The Room is “an immersive, large-scale interactive installation” that takes place at Art Dubai each year, and has built its reputation on the new and innovative ways that it pushes the boundaries of art.
This year’s installation is a collaborative affair, built by a collective of members from across the region. Known as the GCC, an acronym that does not necessarily stand for but alludes to the Gulf Cooperative Council, all eight members have strong ties to the Arabian Gulf region of the Middle East.
The artists are Nanu Al-Hamad, Khalid Al Gharaballi, Abdullah Al-Mutairi, Fatima Al Qadiri, Monira Al Qadiri, Aziz Al Qatami, Barrak Alzaid, Amal Khalaf. The GCC was formed in 2013 at Art Dubai, having since shown in New York, Berlin, Paris, the UAE, and Kassel.
This year’s The Room is built around the concept of a talk show, specifically GOOD MORNING GCC (صباح الخير جي. سي. سي.) which uses the “tropes of daytime talk shows commonly featured on TV stations across the Arab world alongside a reference to Nam June Paik’s “Good Morning Mr. Orwell”, Glenn O’Brien’s TV Party, Chris Burden’s commercials and other artists who have used television’s potential to communicate to a wider audience,” according to Art Week organizers.
For this year’s installation, a special highlight will be the celebrity wedding singer and TV chef Suliman Al-Qassar. He is an icon of food performance and is a much-loved TV personality in the region. Al-Qassar launched the program with a live cooking demonstration on the opening night of Art Week.
The inspiration for attendees of this year’s installation, according to the visiting artists, is to allow them access to experienced media personalities. As explained by the GCC collective artists, “these personalities are tapped into regional subcultures with massive audiences and we wanted to insert them into the mainstream format of a TV show. Arab TV networks in the region have popularized the talk show format, which ranges from political to conversational and covers many of the topics we are addressing in our program.”
It is critical to bring this modern take on The Room to Art Week Dubai to “reflect the trends and interests of the region, while creating a sense of connectivity.”
In order to fully understand the concept, it is critical to know that “each segment has been selected with the practitioner in mind, someone who is part of a mainstream phenomenon but has subcultural value,” according to GCC.
The different segments have been carefully curated to foster a greater understanding of the role of talk shows in the development of a collective cultural experience.
“Each segment on a daytime talk show ranging from lifestyle and fashion to health and wellness; we gather together practitioners to give audiences hands on demonstrations to add value to their everyday lives, from makeup tutorials to holistic bodywork,” the artists said.
These segments will each be led by “an expert whose voice is already magnified by social media and broader regional trends.”
Although on the surface, talk shows can seem light-hearted and shallow in content, the reality, which will be explored through the installation, is that “talk shows that air throughout the GCC countries delve into topics that can be sensitive in public discourse, including sex, morality, religion, and politics and offer a variety of perspectives on these subjects,” according to GCC.
The Room, although focused on the authentic experience will bring in threads of this, the work does not explicitly contend with these issues, but instead “amplifies individuals whose voices we value, but who may not inhabit mainstream platform of day time TV.”
Running from March 21-24, the timings of The Room’s different installation can be found on the main website for Art Week Dubai.
The Room: Concept art makes a home at Art Dubai 2018
The Room: Concept art makes a home at Art Dubai 2018
Saudi’s ‘Norah’ receives the Special Mention accolade at Cannes
DUBAI: Saudi film “Norah,” starring actress Maria Bahrawi, this week received the Special Mention accolade, which recognizes films for outstanding achievements, at the 77th Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard awards.
The cast and crew, accompanied by director Tawfik Al-Zaidi, stepped onto the stage to accept the accolade in front of a full house.
The film, shot entirely in AlUla, is set in 1990s Saudi Arabia when conservatism ruled and the professional pursuit of all art, including painting, was frowned upon. Besides Bahrawi, the movie also stars Yaqoub Al-Farhan and Abdullah Al-Satian. It follows the story of Norah and failed artist Nader as they encourage each other to realize their artistic potential in rural Saudi Arabia.
“Norah” had its official screening at the festival on Thursday, becoming the first film from the Kingdom to screen as part of the official calendar at the event.
