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By Shalini Passi - La Biennale Di Venezia Venice is renowned for its richly endowed cultural and artistic history, enveloping each in its aura. La Biennale di Venezia commenced its 59th edition on April 23 and it’s on view until November 27, 2022. The two main spaces for the Biennale are Giardini and Arsenale and around 80 countries have participated this year at the Biennale, curated by Cecilia Alemani. Republic of Cameroon, Namibia, Nepal, Sultanate of Oman, and Uganda are debuting this year. La Biennale di Venezia was founded in 1895 as an art exhibition in Giardini and this year, around 213 artists have exhibited, where most of them are women, being truly historic for the Biennale. Following through with some spectacular art from around the globe, following are my top five pavilions of this edition. Simone Leigh, USA Pavilion exterior resembling African rondavel, La Biennale di Venezia Sable Elyse Smith, Landscape VI, Neon installation, Milk of Dreams, La Biennale di Venezia 1) USA, represented by Simone Leigh Simone Leigh is one of the most celebrated black women artists, rightfully known for her larger than life, bronze and ceramic sculptures. Her sculptures explore female black subjectivity and cultural appropriation. She translates oral histories that have been included, filtered and omitted through her artworks, often traditional objects, recalling African/black traditions and female figures. She is the first ever black woman to represent the US at the Venice Biennale. Her giant minimalist maximal sculpture adorned the US Pavilion exterior, resembling the African Rondavel. Her bronze sculpture, The Last Garment depicts a scene of a laundress, calling out the 19th century photography of Jamaica used by the British Colonial govt., fostering classism. Simone Leigh, Last Garment (left), Bronze Sculptures, U.S. Pavilion, La Biennale di Venezia Simone Leigh, Cupboard and Martinique, US Pavilion, Ceramic Sculptures, La Biennale di Venezia 2) NEPAL, represented by Tsherin Sherpa Nepal debuted this year with artist Tsherin Sherpa, inaugurating the national pavilion. Tsherin Sherpa is a Nepalese artist, whose works can be witnessed through the lens of the Himalayan Diaspora. History and culture, both sacred and secular, form the bias of his contemporary artworks, using elements of Tibetan iconography. Tales of Muted Spirits – Dispersed Threads – Twisted Shangri-La, is a bronze installation by Sherpa, incorporating dozens of deities’ limbs, in reference with Tibetan Thangka paintings. The Nepal Pavilion is curated by Sheelasha Rajbhandari and Hit Man Gurung who are also curators of the Kathmandu Triennale. The country is trying to encourage and support its national contemporary artscape through such initiatives. Tsherin Sherpa, Installation View, Bronze, Nepal Pavilion, La Biennale di Venezia Tsherin Sherpa, 24 Views of Luxation, Acrylic on canvas, Nepal Pavilion, La Biennale di Venezia Another one of his artworks titled 24 Views of Luxation, embodies the traditional Buddhist style of painting subjected around a Hindu & Buddhist mythological figure Garuda. The acrylic painting uses a rich traditional color palette. Sherpa highlights the rich colonial history of his region through his works at the Biennale. 3) DENMARK, represented by Uffe Isolotto Uffe Isolotto, We Walked the Earth, Pavilion of Denmark, La Biennale di Venezia, 2022 The Danish Pavilion most certainly stood out with its immersive evocative installations. Artist Uffe Isolotto has converted the pavilion into a paddock. Isolotto is popularly known for his public art projects, with a unique sculptural sensibility and contextuality. Through We Walked on Earth, the artist traverses between hyperrealism and a tale of life, death and hope. As one walks in, the horse manure catches up, almost overwhelming alongside Danish eelgrass. The hyper-realistic sculptures of centaurs catch eyeballs from the get go. Uffe Isolotto, We Walked the Earth Installation View, Pavilion of Denmark, La Biennale di Venezia, 4) KOREAN PAVILION, represented by Yunchul Kim Yunchul Kim, Chroma V, Kinetic sculpture, Korean Pavilion, La Biennale di Venezia, 2022 Located in Giardini, the Korean Pavilion has been catching many