ABU DHABI // Thirty-five Persian carpets lie stacked in the middle of a room. In the centre of the pile is a ragged hole, a silhouette shaped like a famous cartoon character.
Three children consider the carpets, an art installation by the Iranian artist Farhad Moshiri, and offer their opinions.
"It's a waste of money," declares one, staring at the gaping hole in the shape of the Tom the cat from Tom and Jerry.
Happy with the analysis, the group moves on to the next work in the Farjam Collection at the Dubai International Financial Centre. It is a US-style saloon made of black and white beads.
The children gawp.
"Is that by the same guy?" asks one. "My gosh, maybe it took him 10 days."
"I think it took him two years," another replies.
For the young critics, part of a group of 11, there will be more paintings and installations to take in at the Farjam Collection's second annual art camp, which runs until the end of this month.
Lee Ann Biddle, the collections and exhibitions co-ordinator, says the art camp stands out "because we do have original, museum-quality works of art that the children can interact with".
Giving the children the opportunity to explore different mediums of art in the gallery environment is important, she adds.
"The object-based learning and the education side of it is what's sort of foremost to us here," Ms Biddle says.
For the children, aged between 5 and 10, the non-profit camp has been a success.
Alexandra Fenner, 8, from New York, says: "We get to dip our feet in this kind of paint and it's really, really funny. I have lot of teacher friends here and I love the paintings and drawings."
Alexandra, whose father is an artist, has learnt a range of things at the camp.
"I didn't know about that calligraphy thing, that you write, and I also wanted to know that you could make pictures out of beads and you actually can," she says, adding the art in the gallery is beautiful and fun.
The programme, taught by several experienced interns, includes short slide shows that demonstrate how to create abstract paintings and landscapes, among other things.
This is the second year Elea Claudelle, 6, from Austria, has attended the camp. She was one of the few allowed despite being younger than 7.
With the help of her teachers, Elea has created a landscape using felt, sand and feathers.
She describes her mini-masterpiece: "This is the sea, and here is the clouds, and here is the tree. There is also a little person, the boat, and the birds and the sun. I really like it."
For some children, such as Cyrus Alexander, 9, an Iranian-American, it took some convincing. But now his mother has to drag him from the gallery after camp has finished for the day.
It is this "unbridled creativity" and the teaching methods that make the camp such a success, says Sophie Furse, 23, an intern from the UK.
"The benefit of tying the camp to established artists is this knowledge, this visual knowledge, and the memory that the children then get," Ms Furse says. "It can be quite a peg to hang things on."
Allowing children to get close to the gallery's work inspires them, she says.
"Like a good cartoon there's multiple layers, and if you can engage a child in those first layers I think it's an opportunity for them to build up a connection with art," Ms Furse says. "I personally think it is a wonderful expression of many types of the human condition." Dotted with paint, glitter and sand, the children are finished for the day by 2pm. Below the pristine top floor of the gallery, surrounded by the remnants of their materials, they leave their work - some finished, some not - for the next day of camp.
"Every child is an artist," says Ms Furse, quoting Picasso. "The trouble is how to remain an artist once he grows up."
The Farjam Collection Art Camp runs until July 28 and operates from Sunday to Thursday between 8am and 2pm. It is for children between the ages of 7 and 10.
The cost is Dh500 for each week, including materials.
zalhassani@thenational.ae
Correction: On July 19, 2011 this article was altered to correct the nationality of Cyrus Alexander.
Last-16
France 4
Griezmann (13' pen), Pavard (57'), Mbappe (64', 68')
Argentina 3
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The White Lotus: Season three
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Asian Cup 2019
Quarter-final
UAE v Australia, Friday, 8pm, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
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Tips from the expert
Dobromir Radichkov, chief data officer at dubizzle and Bayut, offers a few tips for UAE residents looking to earn some cash from pre-loved items.
- Sellers should focus on providing high-quality used goods at attractive prices to buyers.
- It’s important to use clear and appealing photos, with catchy titles and detailed descriptions to capture the attention of prospective buyers.
- Try to advertise a realistic price to attract buyers looking for good deals, especially in the current environment where consumers are significantly more price-sensitive.
- Be creative and look around your home for valuable items that you no longer need but might be useful to others.
FIXTURES
Monday, January 28
Iran v Japan, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)
Tuesday, January 29
UAEv Qatar, Mohamed Bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)
Friday, February 1
Final, Zayed Sports City Stadium (6pm)
Mica
Director: Ismael Ferroukhi
Stars: Zakaria Inan, Sabrina Ouazani
3 stars
Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
NO OTHER LAND
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Specs
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
if you go
The flights
Emirates flies to Delhi with fares starting from around Dh760 return, while Etihad fares cost about Dh783 return. From Delhi, there are connecting flights to Lucknow.
Where to stay
It is advisable to stay in Lucknow and make a day trip to Kannauj. A stay at the Lebua Lucknow hotel, a traditional Lucknowi mansion, is recommended. Prices start from Dh300 per night (excluding taxes).
