chairperson of the board of trustees of the Madad Art Foundation,” the statement reads. “Our beloved departed leaves an indelible mark on our lives and the artistic world.”
In response to her death, the University of Damascus's faculty of fine arts and the ministry of culture have published obituaries highlighting her significant role in shaping the Syrian art scene.
Ali died following an undisclosed illness. She dedicated years to Syria’s growing cultural scene amid challenging times, inspiring a wave of emerging talent. Ali's legacy includes a celebrated body of creative work in the visual arts, as well as the Madad Art Foundation, which she launched in 2023, and 23 years spent working as a professor of fine arts at the University of Damascus.
One of her main aims was to make Syrian art accessible in public spaces by uplifting new talents. That resulted in Ali publicly presenting works that were previously absent from the country. One example is the 2022 open-air exhibition titled Once upon a time, a window, which was conceptualised by Ali and curated by 16 students from the university, featuring 15,000 ceramic white doves, displayed in various shapes and forms in the narrow streets of Bab Sharqi in old Damascus.
“I have so much faith in this current crop of creatives and I’m increasingly confident that they will build the country again in their unique way,” Ali said at the time. “The last exhibition I did in Syria was in 2006. I had the idea in 2010 and ordered the doves before the war, but we had to stop.”
Her death has shocked the Syrian art community and tributes have been pouring in. Syrian artist Sara Shamma, a trailblazer in her own right, told The National: “Buthayna was a close friend, more like a sister in fact. Her absence will leave a huge void for me and so many others. She renewed and created a growth in the Syrian art sphere. Newer generations must continue what she started. She presented something new in her work. Her fine art was something different and fresh. She did so many installations.
“We are going to miss her. Within years she would have taken the Syrian art scene to pastures unknown. We have to stick by that memory and vision. To go to an important place, we must preserve what she made and continue her journey, as artists, students and individuals.”
One of Ali’s best-known initial installations was We in 2006, which featured several children’s swings suspended in a room. Spotlights illuminated each, highlighting specific words taken from a survey of people who were asked what words describe the meaning of life.
She described the installation as “war versus peace, love versus hate, we are here and there, we are alive, we are humans”.
Ali was a strong figure promoting Syrian feminism. One of her powerful solo exhibitions, Don't Listen! She's Only a Woman! (2010), featured two large steel lockers placed in a hammam. Inside each unit, there were bags containing personal items belonging to different women as a female gym locker. Her artist statement read: “I am a Syrian female artist. This is my everlasting statement.”
Rising Syrian artist Majd Henawi, who was tutored by Ali, told The National, “Buthayna Ali did not just speak art, her message was far more widespread, for love, peace, and togetherness, as artists it was Buthayna that joined us all together.”
Exhibitions such as The Cirque in 2023 and Written Eye in 2024 both drew significant public crowds and increased Madad Art Foundation's popularity in addition to Ali’s reputation for thinking out of the box. Through the foundation's exhibitions, hundreds of artists have been given a platform to showcase their works.
Dalaa Jalanbo, an emerging artist and masters student at University of Damascus, participated in Ali's group exhibition, The Cirque, with an installation called Blooming. Jalanbo told The National: “The sun has departed. After Dr Buthayna, there is no more light. She pushed me to pursue art. She taught us to love our profession, our art, ourselves, her faith in the Syrian woman. As a female Syrian artist, she inspired this generation of Syrian females. I was lucky to have worked with her.
“Indeed, she didn't have children. She had hundreds of children. All our work is for her now, to make her proud. Her message to all of us was to work and express and create, and we will do that for her.”
Echoing the point, Henawi said: “She was a mother in every way, through her work. She didn’t call us her students, she called us her children. It’s a painful loss for the country and for everyone who knew her. I hope she’ll always be proud. She always created a love for the country and we have to continue her message.”
Leading curator Nour Salman, who runs Art Vision gallery in Damascus, was familiar with Ali and her work. “She’s a big loss for us, for Syria,” Salman said. “She was a role model, giving her students the space to think and be real artists. That's a message they will carry. Madad Art Foundation is a hugely important community for Syrian art and everyone will remember her by the work she did. Her legacy will be with us: the exhibitions, the ideas, everything she showed us.”
The last exhibition managed by the late creative was Watermark, which was held this month in the garden of the National Museum of Damascus and organised by Madad Art Foundation and finished on the day she passed away.
