It’s the 12th year of the Quoz Arts Fest, an event that brings art, music and food lovers from all corners of the UAE to Alserkal Avenue in the Quoz Creative Zone.
Running on January 25 and 26, the festival will include public art installations, live performances – including poetry, workshops and panel discussions, pop-ups, a dedicated children’s programme and more.
And with so much to look forward to, here are The National’s picks for experiences not to miss out on this year.
Live performances
Syrian-American poet and rapper Omar Offendum will take the stage, along with music collaborators oud virtuoso Ronnie Malley and acclaimed DJ Thanks Joey, to create a unique, genre-bending musical experience for audiences.
This includes Offendum’s blend of hip-hop and Arabic poetry through sounds and influences of hakawati storytelling techniques from Damascus with urban music culture from New York City. Offendum will be taking the main stage (named The Stage) on January 25 at 8pm.
Also part of the line-up is Tunisian-American singer and songwriter Emel Mathlouthi, whose viral protest song, Kelmti Horra (My Word is Free) went viral during the 2011 Tunisian revolution. Her sound is marked by a unique blend of musical styles, including tapping into her Arabic roots along with a range of Western influences, such as electronica and classical music.
Mathlouthi will also perform songs from her latest album, MRA, on the main stage on January 26 at 8.30pm. The album was released last year and explores facets of the fight for freedom through a feminist lens.
Tunisian alternative music duo Yuma, made up of Sabrine Jenhani and Ramy Zoghlemi, will be making their regional debut at the festival.
Known for their distinctive acoustic sound blending Tunisian music with folk-inspired melodies and modern indie sounds, their singles Smek and Nghir Alik have gained worldwide attention. Yuma will be performing on The Stage on January 25 at 7.30pm.
There will also be Quoz Encore throughout the weekend, where a collection of emerging musical artists from the UAE will be performing on Stage 2.0, including Emirati band Metarust, Moroccan-French singer-songwriter Younes Elamine, solo artist Souldier and more.
Public art
Eness is a multi-award winning multidisciplinary art and technology studio that creates interactive work through temporary and permanent public art.
Forest Dancer and the Path to Pure Creation is their immersive art installation at the Concrete space in the central yard of Alserkal Avenue. The installation is expected to be an immersive work exploring the intersection between the virtual and the physical, expressing the freedom and joy experienced through creativity.
Dubai artist and filmmaker Abdulla Alneyadi’s installation in the Yard, titled Bright Memories, is a reflection of his fond memories of the UAE. Alneyadi focuses on the idea of water dispensers, which were often placed around his neighbourhood as acts of charity. His installation invites the public to interact with works, highlighting the public service, providing free water to all who pass by.
Emirati visual artist Asma Belhamar’s delicate but monumental installation, Thresholds of Perception, explores the concept of the balcony as a liminal space between private and public realms. The works, which are reconstructed to human scale, are made of aluminum blend into their environment. Not only do they challenge perceptions of space, but also evoke nostalgia and blur the lines between modern urban spaces and traditional design elements and motifs from the region.
Gallery exhibitions
Ongoing and new exhibitions featuring local, regional and international works of art will be on show throughout the weekend.
Lawrie Shabibi will be presenting a solo exhibition by Iranian-British artist Farhad Ahrarnia. Titled No Scheherazade, the exhibition shows his craft-making techniques, while citing regional and contemporary historical references inspired by the framing and plot devices of Scheherazade, the narrator of One Thousand and One Nights.
The Third Line presents a group show Neither Here, Nor Elsewhere, which features a range of work by artists from across Africa and Asia in various disciplines, exploring modes of control spanning social norms, gender and moral codes. Artists include Palestinian Faissal El-Malak, Iraqi-American-Swedish Hayv Kahraman, Iranian multi-disciplinary artist Mahsa Merci, Lebanese Omar Mismar and American-Qatari Sophia Al-Maria.
Gulf Photo Plus will present the work of Behzad K Noori, who explores his grandfather Gholamreza Amirbeigi’s legacy in photographs taken between 1956–1968, which capture Tehran’s working-class lives during extreme urban expansion. The exhibition combines Iran’s past, collective memories and personal archives and stories.
Green Art Gallery is showing the sculptures of Lebanese artist Chaouki Choukini, who blends organic and mechanical forms, as well as abstract and figurative elements to create a vibrant and timeless visual language.
Culinary delights
What The Food will offer more than 50 food concepts, presented through food trucks, restaurants and pop-up stands.
These will include Kokoro, a Korean-Japanese restaurant and handroll bar; SYOTG, Dubai’s answer to Oklahoma smash burgers and Wagyu philly cheesesteak; Men Bayti La Baytak, a food concept that specialises in handcrafted makdous; Mattar Farm, which will been serving smoked meats in BBQ and so-called third culture barbecue; and Kooya, the Filipino eatery, which blends traditional flavours with a modern twist.