eyeballs at this 59th edition of the Biennale because of its distinctive, larger than life, Kinetic sculptures. The show is titled Gyre, inspired by a 20th century poem by Yeats and is curated by Young - chul Lee. As you step into the Pavillion, it feels like you’ve been transported into a new world, an entangled sprawling space. Kim abridges the world of art, mythology, literature, philosophy and science. The pavilion embodies three parallel themes: The Swollen Suns, The Path of Gods and The Great Outdoors. Yunchul Kim, Impulse, Mixed media, Korean Pavilion, La Biennale di Venezia, 2022 5) BRITISH PAVILION, represented by Sonia Boyce The British Pavilion presented Sonia Boyce’s Feeling Her Way which investigates the prospect of group play as a means of inventiveness. Narrated through the multimedia installation, Boyce's project includes five black female musicians who were asked to improvise, engage, and experiment with their voices in a series of video pieces. In essence, it recognizes the significant contribution that Black British female musicians have made to global culture. Through a shared collective identity of racialization and prejudice, her artwork acknowledges the continuing effects of Britain's cultural imperialism. Sonia Boyce, Feeling Her Way, multimedia installation, La Biennale di Venezia, 2022 Sonia Boyce, Feeling Her Way, multimedia installation, La Biennale di Venezia, 2022 The Venice Biennale triumphantly celebrates various cultures and their artistic practices from all across the globe. Spread across the culturally endowed Italian city, there are several foundation shows and museum exhibits enriching the entire Venetian experience. Text by Shalini Passi BIO Shalini Passi is the founder of SPAF and MASH. She is an Art and Design collector, Advisor, Patron; Philanthropist and Artist. SPAF www.shalinipassiartfoundation.com MASH www.mashindia.com https://www.instagram.com/mash_india/ Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shalini_Passi Instagram https://www.instagram.com/shalini.passi/

Maison Margiela The new maisonmargiela.com October 2022 — Maison Margiela reinvents its digital platform, maisonmargiela.com. The new virtual flagship store proposes a state-of-the-art transformation of online shopping by rethinking fashion’s relationship with the traditions of E-Commerce. The site is conceived by Creative Director John Galliano with the consultation of image-maker Nick Knight, SHOWstudio, and in collaboration with experience design studio International Magic. The digital space embraces the electronic shopping experience as fashion’s most inspiring visual frontier. As an accessible and immediate point of connectivity between the Maison and its clientele, it is approached with a depth, soul and poetry historically reserved for the runway and editorial expression. The reimagined channel is an instinctive response to the investigations of life in the digital age intrinsic to the practice of John Galliano at Maison Margiela. The online store serves 45 countries worldwide. “I believe that E-Commerce is the most exciting fashion frontier we have today and where our creative energy should now be focused,” says Nick Knight. Departing the archaic associations of E-Commerce, the virtual platform reimagines the idea of online shopping in a digital depiction of the physical in-store experience. Devoted to showcasing clothes and accessories in movement, maisonmargiela.com stages an imaginative cyber-salon designed to engage the senses and offer the client an immersive virtual encounter with the Maison and its collections. In bestowing the online store with the same aspiration, ideals and care that course through every other vein of the house, John Galliano elevates the habitual components of the digital emporium through exquisite graphic content created in collaboration with the creative talent and muses connected to Maison Margiela. As well as a shopping destination, over time the platform will grow to serve as a comprehensive source of knowledge on the house and its practices. The digital flagship evokes the curved and tactile lines of Maison Margiela’s physical stores and is consistently founded in movement. Its landing page invites visitors to scroll through the pyramidical structure