The movie was backed by the Red Sea Fund — one of the Red Sea Film Foundation’s programs — and was filmed entirely in AlUla in northwest Saudi Arabia with an all-Saudi cast and a 40 percent Saudi crew.
Un Certain Regard’s mission is to highlight new trends in cinema and encourage innovative cinematic works.
Chaired by Canadian actor, director, screenwriter and producer Xavier Dolan, the jury included French Senegalese screenwriter and director Maimouna Doucoure, Moroccan director, screenwriter and producer Asmae El Moudir, German-Luxembourg actress Vicky Krieps, and American film critic, director and writer Todd McCarthy.
Chinese director Guan Hu’s “Black Dog” won the top prize in the Un Certain Regard section.
Marking Guan’s debut at Cannes, the film follows a former convict who forms an unexpected bond with the titular animal while clearing stray dogs in his remote hometown on the edge of the Gobi Desert.
The jury prize was awarded to “The Story of Souleymane,” directed by Boris Lojkine, marking his return to the festival after a decade since his 2014 feature “Hope.”
The film portrays the journey of a Guinean food delivery man who must create a compelling narrative for his asylum application interview in Lyon within a two-day timeframe.
Dave Chappell says support for Gaza war is result of ‘antisemitism in the West’ at Abu Dhabi show
DUBAI: US comedian Dave Chappelle performed to a packed audience at Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena on Thursday as part of Abu Dhabi Comedy Week, where he also addressed the war in Gaza.
“What is happening in Gaza is a direct result of antisemitism in the West,” he said on stage.
“If you are in America, the best thing you can do is to make American Jews feel safe, feel loved and supported so they can know they don’t have to support a country that is committing genocide just to feel safe,” he added.
Chappelle previously slammed the Israeli bombing of Gaza, as well as the US support for it, at a show in Boston in October.
According to people in attendance, an audience member asked Chappelle to shut up, which sparked a heated response from the comedian.
“You can’t take tens of billions from my country and go kill innocent women and children and tell me to shut the f--- up,” he said, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Some members of the crowd began chanting “free Palestine,” to which Chappelle replied: “You are damn right, free Palestine.”
Summer cinema: The blockbusters coming your way over the next few months
DUBAI: Here are eight blockbusters coming your way over the next few months.
‘Deadpool & Wolverine’
Director: Shawn Levy
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Release date: July 26
In what will likely be the summer’s biggest box-office draw, the now-retired Wade Wilson — aka the indestructible mercenary Deadpool — is pulled from his sedate existence by the Time Variance Authority and forced into carrying out a mission with fellow anti-hero Wolverine, of X-Men fame. Both men reluctantly engage in a task that “will change the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”
‘Hit Man’
Director: Richard Linklater
Starring: Glen Powell, Adria Arjona, Austin Amelio
Release date: May 24 (June 7, Netflix)
Action-comedy from one of the best directors around. Gary Johnson (Powell, who co-wrote the movie with Linklater) is a straight-laced college professor who moonlights as a fake hitman to entrap criminals for the local police department. But when he falls for a prospective client, Madisson (Arjona), Gary gets in way above his head, and his lies start to catch up with him. The bizarre premise is actually based on a true story (although Linklater has stressed that his film is not a faithful recreation of events).
‘Bad Boys: Ride or Die’
Directors: Adil & Bilall
Starring: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Vanessa Hudgens
Release date: June 7
Detectives Mike Lowrey (Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) are back for a fourth big-screen outing. This time, they’re investigating their own, when their late captain is accused of having been working with drug cartels. The two men set out to clear their captain’s name and find out who in the Miami PD could be responsible for framing him, only to be set up themselves and forced to go on the run.
‘Inside Out 2’
Director: Kelsey Mann
Starring: Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black
Release date: June 14
The sequel to Pixar’s much-loved “Inside Out” — about a young girl called Riley and the five personified emotions that determine her thoughts and actions — finds Riley entering her teenage years, and ushering in some new emotions (Anxiety, Ennui, Embarrassment and Envy) who throw off the delicate equilibrium achieved by the veterans Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust.
