IMAjAZ - art meets luxury

Is it just us or is there a big theme around crystals these days? For example, Rihanna bought the Swarovski Crystals Marilyn Monroe at the turn of the year. And now that theme has come to the UAE. But in true UAE fashion, this is a true collaboration between an Italian artist called Ima Caforio and an Indian artist called Jasim Ahmed giving an entity called IMAjAZ. And it's pretty damn good.

Celebrating the artists’ journey of discovery from culturally diverse Italy to the fascinating land of the Emirates, the exhibition depicts the captivating beauty of the Gulf’s rich culture and heritage, including some of the UAE’s most iconic sites, and the most significant events experienced along their journey. Each one of the 15 works are hand embellished with thousands of Swarovski Elements crystals, some as small as 2.5mm; a delicate process which adds a unique dimension and brings the exhibition to life when touched by light. “As the cultural gateway to Abu Dhabi, Fairmont Bab Al Bahr  is delighted to host this exhibition,” said Henning Fries, Regional Vice President and General Manager of Fairmont Bab Al Bahr, Abu Dhabi. “This modern approach to art by IMAjAZ is a natural fit for our flagship property, which is itself an example of aesthetically forward architecture. The hotel’s translucent glass façade and unfettered views of the iconic Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, provide the perfect backdTherop for these treasured works of art.”

The exhibition is sponsored by Ruinart (for the champagne drinkers amongst you – this is the oldest and best champagne!) and we can’t help thinking that this is the kind of exhibition that we should have more of in the UAE tastefully bling art that depicts the heritage of the UAE. It’s a shame that it can only go on for a few more weeks.

There are some great pieces – from a tribute to the late founding father and President of the United Arab Emirates, His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan to Embellished burqa, an artistic interpretation of an important piece of khaleeji folklore dress traditionally used to cover the face and emphasize the beauty of the eyes to an artistic vision of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. This really is art meets luxury.

“The Journey: From Italy’s Treasures to Jewels of Arabia” art exhibition takes place from 7 May to 3 July 2012 at the Fairmont Bab Al Bahr in Abu Dhabi. Oh, and it’s in a good cause - As firm supporters of the Abu Dhabi based charity, The Future Center for Special Needs, IMAjAZ have pledged to donate 20% of all proceeds from the sales of exhibited pieces to the organization.

IMAjAZ

Exhibition

Iranian Smugglers

At Grapeshisha, we always love a stroll down memory lane, especially when the photos are passed on by the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding. And so it was refreshing to see the photos again on Foreign Policy - and not the before after shot of Sheikh Zayed Road. You know the one.


Anyway,  while scrolling through, we found the Dubai Creek photo, which looked so eerie and so silent

That's all good, but we were shocked to see how it was captioned:




Small fishing boats bob on Dubai Creek. Today, the creek is used by Iranian smugglers and tourist cruise boats.


Yes, you read that correctly. I guess the aim of the magazine is to live up to its name.


See all the photos at Foreign Policy

Female Exercise Freedom

News from Saudi Arabia brings refreshing nuggets of information that Ladies will now have the opportunity to exercise at sport centres. It hasn't happened yet, but this another step to freedom against the zealots worried that the women's hymen's would break.

Saudi Arabia has set up a ministerial committee to consider allowing women's sports clubs, al-Watan daily newspaper reported on Saturday, despite opposition to female exercise from religious conservatives. Abdullah al-Zamil, a senior official from the General Presidency of Youth Welfare, the top Saudi sporting body, said the committee was being formed to end the "chaos" surrounding women's sports clubs which are effectively unregulated, Watan reported. 

"The mission of the committee is focused on building a system for these clubs," the newspaper, owned by a member of the Saudi royal family, reported Zamil as saying. In the austere desert kingdom, powerful clerics have long argued against women playing sports or doing physical exercise, forcing female gyms to be designated as expensive "health centres". A member of the top clerical body in 2009 said girls should not play sports lest they lose their virginity by tearing their hymens. State-run girls schools are banned from doing sports, but private girls schools are allowed to offer sports classes. 

Reuters

Tire Fire

The story of the tire fire in Kuwait caught our eye this week gone, due to its extraordinary environmental impact, but it went more or less unnoticed by the main stream press. 5 million tires on fire, supposedly set alight by scrap metal hoarders.  But the impact of the fire was only made clear when you saw a photo. Only one man was able to do that with impact. 5 million tires. 1000 words. 1 photo. 1 man. Mohammed ALSULTAN. Amazing.

Kuwait Tire Fire by Mohammed ALSULTAN

Gold iPad 3 in Dubai

Not much to say here except that it costs $5500 and you can get it from Damas in Dubai, although created by gold and co. And where can you buy it from? Dubai, of course - Dubai is the city of Gold .

and don't worry if your ipad stays next to your sofa in your majlis, and you want to show off a bit more, the gold iPhone 4s is still available:

In fact, you could probably get whatever you wanted, if you are a bbm fiend, no problem, your blackberry comes in gold as well:

Anyway, if you are that way inclined, head down to Damas in Dubai Mall to check it out. But if you're really going to buy it - I'm sure you don't need us to tell you it's available.

