A harp player on a deck over the Dubai Marina, a bride in her wedding dress in the UAE desert and an aerial shot of the Burj Al Arab – these are just a few of the images in Wouter Kingma’s portfolio. But what makes him different from other photographers in the region is that his work is available to buy from what he claims is the UAE’s first online digital photo store.
“I don’t know of anyone who has an online photo library for sale with prints of different sizes – limited and unlimited – that is a handcrafted service rather than a mass-produced one,” says Kingma, a Dutch national who has been living in Dubai for 11 years.
Taking the plunge
Although he had always enjoyed it as a hobby, Kingma’s passion for photography was really sparked in 2005 when he travelled to Laos and Thailand with Land Rover, his former employer, and saw professional photographers at work. It was after that trip that he made the move into freelance work – first selling his house so he could afford the equipment.
After becoming successful, he showed his work in a few public places such as More Café and Fitness First health clubs and had a really positive reaction.
“After a while, I had so much great content that, rather than letting it collect digital dust on a hard drive, the next logical step was to make it available to buy in prints and to create an online infrastructure.”
Art on the move
Now describing himself as a visual artist and an adventure junkie who thinks about photography all the time and is always on the lookout for his next shot, Kingma is enjoying his first solo exhibition. Titled Art on the Move, it will feature images under four themes: Arabia Arabia, Emirates Aerials, Movement and Footsteps of Thesiger, which captures the expedition across the Empty Quarter undertaken by Adrian Hayes to re-enact that of Wilfred Thesiger in the 1950s.
Hosted at Create! in the Courtyard in Al Quoz, Kingma will launch the web shop, also called Art on the Move, at the same time as the exhibition.
“The shop came out of the desire to reproduce something that I am proud of and that I would love other people to have on their walls,” he explains.
Shopping online
On Kingma’s website is a collection of images showing people, places and architecture around the UAE and beyond. If you order online, then the print is delivered to your doorstep with a printed story that Kingma calls the conversation piece.
“It is a unique story about the image. Sometimes it is where I shot it or why, what happened, what went wrong and how the picture came together. When it is bought, it is sold with the story, which is a conversation between me and the person who buys it and at the same time a conversation between the person who buys it and their friends. It’s important to connect with the image you buy.”
Support
Thanks to his years of work in the automobile industry, first on the marketing side and then with his photography, Kingma has managed to secure support from Audi Middle East for this exhibition.
Trevor Hill, the managing director of Audi Middle East, says that the company has worked with Kingma for many years.
“It is a great pleasure for us to promote his talents and add to the region’s cultural scene.
“Wouter’s collection will inspire and entertain with his portfolio of brilliant photography, relating to all those living in the Middle East,” he says.
• Art on The Move runs until Monday at Create!, The Courtyard, Al Quoz, Dubai. Visit www.artonthemove.me
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.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Paris%20Agreement
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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.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
Company%20profile
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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