Dear Ali: I would like to ask where I can find artists in Abu Dhabi city who can paint Arabic landscapes? I am an expatriate living here and I want to find an artist who can paint an Arabic dhow on the sea that features a sunset in the background. I intend to give it as a birthday gift. Are there any parts of Abu Dhabi where there are some art shops that showcase the work of some local artists? ME, Abu Dhabi
Dear ME: Trust me when I say, we have plenty of great artists in the UAE, and I can put you in contact with the right people and galleries. If you check on my portal or own a copy of Ask Ali: A Guide to Abu Dhabi, you can find a list of art galleries owned by Emiratis that offer what you are looking for. One of them is Al Ghaf Gallery, run by artists Jalal Luqman and Mohamed Kanoo. They are well-known artists in the Gulf art scene; their gallery can be found on 30th Street in Abu Dhabi beside the British Vet clinic. You may visit their Ghaf blog and website, ghafgallery.blogspot.com and get in touch with them directly. Tell them I said hi!
Another option also is to pay a visit to the Art and Handicraft Centre located at the National Theatre just opposite from Abu Dhabi Media Company. Plenty of artists drop in to work and it has a shop that carries artwork.
Another centre you can contact is Mohamed Al Astad's Artistic Creativity Centre, created and managed by Mohamed Al Astad; the art piece you're asking for can undoubtedly be found in his collections and he can be contacted at 02 633 0446 or info@alastad.net.
Last and not least, you can go and pay a visit to my dearest friend, the artist, Matar bin Lahaj, another guru on the art scene in the UAE. His gallery is located in Dubai and you may get in touch with him and his gallery at mattarartist.blogspot.com
I hope these options will help you.
Dear Ali: My firm serves a number of individuals who come from the Gulf region. We recognise and respect our clients, and would like to wish them well on the upcoming occasion of Eid. What is the best way of doing this? RI, Durango, USA
Dear RI: "Eid Mubarak" and "Eid Saeed" are the two phrases we use all the time for our two major Islamic festivals. Remember not all of the Gulf people are Muslims, but just play it safe by sending a greeting card or a greeting email to your clients, wishing them a happy and a blessed Eid. Even better, why not give them a phone call and wish them a happy Eid on the same day of Eid or a night before?
God bless.
Dear Ali: I have been invited to a local wedding later in the year and I was wondering if, as a Scotsman, it would be OK for me to wear my kilt? JW, Abu Dhabi
Dear JW: A suit is what we are more used to seeing an expat wear at weddings here in the UAE. But of course wearing the kilt is also totally fine and I believe it will be so nice for others to see it, as it is your culture. Just expect lots of staring and curious and surprised looks!
I have a friend who married a half-Emirati, half-Scottish woman, so the wedding photos have a mix of kanduras and kilts - very traditional and Braveheart. Everybody was totally fine with it and even wanted to take pictures with us.
Just remember, winter is getting here soon, so watch out. It can be really freezing, if you know what I mean!
Wishing you and the wedding partners and family all the best.
Ali Al Saloom is a cultural adviser and public speaker from the UAE. Follow @AskAli on Twitter, and visit www.ask-ali.com to ask him a question and to find his guidebooks to the UAE, priced at Dh50.
BLACK%20ADAM
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Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
The biog
From: Ras Al Khaimah
Age: 50
Profession: Electronic engineer, worked with Etisalat for the past 20 years
Hobbies: 'Anything that involves exploration, hunting, fishing, mountaineering, the sea, hiking, scuba diving, and adventure sports'
Favourite quote: 'Life is so simple, enjoy it'
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
- Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
- Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
- Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Company%20Profile
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Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Sebastian Stefan, Sebastian Morar and Claudia Pacurar
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2014
Number of employees: 36
Sector: Logistics
Raised: $2.5 million
Investors: DP World, Prime Venture Partners and family offices in Saudi Arabia and the UAE
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.”
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Result
UAE (S. Tagliabue 90 1') 1-2 Uzbekistan (Shokhruz Norkhonov 48', 86')
Normcore explained
Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.