Dalston-Dubai

"I Don’t Need Your Money Honey All I Need is Love" is the title of the new selection of work from the Farook collection on display at Traffic. With a big Hirst heart on show, this show should get you in the mood for valentines day...in a month.
5 Jan, 2010 - 27 Jan, 2011Traffic, Gallery II

photo and details from http://www.viatraffic.org/

Opens today at the Courtyard Gallery, Al Quoz.
An exhibition of contemporary Persian & Arabic Calligraphy by Ali Shirazi. 

"Mastering classical calligraphy for over 35 years had given Ali Shirazi the skill to move forward and break boundaries by exploring new means to fulfill his creative desire. The preeminent brushes, which glide on his large canvases, are clearly come from his outstanding skill in traditional calligraphy.  Having exhibited in Total Arts Gallery for several occasions in the past, now he is back with his new collection of contemporary Persian and Arabic calligraphy.
Ali Shirazi is known as the best scripter of Nastaliq style of calligraphy in the world. His work has been extensively exhibited worldwide and been collected by major museums and private collections through Islamic world."

Read more about Ali Shirazi on his website

DIFF Poster competition

Unless you go digging, this is the sort of opportunity we miss out on in Dubai, competitions don't seem to be advertised well here and so deadlines pass before anyone realises, and the standard of entries stay low. So here's a chance to up the design level and perhaps get your poster displayed across the region and tickets to the Dubai International Film Festival...

http://www.dubaifilmfest.com/index.php/en/particiapte/dubai-international-film-festival-poster-competition/

The DIFF Poster Competition is part of the Festival’s community outreach, and is intended to give the UAE’s creative community – including designers, advertising professionals, artists and other committed Festival- goers – more and deeper linkages to DIFF. The juried competition is open to any individual practicing art across the UAE, whether student or self-taught, full-time or part-time, professional or hobbyist, working in any medium or style.

All entries should be submitted prior to December 3, 2010


Drawing fashion, Design Museum, London

03 November – 06 March 2011
http://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/2010/2010-drawing-fashion

Drawing Fashion celebrates a unique collection of some of the most remarkable fashion illustrations from the twentieth and twenty first centuries. These original works define the fine art of illustrating fashion, from the collections of Chanel, Dior, Comme des Garçons and Poiret as well as Viktor & Rolf, Lacroix and McQueen.

I have been so impressed with the Sharjah Art Foundation. I first saw their brandmark at ArtDubai this year, I so liked their collateral I bought a bag designed by them to support their cause and spread the word. They now have a really modern website and are pushing the foundation across the globe, establishing themselves as a leading voice on art in the Middle East. Very impressive, it all seems more grassroots than the fine art scene of Abu Dhabi, perhaps its the new dalston of the gulf! I look forward to seeing more.

Tomorrow- Thursday November 11th 2010. Doors open 19.00. Village Underground, Shoreditch.
16 designers battle it out in 2d, 3d and motion design in this digital design tournament.

Some weekend culture for those in Dubai...

The Dubai Portfolio Tilt.
By Alastair Newton-Brown
JamJar gallery
27 October – 27 November 2010

"I think that certain aspects of Dubai are beautiful. There is a very naïve and childlike feeling to this city, the people in it and the way in which it is built. What I find so interesting is the fact that you can walk 50 metres and move from the tip of a construction site to a five-star luxury setting. Many people hate all the construction and think it’s ugly, but I find it entertaining. When I look out the window at the construction sites I think about who those people are and what they’re making. And also who are the investors that are paying for this construction, what they do, where they’re from. Do they know their workers? Do they worry about money?"
By Nyree Barrett  Quoted from Time Out Dubai, 1 November 2010

This isn't in Dubai or Dalston but its awesome so had to share.

Federico Diaz: Geometric Death Frequency-141

Beginning October 23, 2010, MASS MoCA will present a new site-specific sculpture by Prague-based artist Federico Díaz. Created from 420,000 black spheres precisely milled and assembled by robotic machines, the 50-feet long by 20-feet high sculpture, Geometric Death Frequency-141, will fill MASS MoCA's entrance courtyard with a fragmented wave seemingly caught between movement and stasis.
Architecture critic and curator Jeff Kipnis calls Diaz's work "re-origination," comparing it to the making of a book into a film. In one sense the film represents the book, yet does so in an entirely new medium, and through this becomes something completely different. In the case of Geometric Death Frequency-141, the "book" is a digital photograph of the museum's clocktower entry courtyard as taken by the artist, which the artist then transforms into pure data, and modulates using analytical and fluid dynamic modeling techniques, finally rendering the data stream into a three-dimensional sculpture using state-of-the-art computer-aided manufacturing methodologies. The new work thus combines elements of photographic manipulation, data analysis, and computer programming, utilizing new techniques to produce a sculpture completely untouched by human hands.

Art Dubai again this year, I thought the main room was impressive and this year was so much more on show. I was impressed so wont say anything negative about it not being the same as in London...I hope ArtDubai continues to grow and next year will be even better- come on Dubai!

Decode: Digital Design Sensations showcases the latest developments in digital and interactive design, from small, screen-based, graphics to large-scale interactive installations. New OneDotZero initiative. Check it out and go to the Friday late tonight to see :Decode lab.
http://www.vam.ac.uk/microsites/decode/