The X is an industrial black-and-white scene, with a curved structure drawing the viewer’s eye. From a distance, it looks like the feathered wingspan of a bird of prey. Up close, it looks like a mechanical tunnel. But edge closer and you’ll see that the image is an inverted shot of Dubai Metro’s escalator system.
The photographer, Mohammad Shabanpoor, is one of 13 winners of this year’s Sheikha Manal Young Artist Award, an annual award open to 18 to 30 year old UAE residents. Recognised in the category of photography, Shabanpoor was awarded the top prize of Dh50,000 in a ceremony held in Dubai on Thursday.
In second place was Maitha Abdalla, with her striking image of a woman in the kitchen called Whoa Mein; she was awarded Dh30,000. These awards were also given out for entries in fine art, which had two awards given for second place, multimedia and a new category of design. These three categories also included a third-place prize of Dh20,000.
All this brings the total prize money to Dh410,000, more than twice the amount that was given out in previous years.
“The Sheikha Manal Young Artist Awards are now in the eighth edition and we have evolved considerably over the last few years,” explains Mona bin Kalli, the director of Sheikha Manal’s Cultural Office. “We are very proud of the talent that has emerged and we are keeping track of their achievements. This year, we decided to give them more support; one way to do this is monetary and another is exposure, so we are helping them reach out to galleries and putting on some exhibitions.”
The accolades also included a People’s Choice Award – voted on by the public on the website – and were presented by Sheikh Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
The selections were made by a panel that included Sheikha Wafa Hasher Al Maktoum, the founder of FN Design Studio in Dubai, Sheikha Maisa Al Qassimi, the programme manager for the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Marjan Farjam, the director of The Farjam Foundation, and Antonia Carver, the director of Art Dubai. Other winners were Sarah Alagroobi for her innovative prayer chair designed in the shape of the Arabic letter “kaf” and Gabriela Purri Rosas Gomes for her video A Metaphor of the Mind.
“People who have won in previous years have become prominent artists,” says Kalli. “If this tells us something, it is how important the YAA is in giving them confidence, building the right platform and allowing them to grow.”
• See all the shortlisted works at www.youngartistaward.ae
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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.”
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Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
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Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
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Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
How to improve Arabic reading in early years
One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient
The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers
Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades
Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic
First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations
Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades
Improve the appearance of textbooks
Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings
Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught
Systematic learning of Standard Arabic grammar
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