UPI facts
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RESULTS
Time; race; prize; distance
4pm: Maiden; (D) Dh150,000; 1,200m
Winner: General Line, Xavier Ziani (jockey), Omar Daraj (trainer)
4.35pm: Maiden (T); Dh150,000; 1,600m
Winner: Travis County, Adrie de Vries, Ismail Mohammed
5.10pm: Handicap (D); Dh175,000; 1,200m
Winner: Scrutineer, Tadhg O’Shea, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
5.45pm: Maiden (D); Dh150,000; 1,600m
Winner: Yulong Warrior, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
6.20pm: Maiden (D); Dh150,000; 1,600m
Winner: Ejaaby, Jim Crowley, Doug Watson
6.55pm: Handicap (D); Dh160,000; 1,600m
Winner: Storyboard, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
7.30pm: Handicap (D); Dh150,000; 2,200m
Winner: Grand Dauphin, Gerald Mosse, Ahmed Al Shemaili
8.05pm: Handicap (T); Dh190,000; 1,800m
Winner: Good Trip, Tadhg O’Shea, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
The Lost Letters of William Woolf
Helen Cullen, Graydon House
PRISCILLA
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
Changing visa rules
For decades the UAE has granted two and three year visas to foreign workers, tied to their current employer. Now that's changing.
Last year, the UAE cabinet also approved providing 10-year visas to foreigners with investments in the UAE of at least Dh10 million, if non-real estate assets account for at least 60 per cent of the total. Investors can bring their spouses and children into the country.
It also approved five-year residency to owners of UAE real estate worth at least 5 million dirhams.
The government also said that leading academics, medical doctors, scientists, engineers and star students would be eligible for similar long-term visas, without the need for financial investments in the country.
The first batch - 20 finalists for the Mohammed bin Rashid Medal for Scientific Distinction.- were awarded in January and more are expected to follow.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Company%20profile
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PROFILE BOX
Company name: Overwrite.ai
Founder: Ayman Alashkar
Started: Established in 2020
Based: Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai
Sector: PropTech
Initial investment: Self-funded by founder
Funding stage: Seed funding, in talks with angel investors
yallacompare profile
Date of launch: 2014
Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer
Based: Media City, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: 120 employees
Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
The National photo project
Chris Whiteoak, a photographer at The National, spent months taking some of Jacqui Allan's props around the UAE, positioning them perfectly in front of some of the country's most recognisable landmarks. He placed a pirate on Kite Beach, in front of the Burj Al Arab, the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland at the Burj Khalifa, and brought one of Allan's snails (Freddie, which represents her grandfather) to the Dubai Frame. In Abu Dhabi, a dinosaur went to Al Ain's Jebel Hafeet. And a flamingo was taken all the way to the Hatta Mountains. This special project suitably brings to life the quirky nature of Allan's prop shop (and Allan herself!).
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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How to help
Call the hotline on 0502955999 or send "thenational" to the following numbers:
2289 - Dh10
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6025 - Dh20
6027 - Dh100
6026 - Dh200
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder turbo
Transmission: CVT
Power: 170bhp
Torque: 220Nm
Price: Dh98,900
US tops drug cost charts
The study of 13 essential drugs showed costs in the United States were about 300 per cent higher than the global average, followed by Germany at 126 per cent and 122 per cent in the UAE.
Thailand, Kenya and Malaysia were rated as nations with the lowest costs, about 90 per cent cheaper.
In the case of insulin, diabetic patients in the US paid five and a half times the global average, while in the UAE the costs are about 50 per cent higher than the median price of branded and generic drugs.
Some of the costliest drugs worldwide include Lipitor for high cholesterol.
The study’s price index placed the US at an exorbitant 2,170 per cent higher for Lipitor than the average global price and the UAE at the eighth spot globally with costs 252 per cent higher.
High blood pressure medication Zestril was also more than 2,680 per cent higher in the US and the UAE price was 187 per cent higher than the global price.
Chris%20Jordan%20on%20Sanchit
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The biog
Favourite hobby: taking his rescue dog, Sally, for long walks.
Favourite book: anything by Stephen King, although he said the films rarely match the quality of the books
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption stands out as his favourite movie, a classic King novella
Favourite music: “I have a wide and varied music taste, so it would be unfair to pick a single song from blues to rock as a favourite"
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company%C2%A0profile
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The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
The%20Roundup
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