As the arts and culture industry continues to confront the financial impact of the pandemic, a government-run initiative aimed at creatives has offered some relief in the form of monetary grants.
In May, the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development launched the National Creative Relief Programme, which enables freelancers and SMEs in the creative industries that have been affected financially by the pandemic, to apply for grants.
The first phase of the programme was completed in June, with 50 freelancers and 37 small businesses receiving funds ranging from Dh15,000 to Dh50,000.
It's not like the virus is gone. We're just learning to live with it. Safety is the priority, but we have to start making money again.
One of the recipients is Kamil Roxas, founder of video production company Hello Project Space. Before stay-at-home orders were introduced in Dubai, the filmmaker had a number of projects lined up, including a car commercial and a documentary about Expo 2020.
“All those got cancelled,” he says. His income between the months of March and June would have amounted to at least Dh50,000. “In the weeks after that it became harder and harder to get by, and there were no projects. It was a lot of scrambling to balance finding work, paying the bills and so on.”
In addition to limited income options, Roxas was also facing office rental payments and salaries for his two employees. “Approaching banks for a loan would have been one of the surest ways to stay afloat, but I didn’t want to do that,” he says.
Roxas, who moved to the UAE from the Philippines 14 years ago, got his start in filmmaking at the Middle East International Film Festival, which later became Abu Dhabi Film Festival. He has been running his business since 2013.
He applied for the relief programme shortly after it was announced. Part of the requirements for the application include proof of cancelled contracts to show financial losses, along with bank statements and trade licenses. Roxas was approved for a grant and received what he describes as a “generous amount”, enabling him to pay for his trade licence, rent and employee salaries for two months.
As restrictions ease in Dubai, production jobs are slowly trickling in, despite the typically sluggish summer season. Still, there are challenges ahead as clients slash budgets for projects.
“You get emails asking for ‘Covid discounts’,” says Roxas. “It’s a double-edged sword. If you don’t say yes, you may lose the job. Their budgets have been cut, too, so we have to find a way to compromise and scale down [production].”
There is also the issue of health and safety during shoots. “Social distancing guidelines are still taking a toll when it comes to face-to-face interactions to do work, even when we’re filming outside. When you’re filming a commercial, that’s easily 15 to 20 people in one place. It’s not like the virus has gone. We’re just learning to live with it. Safety is the priority, but we have to start making money again.”
For freelancer Gael Sastre, the pandemic put her plans for a career shift on pause. The make-up artist obtained her freelance licence in November after leaving a corporate marketing job. “I was still quite new to the industry. I was able to secure a big job, but because of Covid, it got pushed back.”
Though she is self-employed and doesn’t have to pay for office space, Sastre had other financial responsibilities, including rent and loan repayments. She says the grant, which she received within a week of being notified that her application had been accepted, has enabled her to cover monthly expenses for the next couple of months. “It was a big help,” she says.
However, her future in make-up artistry is uncertain. In November, she will have to pay for the renewal of her freelance permit, a sum of about Dh9,000. If she is unable to save enough, she says she might have no choice but to find an office job again.
For Salem Al Qassimi, owner of the independently funded and run Fikra Design Studio, the programme granted his business Dh50,000. The company has been around since 2006, expanding into more community-orientated ventures such as co-working space Fikra Campus in 2017 and the Fikra Graphic Design Biennial in 2018.
Because of the pandemic, Fikra suffered a substantial loss in earnings and projects.
Like other businesses, Fikra’s office space was closed and Fikra Campus and its cafe were not operating. In this period, Al Qassimi says his priority was to pay the salaries of the design studio’s eight employees, as well as utility bills and office rentals. He also opted to forgo his salary at the company to help cut costs.
“We weren’t able to get income for salaries. At the same time, we were trying to think of ways to help the community and also generate more business,” he says.
Fikra launched a Covid Relief Package as a response to these concerns. The package offered free design services to health and charity organisations dealing with Covid-19 and discounted design consultation rates for struggling SMEs.
When the grant was extended to Fikra, Al Qassimi was able to pay his employees and cover utility bills. “The fund was extremely helpful in sustaining the team and ensuring everyone is around to do the work,” he says.
He was also able to invest a percentage of the grant into the development of a strategy consultation arm within the company, which is proving to be a good source of revenue and could help carry Fikra forward.
Since the reopenings, Al Qassimi says business is coming back. “Things are picking up. We’re getting a lot of requests right now,” he says, adding that the concept of Fikra’s Covid Relief Package has led to other SMEs approaching them for collaborations. “People are trying to move on, and they’re trying to find ways to make it all work. As a business owner, you have to be cautious, but you have to be hopeful as well. You have to try to hustle. It’s part of entrepreneurship.”
