AlMashtal, a new Saudi art gallery, opened its doors to the public on Thursday in Riyadh's Diplomatic Quarter. The space has an in-built sound-proof music studio, library and open area that can be used by creatives in the city.
AlMashtal is the brainchild of two Saudi women who aim to support home-grown artists by providing a space they can use to design, explore and "market-test their products".
Noura Al Saud and Alaa Ghanimah come from diverse backgrounds. Al Saud studied art and design in London and went on to do masters in contemporary design, while Ghanimah specialised as a communications strategist in Riyadh.
"Coming back to Saudi, I was very inspired to learn about our country's design and art history and how it developed. We decided to go for the gallery after going out and speaking with creatives in the field of art and design, there aren't enough accessible places to showcase what they're doing. We wanted to provide an accessible platform for them to put up their work," Al Saud tells The National.
"I feel that the Saudi art scene changed so much in the last five years. There was no Ministry of Culture then. Having these emerging initiatives helped create an outlet for a creative community that has been working for so long. There’s a lot more we aren’t seeing, AlMashtal wants to help bring those in the spotlight."
The majority of galleries in the region, co-founder Ghanimah says, only showcase established artists. However, AlMashtal was born from a need to encourage and empower emerging local artists by providing a platform that better represents the kingdom's talent and youth. The selection of artists will depend on the narrative that comes with their works and stories, she explains. "We decided to include the gallery in our space functions to create access," she says.
"We want our gallery to be a story teller," Al Saud says.
For the opening on Thursday, the founders selected Saudi artist Abdulmohsen Al Rowais to exhibit. "We commissioned him to do the Dot exhibit. His work is displayed on wooden canvases to highlight the up-cycled reclaimed wood aesthetic of our physical space," Ghanimah says.
Al Rowais opened the space with a live art performance, painting a mural on the exterior wall of AlMashtal while a band played live music indoors. "This part of the exterior wall is meant to be accessible to every artist that exhibits in the gallery, they can use it as a canvas during their exhibition," Ghanimah explains.
AlMashtal aims to push and diversify the art scene “rather than anchoring it to a canvas on the wall.”
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
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What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
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Tips for used car buyers
- Choose cars with GCC specifications
- Get a service history for cars less than five years old
- Don’t go cheap on the inspection
- Check for oil leaks
- Do a Google search on the standard problems for your car model
- Do your due diligence. Get a transfer of ownership done at an official RTA centre
- Check the vehicle’s condition. You don’t want to buy a car that’s a good deal but ends up costing you Dh10,000 in repairs every month
- Validate warranty and service contracts with the relevant agency and and make sure they are valid when ownership is transferred
- If you are planning to sell the car soon, buy one with a good resale value. The two most popular cars in the UAE are black or white in colour and other colours are harder to sell
Tarek Kabrit, chief executive of Seez, and Imad Hammad, chief executive and co-founder of CarSwitch.com
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What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
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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.
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MO
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Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
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Where to donate in the UAE
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
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