For those with a sweettooth, Oma, a home-grown bakery from Dubai, will be serving their unique take on classic cookies and cakes. Ganache Chocolatier, located in Warehouse 82, will have a wide range of luxury chocolates, while Pekoe Tea and Bread Bar will also have a selection of their modern Japanese pastries.
Quoz Arts Fest 2025 will be running on January 25 and 26 at Alserkal Avenue in Quoz Creative Zone
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- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
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Our legal advisor
Rasmi Ragy is a senior counsel at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Prosecutor in Egypt with more than 40 years experience across the GCC.
Education: Ain Shams University, Egypt, in 1978.
The specs: 2018 Jeep Compass
Price, base: Dh100,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.4L four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 184bhp at 6,400rpm
Torque: 237Nm at 3,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.4L / 100km
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Squad
Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas)
What is cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying or online bullying could take many forms such as sending unkind or rude messages to someone, socially isolating people from groups, sharing embarrassing pictures of them, or spreading rumors about them.
Cyberbullying can take place on various platforms such as messages, on social media, on group chats, or games.
Parents should watch out for behavioural changes in their children.
When children are being bullied they they may be feel embarrassed and isolated, so parents should watch out for signs of signs of depression and anxiety
MATCH INFO
England 2
Cahill (3'), Kane (39')
Nigeria 1
Iwobi (47')
RESULT
Manchester United 1 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Man United: Dunk (66' og)
Man of the Match: Shane Duffy (Brighton)
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Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Top Hundred overseas picks
London Spirit: Kieron Pollard, Riley Meredith
Welsh Fire: Adam Zampa, David Miller, Naseem Shah
Manchester Originals: Andre Russell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Sean Abbott
Northern Superchargers: Dwayne Bravo, Wahab Riaz
Oval Invincibles: Sunil Narine, Rilee Rossouw
Trent Rockets: Colin Munro
Birmingham Phoenix: Matthew Wade, Kane Richardson
Southern Brave: Quinton de Kock
Biography
Favourite book: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Holiday choice: Anything Disney-related
Proudest achievement: Receiving a presidential award for foreign services.
Family: Wife and three children.
Like motto: You always get what you ask for, the universe listens.
PROFILE BOX
Company name: Overwrite.ai
Founder: Ayman Alashkar
Started: Established in 2020
Based: Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai
Sector: PropTech
Initial investment: Self-funded by founder
Funding stage: Seed funding, in talks with angel investors
Ready Player One
Dir: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Mark Rylance
Squads
India: Kohli (c), Rahul, Shaw, Agarwal, Pujara, Rahane, Vihari, Pant (wk), Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep, Shami, Umesh, Siraj, Thakur
West Indies: Holder (c), Ambris, Bishoo, Brathwaite, Chase, Dowrich (wk), Gabriel, Hamilton, Hetmyer, Hope, Lewis, Paul, Powell, Roach, Warrican, Joseph
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Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
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The biog
Name: Abeer Al Shahi
Emirate: Sharjah – Khor Fakkan
Education: Master’s degree in special education, preparing for a PhD in philosophy.
Favourite activities: Bungee jumping
Favourite quote: “My people and I will not settle for anything less than first place” – Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid.
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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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Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
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Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
Isle of Dogs
Director: Wes Anderson
Starring: Bryan Cranston, Liev Schreiber, Ed Norton, Greta Gerwig, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Scarlett Johansson
Three stars
Women’s World T20, Asia Qualifier
UAE results
Beat China by 16 runs
Lost to Thailand by 10 wickets
Beat Nepal by five runs
Beat Hong Kong by eight wickets
Beat Malaysia by 34 runs
Standings (P, W, l, NR, points)
1. Thailand 5 4 0 1 9
2. UAE 5 4 1 0 8
3. Nepal 5 2 1 2 6
4. Hong Kong 5 2 2 1 5
5. Malaysia 5 1 4 0 2
6. China 5 0 5 0 0
Final
Thailand v UAE, Monday, 7am
Mobile phone packages comparison
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
MIDWAY
Produced: Lionsgate Films, Shanghai Ryui Entertainment, Street Light Entertainment
Directed: Roland Emmerich
Cast: Ed Skrein, Woody Harrelson, Dennis Quaid, Aaron Eckhart, Luke Evans, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Darren Criss
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 2
Suarez (10'), Messi (52')
Real Madrid 2
Ronaldo (14'), Bale (72')
RESULT
Arsenal 1 Chelsea 2
Arsenal: Aubameyang (13')
Chelsea: Jorginho (83'), Abraham (87')
RESULTS
5pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner: Samau Xmnsor, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi (jockey), Ibrahim Al Hadhrami (trainer)
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Ottoman, Szczepan Mazur, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner: Sharkh, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi
6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 85,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner: Yaraa, Fernando Jara, Majed Al Jahouri
7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Maaly Al Reef, Bernardo Pinheiro, Abdallah Al Hammadi
7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner: Jinjal, Fabrice Veron, Ahmed Al Shemaili
8pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner: Al Sail, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