The second phase of the National Creative Relief Programme is now under way. The ministry has increased the range of its fund to Dh15,000 to Dh75,000 and is allowing SMEs of up to 20 employees to apply. The second phase closes on Tuesday, July 14.
More information can be found on the ministry's website
The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable
Amitav Ghosh, University of Chicago Press
Indian construction workers stranded in Ajman with unpaid dues
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Where to submit a sample
Volunteers of all ages can submit DNA samples at centres across Abu Dhabi, including: Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec), Biogenix Labs in Masdar City, NMC Royal Hospital in Khalifa City, NMC Royal Medical Centre, Abu Dhabi, NMC Royal Women's Hospital, Bareen International Hospital, Al Towayya in Al Ain, NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Ain
Anna and the Apocalypse
Director: John McPhail
Starring: Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Mark Benton
Three stars
ABU%20DHABI'S%20KEY%20TOURISM%20GOALS%3A%20BY%20THE%20NUMBERS
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Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Liz%20Truss
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THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch automatic
Power: 169bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh54,500
On sale: now
Score
Third Test, Day 1
New Zealand 229-7 (90 ov)
Pakistan
New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat
THE%20SPECS
%3Cp%3EEngine%3A%203-litre%20V6%20turbo%20(standard%20model%2C%20E-hybrid)%3B%204-litre%20V8%20biturbo%20(S)%0D%3Cbr%3EPower%3A%20350hp%20(standard)%3B%20463hp%20(E-hybrid)%3B%20467hp%20(S)%0D%3Cbr%3ETorque%3A%20500Nm%20(standard)%3B%20650Nm%20(E-hybrid)%3B%20600Nm%20(S)%0D%0D%3Cbr%3EPrice%3A%20From%20Dh368%2C500%0D%3Cbr%3EOn%20sale%3A%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Florida: The critical Sunshine State
Though mostly conservative, Florida is usually always “close” in presidential elections. In most elections, the candidate that wins the Sunshine State almost always wins the election, as evidenced in 2016 when Trump took Florida, a state which has not had a democratic governor since 1991.
Joe Biden’s campaign has spent $100 million there to turn things around, understandable given the state’s crucial 29 electoral votes.
In 2016, Mr Trump’s democratic rival Hillary Clinton paid frequent visits to Florida though analysts concluded that she failed to appeal towards middle-class voters, whom Barack Obama won over in the previous election.
WWE Super ShowDown results
Seth Rollins beat Baron Corbin to retain his WWE Universal title
Finn Balor defeated Andrade to stay WWE Intercontinental Championship
Shane McMahon defeated Roman Reigns
Lars Sullivan won by disqualification against Lucha House Party
Randy Orton beats Triple H
Braun Strowman beats Bobby Lashley
Kofi Kingston wins against Dolph Zigggler to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Mansoor Al Shehail won the 50-man Battle Royal
The Undertaker beat Goldberg
Bundesliga fixtures
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
Bookshops: A Reader's History by Jorge Carrión (translated from the Spanish by Peter Bush),
Biblioasis
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Teaching your child to save
Pre-school (three - five years)
You can’t yet talk about investing or borrowing, but introduce a “classic” money bank and start putting gifts and allowances away. When the child wants a specific toy, have them save for it and help them track their progress.
Early childhood (six - eight years)
Replace the money bank with three jars labelled ‘saving’, ‘spending’ and ‘sharing’. Have the child divide their allowance into the three jars each week and explain their choices in splitting their pocket money. A guide could be 25 per cent saving, 50 per cent spending, 25 per cent for charity and gift-giving.
Middle childhood (nine - 11 years)
Open a bank savings account and help your child establish a budget and set a savings goal. Introduce the notion of ‘paying yourself first’ by putting away savings as soon as your allowance is paid.
Young teens (12 - 14 years)
Change your child’s allowance from weekly to monthly and help them pinpoint long-range goals such as a trip, so they can start longer-term saving and find new ways to increase their saving.
Teenage (15 - 18 years)
Discuss mutual expectations about university costs and identify what they can help fund and set goals. Don’t pay for everything, so they can experience the pride of contributing.
Young adulthood (19 - 22 years)
Discuss post-graduation plans and future life goals, quantify expenses such as first apartment, work wardrobe, holidays and help them continue to save towards these goals.
* JP Morgan Private Bank
SPECS
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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MATCH INFO
Osasuna 1 Real Madrid 4
Osasuna: García (14')
Real Madrid: Isco (33'), Ramos (38'), Vázquez (84'), Jovic (90' 2)
