Recently I headed down to the Rain Room in Sharjah in search of some hot-weather respite. What could be better than a gambol through the rain, without any of the negative side-effects of your typical rainfall – like sopping-wet clothes or ugly running-mascara face?
The Rain Room, an art project on permanent display at the Sharjah Art Foundation in its own, bespoke building, allows you to move through rain without getting wet: sensors detect where you are and stop the water from falling.
But I won’t lie. I could have done some things better in the trip planning. Here are four things to know before heading to the installation.
Lesson one: Book.
Don't assume that because it's hottest, emptiest UAE July, the Rain Room will be any less popular. It is busy, and you can easily book ahead by phone or on the website. Maybe I should have thought of this before driving two hours to Sharjah from Abu Dhabi. Maybe, maybe not. But I can now tell you that no feminine charm, New York-bred chutzpah, nor art-correspondent credentials will get you to jump the queue. The Rain Room people are firm but fair.
Lesson two: Move slowly.
The big tag line about the Rain Room is that you don't get wet. That's true, but only if you have the self-control of, say, a non-frenetic adult. Any movement quicker than the sensors can handle – the speed of someone wanting to cross a street and not get hit by a Land Cruiser – and you get a big, surprisingly frigid plop of water right down your back. Although you might think that all you want in life is a big, surprisingly frigid plop of water right down your back, when it actually happens, nope, you don't. Turn it into an exercise in zen.
Lesson three: Pack extra clothes.
This is key if you are not an adult, or if you are an adult packing for non-adults. I have been twice now and seen few greater displays of happiness than children running through the Rain Room water. True, unfettered joy, made all the better by not being allowed – and making up rules so that children can merrily break them is one of the unexpected pleasures of parenthood. But having wet, teeth-chattering children in the middle of the overly air-conditioned Emirati summer is not. Prepare yourselves.
Lesson four: Have cake.
The purple cake at Fen is absolutely delicious but will turn your tongue purple and, depending on your grace as an eater, your lips too. Now that the Rain Room is doubling as the UAE's largest selfie-taking station, let this be a public service announcement: choose your cake with care.
Rain Room is at the Sharjah Art Foundation, in the Heart of Sharjah. Visits can be booked in advance or purchased at the door and are Dh25 for adults, Dh15 for teachers and students up to the age of 22, and free for children under five.Saturday–Thursday: 9am to 9pm, Friday: 4pm to 11pm. To book online, rainroom.sharjahart.org/getTicket.htm
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Read more:
Sharjah Art Foundation’s new show is a rich cacophony of interlocking cultures
Sharjah announces first Fikra Graphic Design Biennial
The art world is in need of a strong critical culture
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Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
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Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
More on Quran memorisation:
MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
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Kat Wightman's tips on how to create zones in large spaces
- Area carpets or rugs are the easiest way to segregate spaces while also unifying them.
- Lighting can help define areas. Try pendant lighting over dining tables, and side and floor lamps in living areas.
- Keep the colour palette the same in a room, but combine different tones and textures in different zone. A common accent colour dotted throughout the space brings it together.
- Don’t be afraid to use furniture to break up the space. For example, if you have a sofa placed in the middle of the room, a console unit behind it will give good punctuation.
- Use a considered collection of prints and artworks that work together to form a cohesive journey.
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
