Baghdad and Lisbon are two cities that don't appear to have much in common, but the paintings by Iraqi modernists now hanging off the walls of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Portugal have forged a lasting connection between the two cities.
Thirty works by 18 of Iraq's most distinguished artists, which have never been shown before, are now on display at the foundation, unmasking the murky history of Armenian oil tycoon Gulbenkian's intervention in Iraq.
Known as the godfather of Iraq's oil industry in the early 1950s, the businessman was one of the richest men of his time, after he fled Armenia and set about working in international affairs, representing a number of different countries' governments.
Mr Five Percent
Perhaps his most important legacy is that of the decisive role he played in mediating international negotiations that led to the exploitation of Iraq’s oilfields.
Nicknamed, “Mr Five Percent”, Gulbenkian’s influential role in the country’s oil establishment left him with a 5 per cent stake in Iraq’s Petroleum Company.
He also insisted that five per cent of the Iraq Petroleum Company’s workers in the field be Armenian.
With his incredible wealth gained by stakes in petroleum companies, Gulbenkian invested in the development of Iraq's culture, art, education, science and welfare sectors.
Throughout his life, he collected timeless artworks that were influenced by his travels and personal taste.
The businessman and art collector spent his last years in Lisbon. It was here that here he established in his will a foundation that would bear his name and benefit the international community.
Since its establishment in 1956, its strategy has been to "improve the quality of life through art, charity, science and education."
Supporting local artistic creations
The collection in the exhibition in Portugal presents unpublished documents relating to the foundation’s three key achievements in Baghdad: building the Modern Arts Centre, the People’s Stadium and the 1966 Gulbenkian Cultural Centre.
It acquires rare and unique artworks to create a programme of activities with Iraq and its government, according to Patricia Rosas, curator of the foundation.
"The intention of the foundation was to support local artistic creations and education by endowing Baghdad with its first purpose-built exhibition space for modern art," she explains.
The exhibit is displaying unusual and expressive works by artists who have proved to be key figures in the history of modern Iraqi art – ranging from paintings and drawings to prints, acquired directly from both individual artists and from the Iraqi Artists Society.
"The set of works shown here is the result of a set of efforts to promote artistic creation and training of artists between Baghdad and Lisbon," she says. Among the works on display are those of Hafidh Aldroubi, founder of the Impressionist Group movement; Jewad Selim, founder of the Baghdad Modern Art Group in 1952; and Faiq Hassan, who is often referred to as the father of Iraqi modern art. It also creates a dialogue between cultural development and economic diplomacy between Iraqi and Portuguese art and architecture.
Investing back into Iraq
Nada Shabout, a professor of art history at the University of North Texas, gave a lecture at the foundation last Wednesday, on Iraq's arts and cultural scene during the 1960s and the various cultural formulations and shifts in Baghdad. "The exhibition is a journey through the experiences of Gulbenkian and Iraq," she said.
"The way the exhibition is displayed is through interesting timelines of Gulbenkian's involvement in Iraq. It has original archival materials along with architectural drawings and videos." Iraq has been plagued by decades of conflict and devastation that have led to the loss of numerous paintings and significant cultural landmarks, which meant an exhibition like this was crucial.
"At this moment in time when the world seems to continuously forget about Iraq and its art and culture, it's important to have ventures like this that remind the world and gives Iraqis global attention," Shabout said.
Gulbenkian invested back into Iraq, Shabout said, as he genuinely cared about sponsoring various projects. "The paintings are unique and excellent examples and include the works of Iraqi modernists, whether Faiq Hassan or Hafidh Aldroubi. These are important pieces, [and]we didn't really know where they were before."
An opportunity to view Middle East art
Ala Basher, famed Iraqi artist and plastic surgeon, knows the impact many of the artists on display had on Baghdad, and the art industry as a whole. Aldroubi's paintings are characterised by his way of incorporating different styles, ranging from cubism to impressionism, which was interlinked with his career as an art educator, Basher said.
"Aldroubi is one of the greatest artists of Iraq, his technique was close to the impressionist style. He was a master of colours, as he loved to play with shades, tones and hues," Basher said.
He was also greatly dedicated to providing knowledge and resources to the future artists of Iraq. Aldroubi became one of the first Iraqi painters to integrate both impressionism and cubism in his works. This helped him conceive the Iraqi impressionist group, which Basher joined in 1959.
There are two paintings that belong to Aldroubi, currently on display at the foundation. The Family is a cubist style painting of Aldroubi's own family. The second, titled Harmony in Blue, is an abstract that incorporates different styles of colour.