that underpins the house, with moving imagery of the Artisanal Collection (haute couture) featured at the top followed by the Co-Ed Collection (ready-to-wear), the Avant-Première (pre-collection) and the Icons collection. Each garment or accessory is showcased within imperfectly framed thumbnails nodding at the warped interior language of the house’s stores. As a reflection of the genderless approach to garments, muses wear face veils innate to the grammar of Maison Margiela. Styled by Tom Guinness and captured in still and moving imagery by photographer Britt Lloyd, each design in the digital store is displayed with the cadence of a real-life experience in multiple turning and moving body views achieved in an intricate creative process that utilises turntables and travelators. Through green screens, muses appear on cloud filled backdrops as if walking through skyscapes, their movement evoking the body language known from the Maison’s fashion shows. The body views of each item are demonstrated in several windows of moving imagery showcasing the design from every angle, with added static detail shots and still life photography. Accessories are pictured in movement on muses as well as in still life on pedestals, filling the frame of the picture in accordance with size options. Every garment and accessory is depicted in line with the vision of John Galliano as originally proposed in the collection’s presentation. MM6, the standalone line under Maison Margiela, is represented on the digital platform through its own distinct identity, directed by International Magic. Reflective of the line’s contemporary irreverence and disregard for trends, MM6 garments and accessories are pictured in purposely static imagery nodding wittily at the classic notion of the ‘look book’ and imbued with slight hints of movement. It is an archival approach that echoes the line’s subtle nods to the Maison’s history and affirms the MM6 ethos of tying the refined to the commonplace. Casting and size ranges honour the line’s values of creating clothing for all. The evolution of Maison Margiela’s E-Commerce site is part of OTB’s MOON omni-channel platform. MOON is an innovative integrated operating model which was first launched with Diesel in 2020. MOON offers brands of the OTB Group a completely customised, fluid digital shopping experience. About Maison Margiela Maison Margiela is a Parisian haute couture house founded on ideas of nonconformity and the subversion of norms. Under the creative direction of John Galliano, collectively shared dress codes are inverted and redefined in an analytical wardrobe proposal for the digital age. Driven by instinct, the Maison is devoted to uncompromising creativity invigorated by values of authenticity, radicality and self-expression. Revolutionary and cutting-edge, the Maison’s premise observes the philosophies of the Belgian designer Martin Margiela, who founded the house in 1988. Among Maison Margiela’s historical signatures are the blank, white label and its four stitches, the numeric coding, and the use of brush-stroked white paint, which continue to signify the hand of the Maison today. Maison Margiela has held the Haute Couture appellation since 2012. The house became part of the OTB Group in 2002. About Nick Knight Long term Galliano & MM collaborator is among the world’s most influential and visionary image- makers and director of award-winning fashion film website SHOWstudio. He has consistently creatively embraced new technologies especially fashion communication through the internet and was excited to take on the challenge of the new MM E-Commerce site. About International Magic Founded by Adam Rodgers and Stefan Endress, International Magic is a futurist design studio creating unseen digital experiences for next generation brands and innovators. Driven by new technology and a strong visual direction, the studios primary focus is to create entertaining and innovative experiences with a positive impact. Its collaborative, open and research-driven approach has led to relationships with commercial and cultural pioneers including Maison Margiela, Nike, Martine Rose, Judy Chicago, FKA twigs, 032c, Somerset House, Selfridges, Manchester International Festival & London College of Fashion.

