"What am I doing and does it even matter?"
It's the kind of rumination common to the many creatives who found their profession upended by the pandemic, and set the tone for the first session of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair.
Running from Sunday, May 23 until Saturday, May 29 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec), the fair kicked off with an online session discussing some of the challenges artists have faced over the last 15 months.
Providing personal and professional perspectives were Emirati filmmaker and poet Nujoom Al Ghanem, Egyptian actress Lamia Karam and Lebanese singer Abeer Nehme.
All recalled initials bouts of anxiety and disorientation as the pandemic shuttered cultural venues, events and festivals.
“It does take some time to fully grasp what is going on,” Karam said.
“What hit me first was all the things I took for granted. I also live with my mother, who is quite elderly, so the pandemic really made understand even further about my personal responsibilities.”
Getting clarity
For accomplished soprano Nehme, swapping the theatre for a Zoom stage was a big adjustment.
“While this is never ideal, doing some of these shows helped me to get some clarity when it comes to what I do,” she said.
“It made me - and I would say most of us - understand that art is simply not for the sake of entertainment. It does have a value and a message and I am feeling there is newfound respect for it because of the current situation."
Al Ghanem said the pandemic provided ample opportunities for reflection.
“It brings you back into yourself and you discover what other abilities you have but have rarely shown,” she said.
“It all feels like a series of personal challenges that you have to overcome.”
Al Ghanem speaks from personal experience. When the pandemic arrived, she was recovering from an illness that left her housebound for around six months.
“So in a way, I was more ready for self-isolation than others,” she said. “But I realised, I had to keep working and creating to get through this.”
Connection through community
While Al Ghanem planned new film projects and finished an upcoming poetry collection, Karam returned to the stage.
The seasoned actress, who starred along Mohamed Ramadan in the 2019 hit television drama Zelzal and the 2018 film Rehlat Yusuf, did a number of experimental two-person shows in small halls across Cairo.
“It was a beautiful experience because the reception was so unexpected,” she recalled.
“We did these small shows as safe as we could and people came to show their support.
“It was the same experience my colleagues had when they did their shows in other parts of the country.
"There was this sense of happiness that we were out there and still working. That connection with live art is what the audience responded to and missed.”
For Nehme, it became more vital to foster a sense of community with her work. She explained that her song-writing, renowned for its poetry and operatic vocals, took on a more accessible and optimistic turn as a result of the pandemic.
Her new folk song and music video, Byeb'a Nas, is a case in point. Shot in the mountain village of Douma, 80 kilometres from Beirut, the video features the town's residents, families and children in an affecting ode to community.
“It’s a beautiful place because of the people,” she said.
“Even during these difficult times, they are grateful for what they have. Unlike other parts of Lebanon, they don’t leave their community to go to another place for a holiday.
"They live and enjoy themselves there, it was healthy to spend time with them.”
Just keep working
Karam is not biding her time until Egyptian theatres and film sets open in earnest.
The job of a creative is pandemic proof, she said, and there is always avenues to produce interesting and innovative work.
“Just look at TikTok,” she said. “I am telling you, some of the talent that I am seeing there is brilliant. They have the ability to tell a story in their own way. They don’t need to go to a theatre to put on a show, they have an audience everyday on their phone."
The Abu Dhabi International Book Fair will continue throughout the week with a hybrid programme of in-person and digital events.
Discussions will feature regional and international best-selling authors, including US writers Brent Weeks and Mitch Albom, alongside the winners of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction as well historian, poets and diplomats.
The topics covered compliment the eclectic guests, with discussions on international literature and expert insights on the coronavirus pandemic, to the UAE’s future in the world and in outer space.
The fair is also running under stringent safety measures, including only admitting fully vaccinated visitors. Prior registration is required on the fair’s website and mobile phone app, with a maximum of three hours per session.
More information on the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair is available at adbookfair.com
More coverage from the Future Forum
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
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Hidden killer
Sepsis arises when the body tries to fight an infection but damages its own tissue and organs in the process.
The World Health Organisation estimates it affects about 30 million people each year and that about six million die.
Of those about three million are newborns and 1.2 are young children.
Patients with septic shock must often have limbs amputated if clots in their limbs prevent blood flow, causing the limbs to die.
Campaigners say the condition is often diagnosed far too late by medical professionals and that many patients wait too long to seek treatment, confusing the symptoms with flu.
The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
The nine articles of the 50-Year Charter
1. Dubai silk road
2. A geo-economic map for Dubai
3. First virtual commercial city
4. A central education file for every citizen
5. A doctor to every citizen
6. Free economic and creative zones in universities
7. Self-sufficiency in Dubai homes
8. Co-operative companies in various sectors
9: Annual growth in philanthropy
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
FIXTURES
Thursday
Dibba v Al Dhafra, Fujairah Stadium (5pm)
Al Wahda v Hatta, Al Nahyan Stadium (8pm)
Friday
Al Nasr v Ajman, Zabeel Stadium (5pm)
Al Jazria v Al Wasl, Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium (8pm)
Saturday
Emirates v Al Ain, Emirates Club Stadium (5pm)
Sharjah v Shabab Al Ahli Dubai, Sharjah Stadium (8pm)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
CREW
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERajesh%20A%20Krishnan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETabu%2C%20Kareena%20Kapoor%20Khan%2C%20Kriti%20Sanon%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
The biog
Most memorable achievement: Leading my first city-wide charity campaign in Toronto holds a special place in my heart. It was for Amnesty International’s Stop Violence Against Women program and showed me the power of how communities can come together in the smallest ways to have such wide impact.
Favourite film: Childhood favourite would be Disney’s Jungle Book and classic favourite Gone With The Wind.
Favourite book: To Kill A Mockingbird for a timeless story on justice and courage and Harry Potters for my love of all things magical.
Favourite quote: “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” — Winston Churchill
Favourite food: Dim sum
Favourite place to travel to: Anywhere with natural beauty, wildlife and awe-inspiring sunsets.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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The biog
Favourite film: Motorcycle Dairies, Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, Kagemusha
Favourite book: One Hundred Years of Solitude
Holiday destination: Sri Lanka
First car: VW Golf
Proudest achievement: Building Robotics Labs at Khalifa University and King’s College London, Daughters
Driverless cars or drones: Driverless Cars
Match info:
Portugal 1
Ronaldo (4')
Morocco 0
Brief scoreline:
Manchester United 2
Rashford 28', Martial 72'
Watford 1
Doucoure 90'
Boulder shooting victims
• Denny Strong, 20
• Neven Stanisic, 23
• Rikki Olds, 25
• Tralona Bartkowiak, 49
• Suzanne Fountain, 59
• Teri Leiker, 51
• Eric Talley, 51
• Kevin Mahoney, 61
• Lynn Murray, 62
• Jody Waters, 65
Sanchez's club career
2005-2006: Cobreloa
2006-2011 Udinese
2006-2007 Colo-Colo (on loan)
2007-2008 River Plate (on loan)
2011-2014 Barcelona
2014–Present Arsenal