‘The Bikeriders’
Director: Jeff Nichols
Starring: Jodie Comer, Austin Butler, Tom Hardy
Release date: June 21
Nichols’ tale of the exploits of the fictional Chicago-based biker gang the Outlaws MC over the course of the 1960s is inspired by the photo-book of the same name by Danny Lyon. What, at first, is intended as a place of refuge and sanctuary for local outsiders where they can feel free to be themselves evolves — or devolves — into a violent crime organization.
‘Despicable Me 4’
Director: Chris Renaud
Voice cast: Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Pierre Coffin
Release date: July 3
Gru — once a supervillain, now an agent for good — is living happily with his wife (and fellow agent) Lucy, their three adopted daughters, and their newborn baby boy. But when Maxime Le Mal, the dangerous criminal that Gru helped put away, escapes from prison, Gru and his family (and, of course, his Minions) must go on the run.
‘Fly Me to the Moon’
Director: Greg Berlanti
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Anna Garcia
Release date: July 12
Set in the Space Race of the 1960s, Berlanti’s romantic comedy-drama finds NASA director Cole Davis preparing for the launch of Apollo 11. An already stressful situation is made worse when he falls for marketing specialist Kelly Jones, whom the government has appointed to stage a fake moon landing in case anything goes wrong with the real deal.
‘Borderlands’
Director: Eli Roth
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jack Black
Release date: August 9
With video-game adaptations no longer the dross they used to be, thanks to the success of TV shows like “The Last of Us” and “Fallout,” hopes are high for this star-studded take on Gearbox Software’s all-action looter-shooter. Blanchett plays Lillith — a much-feared outlaw who returns to her home planet of Pandora on a mission to find the missing daughter of the universe’s most powerful man, Atlas. To achieve her goal, she teams up with a band of misfits to tackle monsters and bandits and find the girl.
The Roundup: 3 pop culture highlights from across the region
DUBAI: Here are three pop culture highlights from across the region.
‘Drawing Time: Duets’
This exhibition, from the collection of Sharjah Art Foundation, runs until August 4 at Al-Mureijah Art Spaces. The show, the organizers say, “grew out of a two-year research project into conserving paper” and brings together works from 15 artists (including Baya, whose “Femme au paon” is pictured here) that “present a composite picture of what drawing is and could be today.” It also “delves into the concept of the double” by presenting the works in “artistic duets.”
Gultrah
‘Revival’
The popular Tunisian alternative outfit’s second studio album is billed as “Tunisian reggae,” a “distinctive fusion” of “innovative blends” that “delves deep into introspection and self-acceptance.” With touches of funk, ska, and Afrobeat, the nine tracks on “Revival” address a number of social issues as well as “the quest for inner peace,” and should help Gultrah build on the success of their hit single “Win.”
Dima Ayad
The Dubai-based Lebanese fashion designer’s latest collection of dresses, pants and coats is based around “a harmonious fusion of nostalgic 90s style elements with contemporary sensibilities,” according to a press release. The collection features “warm earth tones,” blacks, whites, and splashes of bright pink, while the new one-shoulder dress provides “a unique twist to the (designer’s) knitted signature fabric.”
Saudi film ‘Norah’ makes history with Cannes Film Festival screening
DUBAI: Saudi film “Norah” had its official screening at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on Thursday, becoming the first film from the Kingdom to screen as part of the official calendar at the event.
The movie, filmed entirely in AlUla and directed by Tawfik Al-Zaidi, is running in the “Un Certain Regard” section of the festival.
The film is set in 1990s Saudi Arabia when conservatism ruled and the prefessional pursuit of all art, including painting, was frowned upon. It stars Maria Bahrawi, Yaqoub Al-Farhan, and Abdullah Al-Satian and follows the story of Norah and failed artist Nader as they encourage each other to realize their artistic potential in rural Saudi Arabia.
“Norah” is in competition with 19 other films from around the world.
On Wednesday, the cast, director and CEO and chairwoman of the Red Sea International Film Festival Mohammed Al-Turki and Jumana Al-Rashed, respectively, appeared together on the red carpet for French adventure drama film “Le Comte de Monte-Cristo.”
“Norah” was backed by the Red Sea Fund — one of the Red Sea Film Foundation's programs — and was filmed entirely in AlUla in northwest Saudi Arabia with an all-Saudi cast and a 40 percent Saudi crew.