Avant-Garde artist Elena Butko most famous for her abstract artworks is now a resident of Dubai, UAE adding to the art and culture scene of Dubai and the UAE. The Ukrainian artist recently had two exhibitions of her artworks in Dubai at Fancy Rose Jwellery Gallery and the Fashion Factor show 2nd edition. She donated half of the proceeds of her private sales to Ukraine and in some instances all the proceeds of the artwork sales. Recently she exhibited an art gallery at DSRPTD 2022 the Tech and Startup Summit this October in Sofitel JBR Dubai. Elena to continue her paintings and artworks in Dubai and from Dubai to the world with more of her abstract avant garde art to come in upcoming months at various venues, art galleries and international and global exhibitions in the UAE and beyond. Check her out as one of the most famous artists here: www.elenabutko.com

Simone Ashley DATE: October 25th, 2022 EVENT: TIME100 Next Gala at SECOND Floor LOOK: Valentino look, Valentino Garavani shoes and Valentino Garavani Loco’ Bag from the Unboxing Spring/Summer 2023 collection LOCATION: New York CREDIT: GettyImages OFFICIAL TAG: @maisonvalentino

By Carlos Mundy Concern about the effects of climate change on the Earth and the artist’s interest in ecology has led him to use, at various levels, nature as the framework for his work. His passion for water - not only as a means of personal enjoyment throughout his life but, above all, as a sacred gift - has made this element an inherent part of his work, whether it be pictorial or sculptural. Water is a main part and vital foundation in all cultures and all religions since it is a constituent element of life, a source of sustenance and fundamental for the existence of all living organisms. In innumerable myths and poetic creations water appears as an image or reflection of the soul, and for Kico Camacho it is a mirror of our collective soul; the level of our consciousness reflected in the health or deterioration of our water basins, the mirror in which to look at ourselves. It is through abstract elements, codes of pictorial reading, colour, forms, perspective, symbolic elements, light and reflections that the artist creates changing atmospheres with the aim of tempting the observer to enter the work - either physically and/or mentally, depending on the case - completing it, transforming it and making it his own. An invitation to travel beyond physical and mental limitations, to ask ourselves questions, to establish a dialogue with our sensitive and subconscious side, to undertake an adventure of discovery through imaginative and infinite readings. Oases sculptures An oasis is a vital part of life in the arid and semi-arid climate, and they are a model for the natural interaction of desert people with their environment. In most cases, they are the only source of freshwater and are essential stops along trade routes as merchants must replenish food and water supplies. Kico Camacho feels that the cities of the Middle East are XXI century oases: - a metaphor of the metropolis as an ecosystem where life thrives and therefore is preparing an exhibition of his 3D Oasis as a preamble to the construction of his monumental oasis sculpture in one of the Middle East metropolises that would become an emblematic and iconic landmark. The magnificent sculpture will be a structure that can be visited, and people will enter it and stroll appreciating the beauty of an oasis, reconnecting with the phenomenon of which is LIFE. It will be a magical space that allows the visitor to perceive and experience through the five senses beyond a plausible reality. It aims to be a place of encounter with others and with oneself in an environment where the colours, the water, the labyrinth of a forest form and earthly and imaginary OASIS at the same time. Both the exhibition and the monumental sculpture is a call to raise awareness on the oasis fragile ecosystem and the challenges of its preservation.

Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat, A Four Seasons Hotel announces the opening of Villa Beauchamp and Villa Clair-Soleil, two new historic villas nestled in the Hotel’s lush grounds. Due to open in summer 2023, the Villas are perfect for families and friends wanting to enjoy a luxurious stay in total privacy, while benefiting from legendary Four Seasons service. “With Villa Rose-Pierre and the launch of Villa Beauchamp and Villa Clair-Soleil, guests seeking privacy and seclusion can enjoy the Villas’ unique setting and fabulous design, while benefiting from exceptional Four Seasons service,” explains General Manager François-Régis Simon. The Hotel has appointed acclaimed Parisian designer Sybille de Margerie to create bespoke interiors. “I chose a style that would respect the architecture and classical side of the villas, combining both traditional and contemporary features to create a design that is in line with today’s