Sadik Kwaish Alfraji ‘Ali’s Boat’ - (video still), 2015, video installation, part of the Eye of the Thunderstorm exhibition taking place in the Venice Biennale 2015 (Courtesy: Ayyam Gallery)
Sadik Kwaish Alfraji ‘Ali’s Boat’ - (video still), 2015, video installation, part of the Eye of the Thunderstorm exhibition taking place in the Venice Biennale 2015 (Courtesy: Ayyam Gallery)

Venice Biennale: Artists in the eye of the storm



A collateral event at the Venice Biennale features a variety of work from artist in the Arab world and south Asia. In the Eye of the Thunderstorm: Effervescent Practices from the Arab World & South Asia, curated by Martina Corgnati, presents a group of artists: Rashid Al Khalifa, Sadik Alfraji, Alia Al Farsi, Shurooq Amin, Ahmed El Shaer, Simeen Farhat, Khaled Hafez, Haytham Nawar, Mahmoud Obaidi who have been selected as mid-career practioners.

Commissioned by Contemporary Practices Journal, the exhibition is a chance to see where art from this region is at right now and to get an idea of the common threads coming from the multiple artist voices.

Coming soon

Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura

When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.

Akira Back Dubai

Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as,  “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.

Dinner by Heston Blumenthal

The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems. 

'Will%20of%20the%20People'
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EArtist%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMuse%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELabel%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EWarner%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A