The walls of Maryam Al Qassimi’s temporary studio in Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood are covered in the pages of textbooks that teach children etiquette, including how to eat and drink.
The childlike animated figures are central to the Emirati artist’s installation set to be unveiled at Sikka Art Fair, which runs from Saturday to March 25.
“These images are not generally considered cultural images, but I think they are because everyone recognises them and gets that sense of nostalgia,” she explains. “My work is an exploration of what constitutes culture and specifically my own culture.”
Al Qassimi, from Sharjah, is one of three Emiratis taking part in the annual Artists in Residence (A.i.R) programme run by the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, Tashkeel, Delfina Foundation and Art Dubai.
For three months – it started in January and runs until the end of March – she is given a studio space inside a house in Al Fahidi, along with the other Emiratis and two international students. They are working towards two art pieces, one to be installed at Sikka and one for Art Dubai, which takes place from March 19 to 22.
The idea is that all the artists will benefit from a cultural and artistic exchange that will be reflected not just in the work that they will display at the fair but also as they move forward with their practice.
Supporting them in the position of curator-in-residence is Ipek Ulusoy Akgül, a Turkish curator and public-arts programmer who recently moved to Dubai.
“My role is that of a mediator. I support the development of the artist’s work over this time by sharing research and engaging in constant conversation about their practice,” she explains.
Ulusoy Akgül will complete her residency with a curatorial essay about the artist’s work as well as create a programme for Sikka, where the five artists will display part of her work.
In addition to the pieces that they’re putting together under her guidance, the artists are also working on Art Dubai Projects, a non-profit programme that commissions a variety of artists each year to create site-specific pieces that will be displayed within the grounds of the fair.
Al Qassimi is working on the instructional behaviour manuals for Sikka; for Art Dubai, she’s creating an installation around the giant artificial incense burners at Madinat Jumeirah, where Art Dubai will take place.
Fawz Kabra is the curator for the Art Dubai Projects, where she guides the five artists-in-residence as well as seven other international artists scattered all over the world, for the artworks that will be presented throughout the grounds of Art Dubai.
“In terms of selecting artists, we did so in terms of those whose practices were really interesting when thinking about the space of the fair,” explains the writer and curator, who lives in New York.
“The prompt that I got from Art Dubai was to intervene in the fair, so for me it was thinking about what that word means and what does it mean to invite someone to intervene.”
Alongside Al Qassimi is Maitha Demithan, who will be using a technique called live portraiture. Throughout the course of the fair she will work on impulse and, by the end of the four days, create a portrait of Art Dubai.
Then there is Sunoj D, an Indian artist who has tackled the perception in his home country that Dubai is equated with money. He will be installing a three-channel sound-art piece of spoken numbers in three languages.
“I thought the idea of money works well at the art fair,” he explains. “But in the end, you forget the idea of money and you move into another level.”
Also in the A.i.R residency are Sara Al Haddad and Nadia Ayari; the other artists in the Projects programme include Youmna Chlala, a Lebanese artist based in New York, Amina Menia, from Algiers, and Mounira Al Solh, who lives in Amsterdam.
“When they come across their works in the fair, I want people to take a moment and stop and pause,” says Kabra.
“That should be the result of this dialogue.”
• Art Dubai takes place from March 19 to 22 in Madinat Jumeirah. For more info, visit www.artdubai.ae
aseaman@thenational.ae
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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England v West Indies
England squad for the first Test Cook, Stoneman, Westley, Root (captain), Malan, Stokes, Bairstow, Moeen, Roland-Jones, Broad, Anderson, Woakes, Crane
Fixtures
1st Test Aug 17-21, Edgbaston
2nd Test Aug 25-29, Headingley
3rd Test Sep 7-11, Lord's
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Test
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
No more lice
Defining head lice
Pediculus humanus capitis are tiny wingless insects that feed on blood from the human scalp. The adult head louse is up to 3mm long, has six legs, and is tan to greyish-white in colour. The female lives up to four weeks and, once mature, can lay up to 10 eggs per day. These tiny nits firmly attach to the base of the hair shaft, get incubated by body heat and hatch in eight days or so.
Identifying lice
Lice can be identified by itching or a tickling sensation of something moving within the hair. One can confirm that a person has lice by looking closely through the hair and scalp for nits, nymphs or lice. Head lice are most frequently located behind the ears and near the neckline.
Treating lice at home
Head lice must be treated as soon as they are spotted. Start by checking everyone in the family for them, then follow these steps. Remove and wash all clothing and bedding with hot water. Apply medicine according to the label instructions. If some live lice are still found eight to 12 hours after treatment, but are moving more slowly than before, do not re-treat. Comb dead and remaining live lice out of the hair using a fine-toothed comb.
After the initial treatment, check for, comb and remove nits and lice from hair every two to three days. Soak combs and brushes in hot water for 10 minutes.Vacuum the floor and furniture, particularly where the infested person sat or lay.
Courtesy Dr Vishal Rajmal Mehta, specialist paediatrics, RAK Hospital
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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