desired aesthetic,” comments Sybille. Offering butler service and their own private access, the Villas feature paired-back palettes and soft touches, with rich decorative accents and unexpected details coupled with a touch of chic seafaring charm. Pathways connect the Hotel’s three Villas, with secured gates ensuring privacy is always maintained, making the Villas the perfect solution for larger groups wishing to rent out all three Villas. Villa guests enjoy direct access to the Hotel and can make use of all the facilities throughout their stay, with complimentary golf carts available to reach the Hotel. Villa Clair Soleil Steps away from the Hotel’s fabulous Villa Rose Pierre, Villa Clair Soleil is an intimate two-bedroom villa offering a peaceful, quiet location enjoying wonderful sea views. Built in the mid 20th century, the two-bedroom Villa features paired-back palettes and soft touches that are a typical feature of villas in the Saint-Jean du Cap-Ferrat area. Interiors have fresh and simple clean lines and white-washed walls; soft accents of green recall the surrounding natural landscape, while earthy tones of orange and terracotta add a touch of Provençal charm. The Villa has a wonderfully spacious sea-facing terrace with swimming pool, as well as a private gym offering access to the garden. Villa Beauchamp The five-bedroom Villa Beauchamp exudes a distinctly southern feel, with elegant finishes and neutral palettes marrying with greens and blues to echo the colours of the sea and the surrounding vegetation. References to the south of France abound, most notably in the primary bedroom, which has a magnificent bathroom mosaic floor with design patterns inspired by the work of Jean Cocteau, who famously transformed the walls of nearby Villa Santo Sospir into a dreamy space. The Villa’s lush gardens are home to a gorgeous 16-metre-long (52 foot) swimming pool shaded by pine, fig, laurel and cypress trees. Among the other facilities are a state-of-the-art entertainment centre with home cinema, sauna, hammam and fitness centre offering direct access to the garden. Adjacent to the Villa is the Pavilion, an independent, fully equipped two-bedroom guesthouse that is the perfect solution for friends to stay, or for teenagers wanting a little more privacy. Both bedrooms in the Pavilion come with ensuite bathroom and private terrace.

A new era for the Maison begins with the Fall 2022 Couture collection ETERNAL GIFTS presented by Co-Creative Directors Georges and Jad Hobeika. Just before the Paris couture fashion show, the new collaboration was formally unveiled. Each item in the collection is a meticulously intricate homage to the unique treasures of Mother Nature, translated into amazing suits and dresses by the Mains Précieuses seamstresses in the House's Beirut Atelier. Exceptional maturity, unrestricted imagination, and reverence for the illustrious Maison Georges Hobeika combined with couture savoir-faire. The Fall 2022 couture collection recognizes that there is no "one size fits all" ideal of beauty, silhouette, or sex, while remaining faithful to the Maison's aesthetics. It was a surprising feeling of spring in almost all the Paris collections and here also, combined with dramatic feathers and jewel-like sculptural formations of stones and crystal appliqués, the season’s palette flushes from Mediterranean blues to sunset tones of peachy orange, yellow, fuchsia and pink, the signature colour combination of the Maison, with noticeably new playfulness from the new co-director blended with the House’s DNA, adapts a futuristic realm through a range of innovative techniques, from meticulous airbrushing to metallic feathers and spikes.

Time To Reinvent Your Company! The TechkoGo Forum 2nd edition is anchored by the theme “Re-inventing Business with Blockchain”. It aims to help transform businesses across industries around the world with greater trust and efficiency in the Blockchain sphere. There is an opportunity to reinvent the legal form of a company and create a Web3 version of it - one with great promise for entrepreneurs, creators and investors in developing startups and ecosystems on the new frontier. The Forum highlights a significant focus on educating the business community especially women entrepreneurs, about Blockchain in Fintech as a catalyst for disruption in the Finance World. It is essential to recognize the transformative impact of Blockchain technology for generating more revenue, improving the end-user experience, delivery process, efficiency, and reducing risks in business operations. Wit aim is to work together with thriving entrepreneurs and business leaders in exploring the Blockchain’s limitless uses and abilities, which will have a huge impact on society as a whole and the global economy. The TechKoGo Forum is exclusively backed by KoGoPAY, a social conscious FinTech company. This event is hosted in collaboration with The Artepreneurs Creative Media, as part of the mission of Corporate Social Responsibility in promoting the "Tech World of Good" initiative which aims to bridge the digital divide in less privileged communities. The event on Thursday 27th of October 2022 starts at 11am-7pm in the Peregrine Ballroom and Courtyard of the renowned Royal Mirage Palace Hotel, Dubai, U.A.E. This is an exclusive private event and strictly by invitation only. Follow @KoGoPAY and @TheArtepreneurs social pages now to catch the latest news! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/techkogo-forum-2nd-edition-tickets-417080437817 Email: official@techkogo.com

