Seven galleries from Dubai's Alserkal Avenue have teamed up with Sotheby’s for a charity auction.
Ten per cent of sales from the online event, which will be open for bidding from Thursday June 18 to 25, will go to the Covid-19 relief fund run by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
"Having seen how people reacted to Alserkal Avenue's [rent-waiving] Pay It Forward initiative, it was clear that there was an appetite to do something together as a community," says William Lawrie of Lawrie Shabibi, one of the participating galleries in the auction, entitled This Too Shall Pass: Bridging the Art World.
The auction hopes to achieve between $800,000 and $1.2 million (Dh2.9m and Dh4.4m) in sales, with 63 lots drawn from The Third Line, Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde, Carbon 12, Green Art Gallery, Leila Heller Gallery, 1 x 1 and Lawrie Shabibi. The artists included are mainly regional, with works from Shaikha Al Mazrou, Chaouki Choukini, Monir Farmanfarmaian, Hassan Hajjaj, Mohammed Kazem and Zineb Sedira, and more than half of the participating artists are marking their first Sotheby's sale with the initiative.
“We have a good balance between modern, museum-quality works for more established collectors, and we also wanted to introduce a new generation of artists that the galleries have nurtured over the years,” says Ashkan Baghestani, Sotheby’s head of contemporary curated sales, who is leading the project from the auction side.
Lawrie Shabibi is submitting a painting by Moroccan artist Mohamed Melehi, who has recently become the subject of increased international attention: Soleil Oblique (From the Wave Series), 1971, with an estimate of $80,000-$120,000.
A Mohammed Kazem abstraction of almost Klein blue, made this year, is offered by Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde. The estimate for the Emirati artist's work is $18,000-$25,000. Green Art Gallery is consigning an elegant Chaouki Choukini sculpture made of carved oak, Claire de Lune (2018), with an estimate of $30,000-$40,000.
The auction will be of help to the Dubai galleries, which were hit hard by the cancellation of Art Dubai and March's Art Week – when they typically make a substantial proportion of the year’s sales. They have since come together by information-sharing and strategising as a group, and some have donated works to other initiatives in Alserkal Avenue under the charitable Pay It Forward scheme.
I can think of few communities that are as connected and supportive of one another as the Alserkal Avenue galleries
“I can think of few communities that are as connected and supportive of one another as the Alserkal Avenue galleries,” says Baghestani. “I’ve known many of them for a long time, as friends and colleagues, and admire what they have done for artists and the market in the Middle East.”
New practices in the art world
Collaborations between commercial galleries and auctions are unusual, though they are gaining in popularity during the pandemic.
In March, Sotheby’s launched a gallery network to help support the primary market, offering around 20 established US galleries a secure online marketplace in which to conduct private sales.
La Biennale Paris, an art and antiques fair scheduled for September, recently announced it will not go ahead as planned; instead, dealers will consign works to a sale organised by Christie’s.
“This is a time when people need to be open to new ideas,” says Baghestani. “I’m happy that after years of trying to find different ways of engaging, finally the primary, secondary and tertiary markets are interacting. The lines are a bit more blurred. It opens an infinity of possibilities in terms of partnerships.”
Typically, commercial galleries sell art on the primary market, splitting the sale of an item 50 / 50 between gallery and artist. Auctions are considered secondary or tertiary market. The consignor of the work receives the money from the sale, with the auction house taking a commission from the seller and a premium from the buyer.
In this case, 10 per cent of the hammer price will go to the UNHCR’s Covid-19 appeal. Sotheby’s will take a buyer’s fee on top of that, but is waiving its commission from the seller. Each gallery will split the remaining share with its artist.
Lawrie concurs that the Covid-19 crisis has changed many longstanding practices in the art world. Information and resource-sharing has become more common – and dealers are becoming more open about budgets and pricing.
During this May's online Frieze New York event, for example, most of the participating galleries listed the prices of their artworks publicly on their stands – flouting longstanding practices in which prices are kept private or, more accurately, in which prices depend on who’s asking.
