The Goethe Institute's Berlin-Dubai Festival this weekend will explore common ground between two cities with very different cultural agendas.
The Goethe Institute's Berlin-Dubai Festival this weekend will explore common ground between two cities with very different cultural agendas.

A cultural dialogue with Berlin



Last year, I asked the renowned German art dealer and gallery owner Rafael Jablonka why he was closing his Berlin showroom and returning to his Cologne base. "Because Berlin is an economically retarded place. The collector's market is nonexistent," he replied.

None, none at all? I asked. "There are some collectors in Berlin, but I don't think they are buying in Berlin. Why do artists go to Berlin? Because the rents are low. But there is no other business there, there is no reason to be in Berlin."

Jablonka was right in a business sense, but perhaps missing a wider point. Berlin has become a haven for artists across the world, drawn by the low cost of living, the pleasantly ramshackle ambience and plenty of studio and exhibition spaces.

As the disgruntled head of Galerie Jablonka pointed out, there is very little money in the city's art market to sustain any serious collecting culture, but under the radar thrives an underground music, art and literature scene that has evolved over decades of decadence, war, repression and finally a sustained, not prosperity exactly, but economic calm that fuels a booming cultural life for thousands of young artists, writers, directors, dancers and others "resting".

Three thousand miles away in Dubai, things are, predictably, rather different. Here, there are significantly fewer full-time practising artists, facilities are far less available and the complex nature of the city's society presents a contrasting set of circumstances for contemporary artists. Yet the city thrives as a collectors' hub, attracting hundreds of eager art-lovers of all stripes from around the world, with events such as Art Dubai, regular auctions by Bonhams and Christie's, as well as a profusion of galleries showing work by artists from across the Middle East and beyond.

Attempting to draw contrasts and find common ground between these two distinct cityscapes is a new event taking place this weekend at The Jam Jar gallery in Al Quoz, Dubai. The Goethe Institute's Berlin-Dubai Festival sees a group of Berlin-based cultural mavens - including filmmakers, writers and critics - in town to debate and discuss with their UAE counterparts how their city supports and nurtures its fertile grassroots art and literature scenes.

The festival kicks off at 8pm tonight with a screening of Frank Kuenster's underground documentary Let It Rock, which is a fascinating insight into Berlin's creatives.

After the screening Kuenster will speak about his film and join a panel discussion, which is intended to be the intellectual core of the programme. The panel includes the German-Croatian journalist and author Jasna Zajcek, Alexander Smoltczyk, who is the regional correspondent for the German news magazine Der Speigel, and the Berlin author Norman Ohler. Representing Dubai will be The Jam Jar's founder Hetal Pawani, the Emirati artist Ebtisam Abdulaziz and the Emirati cultural commentator Mishaal al Gergawi.

Ohler and Zajcek will also be holding a reading on Saturday at 2pm, followed by a further discussion with the object of trying to make sense of the very different directions the two cities take in pursuing an arts agenda.

The director of the Goethe Institute in the UAE, Friederike Möschel, describes the aim as showing Berlin's cultural scene and diversity. "Rightly, Berlin is one of the most attractive metropolitan centres in the western world and it is about time to present it here in the UAE," she says. "Personally, I think it is always very fascinating and also rewarding to see similarities among all the differences. As the latest discussions in Europe have shown, there are still a lot of prejudices concerning the Arab and Muslim world. I guess a lot of people there have no clue that in this part of the world there are people who are really interested not just in finance and business, but also in arts and culture. Dubai is such a melting pot with so many influences from different countries that it might be an interesting place for Berlin artists to become inspired."

The idea for the festival grew out of a meeting between Zajcek and Möschel in Dubai earlier this year. "My first impression of Dubai was that it was so much of a shopping-and-dining-out culture," says Zajcek. "But I wondered, how do the souls of these people get fed, how are their ideas inspired?

The UAE event will seek to address this and other questions on creativity as well as highlighting a number of key issues, not least the contrast between Dubai's high-velocity, high-spending growth and Berlin's more cash-strapped situation.

"What could we learn from Dubai?" says Zajcek. "How to accept new architecture! And how to sell what you have to offer, this is a thing we could learn from Dubai."

Möschel believes ultimately that in their disparities and unrecognised connections there is much synergy between the two cities, which she hopes the weekend's events will help elucidate.

For those in the vanguard of art and culture in the Middle East, discovering the inner world of the German capital will be a fascinating insight into how art is made in an environment that has supported creativity for decades. Similarly, Dubai has much to offer its German guests in terms of learning how best to capitalise on and promote their cultural assets.

"On one hand," she points out, "in Berlin, artists are more independent and don't have to care so much about sensitivities connected to traditions, culture and religion. On the other hand, in Dubai, it is much more challenging for artists' creativity, to express changes in their life and their society.

"In this respect, they need sometimes a certain subtlety in their art, which is really interesting. It is also a big challenge to create a unique style for this region and not just copy western art. It is always fascinating, when a region is in the process of bearing something new."

The Berlin-Dubai Festival is on from tonight until Saturday. For more information, visit www.goethe.de/dubai.

Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
  • Drones
  • Animals
  • Fireworks/ flares
  • Radios or power banks
  • Laser pointers
  • Glass
  • Selfie sticks/ umbrellas
  • Sharp objects
  • Political flags or banners
  • Bikes, skateboards or scooters
A State of Passion

Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi

Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah

Rating: 4/5

OPTA'S PREDICTED TABLE

1. Liverpool 101 points

2. Manchester City 80 

3. Leicester 67

4. Chelsea 63

5. Manchester United 61

6. Tottenham 58

7. Wolves 56

8. Arsenal 56

9. Sheffield United 55

10. Everton 50

11. Burnley 49

12. Crystal Palace 49

13. Newcastle 46

14. Southampton 44

15. West Ham 39

16. Brighton 37

17. Watford 36

18. Bournemouth 36

19. Aston Villa 32

20. Norwich City 29

 

 

 

 

 

 

'Of Love & War'
Lynsey Addario, Penguin Press

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi

Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.

Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en

Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Rating: 2/5
 
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia

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.”

SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.5-litre%204-cylinder%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20101hp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20135Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Six-speed%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh79%2C900%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
RESULT

Al Hilal 4 Persepolis 0
Khribin (31', 54', 89'), Al Shahrani 40'
Red card: Otayf (Al Hilal, 49')