ABU DHABI // Noor Nazze did not know what to make of the shiny red ball wedged between the giant rails of Sheikh Zayed Bridge this week.
The taxi driver from Afghanistan quickly dismissed the 4.3-metre art installation as a "piece of plastic".
When he heard the ball had travelled to cities including Taipei, Barcelona, Toronto and Sydney, Mr Nazze shook his head.
"Well, if it's travelling the world, at least he'd better take it to Afghanistan," he said.
The US designer of the RedBall Project, Kurt Perschke, clapped his hands in delight when he heard of the taxi driver's reaction.
"This is what I'm talking about," said Mr Perschke. "That, to me, is really exciting because it's a sense of being invited - of wanting to join. If you're working with the public it really shouldn't just be about putting your thing outside. Ultimately, it's about engaging the public.
"People often think the project is about the ball but actually the ball is charismatic and magnetic and playful and it brings you in, it invites you in.
The RedBall Project's appearance here is part of an continuing public art strategy by the Abu Dhabi Government. Abeer Al Mutawa, the director of communications at the municipality, saw a picture of RedBall while flipping through an art book and decided it would work well here.
The project is an official part of National Day celebrations and will be seen around town until December 2.
"There's a special theme for National Day this year - the harmony of life in the UAE - and that's what I liked about this; it touches upon those things," said Ms Al Mutawa. "It opens the door to conversation."
Isabella Hughes, a curator and Dubai editor of ArtAsiaPacific, praised the "nomadic quality" of RedBall and its ability to take the site into context.
"I hope this will inspire artists here to have more site-specific pieces," said Ms Hughes. "In the UAE you bring people from all over the world together and I think it's beautiful that this RedBall project it kind of just attests to this.
"Art should be for everyone. The accessibility factor is key."
Mr Perschke visited the capital in July 2010 and September 2011 to choose sites in the city, the Western Region and Al Ain, where the ball will tour next week. The RedBall Project will move to a new location each day during its Abu Dhabi visit. Today, it will be at the corniche.
"What I try to do in every city is to have the piece move between a familiar landmark and something that is unexpected or maybe just local," said Mr Perschke.
The ball, made of two layers of architectural PVC, is shipped in a red crate and normally takes about an hour to be inflated and installed.
A test run outside the municipality was a simple procedure, but placing the 135-kg ball on Sheikh Zayed Bridge was probably one of the most daring escapades in RedBall crew history.
The RedBall Project was born when Mr Perschke was offered a public art commission in St Louis, Missouri, and asked to choose between three locations: a lush park, a glitzy mall, and a derelict underpass.
"The underpass was like the one they give you because nobody cares about it. But when I kept looking at the sights, it was the one I kept coming to and I decided that what I needed to do is look at why," said Mr Perschke.
Abu Dhabi residents have a few weeks to see the ball before it leaves for Perth, Australia, and then tours England for the London 2010 Olympics.
Nadia Al Ghaferi and Mariam Al Junaibi, two young Emirati women visiting the Abu Dhabi Art Fair, had their own interpretations.
"Why is it red?" asked Ms Al Ghaferi. "I mean, it's a dangerous colour."
"It's warm," says Ms Al Junaibi.
"Red ... it's love, isn't it?" conceded Ms Al Ghaferi.
Qai Sar Ali, 27, an interior designer from Pakistan, drew his own conclusions, too.
"The theme is a peace ball?" he asked. "This must be the theme of every activity that connects people."
azacharias@thenational.ae
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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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MATCH INFO
Barcelona 4 (Messi 23' pen, 45 1', 48', Busquets 85')
Celta Vigo 1 (Olaza 42')
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday
Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)
Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)
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
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Tottenham's 10 biggest transfers (according to transfermarkt.com):
1). Moussa Sissokho - Newcastle United - £30 million (Dh143m): Flop
2). Roberto Soldado - Valencia - £25m: Flop
3). Erik Lamela - Roma - £25m: Jury still out
4). Son Heung-min - Bayer Leverkusen - £25m: Success
5). Darren Bent - Charlton Athletic - £21m: Flop
6). Vincent Janssen - AZ Alkmaar - £18m: Flop
7). David Bentley - Blackburn Rovers - £18m: Flop
8). Luka Modric - Dynamo Zagreb - £17m: Success
9). Paulinho - Corinthians - £16m: Flop
10). Mousa Dembele - Fulham - £16m: Success
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
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Tank warfare
Lt Gen Erik Petersen, deputy chief of programs, US Army, has argued it took a “three decade holiday” on modernising tanks.
“There clearly remains a significant armoured heavy ground manoeuvre threat in this world and maintaining a world class armoured force is absolutely vital,” the general said in London last week.
“We are developing next generation capabilities to compete with and deter adversaries to prevent opportunism or miscalculation, and, if necessary, defeat any foe decisively.”
Company%20Profile
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
ALRAWABI%20SCHOOL%20FOR%20GIRLS
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Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Mubalada World Tennis Championship 2018 schedule
Thursday December 27
Men's quarter-finals
Kevin Anderson v Hyeon Chung 4pm
Dominic Thiem v Karen Khachanov 6pm
Women's exhibition
Serena Williams v Venus Williams 8pm
Friday December 28
5th place play-off 3pm
Men's semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Anderson/Chung 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Thiem/Khachanov 7pm
Saturday December 29
3rd place play-off 5pm
Men's final 7pm
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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