“The rules that we’ve had up until now – it’s really clear that they don’t apply in all cases,” says Lawrie. “Practices that were entrenched are being re-evaluated, and you can see there are other ways of doing things.”
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
'Munich: The Edge of War'
Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
JAPAN SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Sho Sasaki, Hiroki Sakai, Sei Muroya, Genta Miura, Takehiro Tomiyasu
Midfielders: Toshihiro Aoyama, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Shoya Nakajima, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan
Forwards: Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Koya Kitagawa
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
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
Abu Dhabi GP schedule
Friday: First practice - 1pm; Second practice - 5pm
Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
Stage result
1. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 4:42:34
2. Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Hansgrohe
3. Elia Viviani (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers
4. Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) BikeExchange-Jayco
5. Emils Liepins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo
6. Arnaud Demare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
7. Max Kanter (Ger) Movistar Team
8. Olav Kooij (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
9. Tom Devriendt (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
10. Pascal Ackermann (Ger) UAE Team Emirate
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Results
Male 51kg Round 1
Dias Karmanov (KAZ) beat Mabrook Rasea (YEM) by points 2-1.
Male 54kg Round 1
Yelaman Sayassatov (KAZ) beat Chen Huang (TPE) TKO Round 1; Huynh Hoang Phi (VIE) beat Fahad Anakkayi (IND) RSC Round 2; Qais Al Jamal (JOR) beat Man Long Ng (MAC) by points 3-0; Ayad Albadr (IRQ) beat Yashar Yazdani (IRI) by points 2-1.
Male 57kg Round 1
Natthawat Suzikong (THA) beat Abdallah Ondash (LBN) by points 3-0; Almaz Sarsembekov (KAZ) beat Ahmed Al Jubainawi (IRQ) by points 2-1; Hamed Almatari (YEM) beat Nasser Al Rugheeb (KUW) by points 3-0; Zakaria El Jamari (UAE) beat Yu Xi Chen (TPE) by points 3-0.
Men 86kg Round 1
Ahmad Bahman (UAE) beat Mohammad Al Khatib (PAL) by points 2-1
Men 63.5kg Round 1
Noureddin Samir (UAE) beat Polash Chakma (BAN) RSC Round 1.
Female 45kg quarter finals
Narges Mohammadpour (IRI) beat Yuen Wai Chan (HKG) by points.
Female 48kg quarter finals
Szi Ki Wong (HKG) beat Dimple Vaishnav (IND) RSC round 2; Thanawan Thongduang (THA) beat Nastaran Soori (IRI) by points; Shabnam Hussain Zada (AFG) beat Tzu Ching Lin (TPE) by points.
Female 57kg quarter finals
Nguyen Thi Nguyet (VIE) beat Anisha Shetty (IND) by points 2-1; Areeya Sahot (THA) beat Dana Al Mayyal (KUW) RSC Round 1; Sara Idriss (LBN) beat Ching Yee Tsang (HKG) by points 3-0.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Read more about the coronavirus
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
How to help
Call the hotline on 0502955999 or send "thenational" to the following numbers:
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6025 - Dh20
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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)
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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.
German plea
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the German parliament that. Russia had erected a new wall across Europe.
"It's not a Berlin Wall -- it is a Wall in central Europe between freedom and bondage and this Wall is growing bigger with every bomb" dropped on Ukraine, Zelenskyy told MPs.
Mr Zelenskyy was applauded by MPs in the Bundestag as he addressed Chancellor Olaf Scholz directly.
"Dear Mr Scholz, tear down this Wall," he said, evoking US President Ronald Reagan's 1987 appeal to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.
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EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
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Company profile
Name: Oulo.com
Founder: Kamal Nazha
Based: Dubai
Founded: 2020
Number of employees: 5
Sector: Technology
Funding: $450,000
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
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Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
- Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
- Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
- Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
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