Sultan Al-Qassemi and Joi Ito discuss the Middle East, the UAE, art, culture, emergent democracy and other timely matters. Read more »
A Dubai architectural gem worthy of a museum
The Dubai Petroleum’s HQ must be preserved for the future of this country when it is vacated, and what way to better honour a building that has literally fueled the development of Dubai into a global city than turn it into a public institution, an art museum for the people. Read more »
Arab Art in a Virtual World
Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, columnist on Arab affairs, MIT Media Lab Director’s Fellow, and Founder of Barjeel Art Foundation, took the main stage at STEP2016 to talk about the increasingly important role of technology as a platform to disseminate art from the Arab world and the challenges that come along such as censorship and the lack of intellectual property protection, and what Barjeel Art Foundation has been doing to introduce art from the MENA region to the world. Read more »
Mona Hatoum: The First Contemporary Arab Artist?
Attempting to pinpoint a specific date in which modern Arab art gave way to the contemporary is bound to raise more questions than answers. I propose that Arab contemporary art timeframe begins with artists who have come of age in the decade between the early 1980s and the early 1990s due to their general readiness to adopt the latest technologies and concepts in their work. In my opinion the artist that best embodies this definition is Beirut born British-Palestinian artist Mona Hatoum. Read more »
United Arab Emigrants
Through this essay I seek to highlight some of the many Arab immigrants that have come to what is now the UAE during the second half of the 20th century. These immigrants have been naturalised and yet our national identity has not disappeared or eroded as some may fear. In fact, in addition to their skills and talents that were essential during the formation of the federation, UAE heritage and culture was protected and preserved. Read more »
Etihad should consider a touchdown in Sharjah
Sharjah’s airport has got all the credentials to make for a strategic hub. Should Etihad consider operating out of Sharjah, it would add another layer to this dynamic UAE industry. Read more »