Gold and co
Launch

Camelccino

Over the years we have brought to you camel milk chocolate, the benefits of it, and camel milk ice cream - and now we bring you the camelccino. Your coffee heaven with a splash of double hump juice. Don't be afraid, Starbucks aren't changing their mocha frapuccino any time soon. Actually the news that CNN reported on 2 days ago, isn't really news, as it's been on the menu for some time, most notably at the Emirates Palace. And camel milk can be purchased in most supermarkets. (it's a little bitter though).

Camel milk has been a staple for Bedouins for centuries, but it has never before been produced in scale or used commercially in this way. For Emiratis, it is a way of combining local pride with a healthy option. Camel milk is lower in fat and higher in Vitamin C than cow's milk, according to scientists."In the milk are all the vitamins, all the minerals, fat, carbohydrates, that you need for daily life," said Ulrich Wernery, scientific director of the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory. 


But can you see it being staple? Camel milk on its own tastes a little weird in my humble opinion, but mikes it up with an espresso and you certainly wont have the hump. Next time you are at the Emirates Palace, try one - it's 35 AED. 



Forget cappuccino, Dubai drinkers get a taste for camel-ccino

Star Trek Dubai

The recent announcement that the life sized starship enterprise project has been scrapped sounded like a story that could have come from Dubai - but it's in fact a project that was penned for Las Vegas. That's somewhat ironic given how Dubai was likened to Las Vegas when it was growing over the last 10 years. Either way, the project has been given the no go. From theVerge:

You'd think Las Vegas was ostentatious enough already, but details have emerged of a canceled project that would have rivaled Sin City's gaudiest excesses — a full-sized reconstruction of the Starship Enterprise. The model would have featured a fully-modeled interior with tours of famous rooms and locations, and there were also plans to have Star Trek-themed live shows inside. Designer Gary Goddard's $150 million concept actually won a competition put on by the city in 1992 to find a new attraction for Vegas' downtown area, but ultimately got denied by Paramount's COO Stanley Jaffe who was worried about damage to the brand should the project not have been a success.

The worry that Paramount's COO had was that it would be a flop! As all trekkies know, this would almost become a pilgrimage site!

Let's do this.


I still think something like this has legs and could work. It is a great idea - and I think it would work amazingly in Dubai. After all, Dubai has put its hat in the game for the culture card - and what a great tribute to modern day culture. The only thing that could trump something like this with the tech geek type demographic is Star Wars (maybe that's something else worth pursuing?) This also ties into Dubai being a tourist hub - imagine the number of trekkies who would visit annually.

The next thing is how do we convince Stanley that this is not going to damage brand. I think we can time limit the attraction to 10 years, which will give a large enough return - and if successful, build out further. With money and backing, this has a very low chance of failure, and I'm sure everyone is looking for a sure bet in this climate. And the other thing about brand. If there is ever a place that had managed to maintain itself despite the criticism, it's Dubai. It ain't going away over night and despite the crisis - the place is still a tourist hub with a high end skew.


Anyway, I would like to broker the deal with whoever is in charge? Can someone hook me up? If not - live long and prosper - and I'll continue dreaming. 


More reasons from the architect of the idea, Gary Goddard

Dubai Time Lapse Video

Beautiful Time lapse Video from Richard Bentley that gives a real feel for the Dubai Neighbourhoods, predominantly at night. Enjoy!


Dubai 2.0 from Richard Bentley on Vimeo.


Hat tip to the I love Dubai Facebook Group

Saudis, Shoe Wars and the iphone app ban

Shoe Wars - it sounds like a sex and the city type nightmare that Carrie Bradshaw would  have with another aficionado over the last pair of Jimmy Choos. It does, but this is a different type of shoe war - with a grunt. 

This is a story about an app that got the wrong type of attention. Initially launched on 13th March, the app was pushing its way up the chart - and became especially successful in Saudi Arabia. After an update on the 20th, the app was banned from Saudi Arabia. This decision was made following feedback that the female character’s jumping sound effect was considered “too sexual” and may cause cultural offence. A modified version of the app will be available in Saudi Arabia, in April without grunt. GIMME THOSE JIMMY CHOOS UH UH!




Get the Shoe Wars iphone app from itunes (if you're not in Saudi Arabia) - http://itunes.apple.com/app/id505430756?mt=8

Dubai Winter Festival

This is the Dubai Winter Festival 2012 and this is what the adrenaline of skydive Dubai feels like in high definition. Enjoy!


the palm from mike on Vimeo.