"We are delighted that the gallery is giving the public the opportunity to know more about Middle Eastern art. Hafidh would have been honoured to have his work on display among other prestigious artists from the region," says Sohaila Derwish, Aldroubi's wife.
In fact, the majority of his work was influenced by western art trends, where he was able to move freely between realist, impressionist and cubist styles that mostly focused on Iraqi subject matters, she explains.
"I hope this gallery will be an opportunity for the world to discover and know about Hafidh and other Iraqi artists, their work, achievements and the influence they had in shaping Middle Eastern art," Derwish said.
The project is promoted by the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum and the Art Library and Gulbenkian Archives, with the support of the Grants Department.
Art and Architecture between Lisbon and Baghdad runs until January 28
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Brief scores:
Toss: Northern Warriors, elected to field first
Bengal Tigers 130-1 (10 ov)
Roy 60 not out, Rutherford 47 not out
Northern Warriors 94-7 (10 ov)
Simmons 44; Yamin 4-4
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers
Investing in disruptive technology can be a bumpy ride, as investors in Tesla were reminded on Friday, when its stock dropped 7.5 per cent in early trading to $575.
It recovered slightly but still ended the week 15 per cent lower and is down a third from its all-time high of $883 on January 26. The electric car maker’s market cap fell from $834 billion to about $567bn in that time, a drop of an astonishing $267bn, and a blow for those who bought Tesla stock late.
The collapse also hit fund managers that have gone big on Tesla, notably the UK-based Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.
Tesla is the top holding in both funds, making up a hefty 10 per cent of total assets under management. Both funds have fallen by a quarter in the past month.
Matt Weller, global head of market research at GAIN Capital, recently warned that Tesla founder Elon Musk had “flown a bit too close to the sun”, after getting carried away by investing $1.5bn of the company’s money in Bitcoin.
He also predicted Tesla’s sales could struggle as traditional auto manufacturers ramp up electric car production, destroying its first mover advantage.
AJ Bell’s Russ Mould warns that many investors buy tech stocks when earnings forecasts are rising, almost regardless of valuation. “When it works, it really works. But when it goes wrong, elevated valuations leave little or no downside protection.”
A Tesla correction was probably baked in after last year’s astonishing share price surge, and many investors will see this as an opportunity to load up at a reduced price.
Dramatic swings are to be expected when investing in disruptive technology, as Ms Wood at ARK makes clear.
Every week, she sends subscribers a commentary listing “stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15 per cent in a day” during the week.
Her latest commentary, issued on Friday, showed seven stocks displaying extreme volatility, led by ExOne, a leader in binder jetting 3D printing technology. It jumped 24 per cent, boosted by news that fellow 3D printing specialist Stratasys had beaten fourth-quarter revenues and earnings expectations, seen as good news for the sector.
By contrast, computational drug and material discovery company Schrödinger fell 27 per cent after quarterly and full-year results showed its core software sales and drug development pipeline slowing.
Despite that setback, Ms Wood remains positive, arguing that its “medicinal chemistry platform offers a powerful and unique view into chemical space”.
In her weekly video view, she remains bullish, stating that: “We are on the right side of change, and disruptive innovation is going to deliver exponential growth trajectories for many of our companies, in fact, most of them.”
Ms Wood remains committed to Tesla as she expects global electric car sales to compound at an average annual rate of 82 per cent for the next five years.
She said these are so “enormous that some people find them unbelievable”, and argues that this scepticism, especially among institutional investors, “festers” and creates a great opportunity for ARK.
Only you can decide whether you are a believer or a festering sceptic. If it’s the former, then buckle up.
Palestine and Israel - live updates
NBA Finals results
Game 1: Warriors 124, Cavaliers 114
Game 2: Warriors 122, Cavaliers 103
Game 3: Cavaliers 102, Warriors 110
Game 4: In Cleveland, Sunday (Monday morning UAE)
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
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mane points for safe home colouring
- Natural and grey hair takes colour differently than chemically treated hair
- Taking hair from a dark to a light colour should involve a slow transition through warmer stages of colour
- When choosing a colour (especially a lighter tone), allow for a natural lift of warmth
- Most modern hair colours are technique-based, in that they require a confident hand and taught skills
- If you decide to be brave and go for it, seek professional advice and use a semi-permanent colour
Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Lampedusa: Gateway to Europe
Pietro Bartolo and Lidia Tilotta
Quercus
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.
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Results
Stage 7:
1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29
2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time
3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious
4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM
General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35
3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02
4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
