Athr Gallery in Jeddah has launched a micro-grant initiative for artists in Saudi Arabia affected by the Covid-19 crisis.
Named Maan, which means "together", the initiative was developed in collaboration with Saudi artists Manal Al Dowayan, Nasser Al Salem, Dana Awartani, Sultan Bin Fahad, Ahmed Mater, Muhannad Shono and Palestinian artist Ayman Yossri Daydban, who lives in Jeddah.
The artists have agreed to sell limited edition artworks in order to raise funds for the micro-grants that will be given to emerging artists. The grants are intended to sustain artistic production and research projects that may have been halted due to the pandemic.
One of the artworks available is a print by Bin Fahad titled 1440m, a digitally manipulated image of King Abdulaziz from 1947 inspecting Aramco oil fields. By flipping the image, Fahad has made it appear as though the ruler were in the driver's seat, rather than the passenger side. The work is being sold for $2,133 (Dh7,800).
Other works include Mater's Magnetism, a replication of a scene from Makkah using magnets and particles of iron. In the image, worth $2,400, the cuboid magnet in the centre represents the Kaaba, while the iron filings stand for pilgrims across the world flocking to the holy site.
Awartani's contribution is It Was Like A Dream..., an image from her award winning video installation from 2017, I went away and forgot you. A while ago I remembered. I remembered I'd forgotten you. I was dreaming, in which she sweeps sand tiles bearing traditional Islamic design. The print sells for $1,867.
There are also works by Al Dowayan, Al Salem, Shono and Daydban.
Half of the proceeds of the first 25 editions of each work will go towards the initiative. For the remaining number, 25 per cent of the sales will be donated.
The amount for the micro-grants range from $1,300 to $2,600 and will be awarded through an open call.
Applications are open to creatives from Saudi Arabia and those who have been living in the kingdom at least two years. These include visual artists, performance artists, writers and designers. Maan is also open to call ages, with both individual artists and art collectives eligible for the grant.
Applications can be submitted in Arabic or English, providing they detail how the artists intend to use the funds within three months of receiving financial support.
Submissions, which close on Saturday, June 20, will be reviewed by Athr’s co-founder Hamza Serafi and artists Al Dowayan, Awartani and Shono.
More information can be found on athrart.com
Specs
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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.
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
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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.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
World Sevens Series standing after Dubai
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Innotech Profile
Date started: 2013
Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari
Based: Muscat, Oman
Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies
Size: 15 full-time employees
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now.
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
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LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday
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