The metaverse is almost here, whether you understand it or not.
The growth, potential and intrigue of this cyberspace is part of an infinitely expanding digital landscape, one that will affect our physical reality in some ways we might be able to predict and others we still don’t understand.
The Media Majlis at Northwestern University in Qatar attempts to make sense of the concepts and realities with their latest in-depth exhibition titled MetaWhat?
“If someone told you 10 years ago that those digital cameras we took to social gatherings would become all but obsolete, would you have believed them?” Jack Thomas Taylor, curator at the Media Majlis, asks The National.
“If they told you that you would take photos on your phone and store them in the 'cloud', you might have laughed. The same is true now for digital assets. It is how we will express ourselves, connect with others and build our reputation.”
The metaverse – and by extension digital art – is a crucial means of understanding how contemporary society and future generations will express, communicate and archive their ideas, thoughts and experiences.
Through five thematic installations – which include digital screens, hologram NFT displays, virtual and augmented reality, interactive elements, avatar personalities and rare and valuable physical collectibles – the exhibition will explore different facets of the metaverse.
The completely bilingual exhibition not only takes on the magnitude of what the metaverse is and how it can operate, but also makes a point to do so from the perspective of the Arab world and the Global South.
Taylor elaborates that exploring and opening dialogue on the metaverse through this lens is crucial since it has great potential to create and push particular narratives.
“If we don’t inspire, excite and have an open conversation, we will unfortunately have to conform to a digital landscape that is built, developed and operated by western technology giants,” Taylor says.
“If we don’t inject ourselves into the process of creation and protect the idea of decentralisation, then we will end up with another form of authority controlling and manipulating the public, as we now see on social media platforms and search engine algorithms, for example.”
The aim of MetaWhat? is to go beyond what is already known from the hype, such as the confusion surrounding the metaverse, by taking a more critical route into the context, means and future of this coming experience of digital expression.
The exhibition does this by first starting at a point that would be familiar to most audiences. Whether through avatar personalities or gaming titles such as Fortnite, different sections of the exhibition introduce visitors into the works in familiar ways before guiding them into different layers of the metaverse with geographically appropriate examples.
Visitors can explore the concept of a fragile home across the Naqab desert and what is now the Occupied Palestinian Territories, through Remember this place 31°20’46”N 34°46’46”E, a virtual reality experience produced by The Media Majlis and Northwestern Qatar.
Also showing will be an version of Gaia, a touring artwork by British artist Luke Jerram, measuring six metres in diameter with detailed Nasa imagery of the Earth’s surface, which is accompanied by a specially made surround-sound composition by Bafta-award-winning composer Dan Jones.
Gaia was included in the exhibition to make the public can think about how the virtual and physical worlds are fusing.
“At 2.1 million times smaller than the real Earth, Gaia provides viewers the opportunity to see our planet floating in three dimensions,” Taylor says.
“The reason it has been included in this exhibition is to prompt visitors to ask tough questions about how the metaverse could impact our physical existence. How can we start talking about virtual worlds when we can’t even see our own planet? It also makes us question the environmental impact these new technologies are having on our fragile planet.”
Conceptualising and coming to terms with what the metaverse truly means for the future, and how it is already part of our present, is a multifaceted conversation.
“The very fact that we took the opportunity to theme an exhibition about the metaverse in Qatar is already one step closer to hosting conversations from the perspective of this part of the world,” Taylor adds.
“If we don’t include this content, then how can we expect any other museum to include this?”
MetaWhat? will be running The Media Majlis at Northwestern University in Qatar until December 7
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Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
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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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