After a stopover in New Delhi, this exhibition was inaugurated yesterday evening in a ceremony notably attended by Othman Benjelloun, President of BANK OF AFRICA, Raymond Loretan, President of the GPHG Foundation, Carine Maillard, Director of the GPHG Foundation, Quentin Epiney, Founder and CEO of FGP SWISS & ALPS as well as His Excellency Guillaume Scheurer, Ambassador of Switzerland to the Kingdom of Morocco. "BANK OF AFRICA is particularly proud to invite the Foundation of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève to Casablanca. I have a strong personal attachment to Switzerland, the country where I studied engineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne. The prestigious event we are organising illustrates the friendship between Switzerland and the Kingdom along with the quality of our economic relations, particularly through investments in the fields of innovation and technology. Watchmaking is undoubtedly the best standard-bearer for Swiss high technology, its art of living, as well as its values of excellence, perfection and creativity that shared by BANK OF AFRICA.” Mr. Othman Benjelloun, President of BANK OF AFRICA "The GPHG is extremely happy and grateful to be able to organise this exceptional exhibition in Morocco, the first on the African continent, in partnership with BANK OF AFRICA. This is a unique opportunity for watch lovers to admire live – thanks to an original scenography – the most beautiful contemporary watch creations from more than 50 different brands and to appreciate the expertise, creativity and innovation behind the emotions they convey. We hope that our presence in Morocco will nurture the interest of aficionados and a new generation of watch lovers.” Carine Maillard, Director of the GPHG Foundation After Casablanca, the watches nominated by the GPHG Academy will travel to Geneva where they will be exhibited at the Musée Rath from 2 to 20 November. These timepieces are in the running for one of the 20 prizes, including the prestigious “Aiguille d’Or” Grand Prix which will be bestowed on November 10 in Geneva during the 22nd GPHG awards ceremony. The winners will be presented in New York for a final exhibition.

THEATRE DU CHATELET, PARIS, 18 OCTOBER 2022 – Last night as the atmosphere was thick with suspense, two legends were crowned once more and inducted in the Ballon d’OrTM Hall of Fame and awarded each a Purnell x Ballon d’OrTM Unique Piece: Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema and Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas. This year marked the second for the brand as Official Partner of the prestigious Ballon d’OrTM, a partnership that is rooted in both institutions valor for excellence and rewarding the best of the best—hyper horology meeting the art of the football. This year showed Putellas winning back-to-back Ballon d’OrTM and her second Purnell unique timepiece to go along with it—making her the first female football player to do so and an especially incredible feat after recovering from a knee injury earlier in the season. For Benzema, this award is his first Ballon d’OrTM, after a meteoric rise and undeniable performances in the 2021-2022 season. It also makes him the first French player since his mentor’s, Zinedine Zidane, win in 1998. An evening filled with Glamour This 66th edition of the Ballon d’OrTM proved to be one of the most symbolic for sport in a long time. Both invited by Purnell, Friends of the Brand Marcell Jacobs, 100m Olympic Champion and European World Record Holder, joined the brand in a private salon alongside Andrea Bocelli, who later performed “Nessum Dorma” at the opening of the festivities. It also proved to be a unifying event for football as a whole, as legends and past Ballon d’OrTM winners joined to celebrate the evening, including Ronaldo, Luis Figo, Shevchentko.

KARIM BENZEMA & ALEXIA PUTELLAS WIN THE PURNELL BALLON D’ORTM UNIQUE PIECES 2022 FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW, PURNELL IS PROUD TO AWARD BENZEMA AND PUTELLAS UNIQUE BALLON D’ORTM PIECE THEATRE DU CHATELET, PARIS, 18 OCTOBER 2022 – Last night as the atmosphere was thick with suspense, two legends were crowned once more and inducted in the Ballon d’OrTM Hall of Fame and awarded each a Purnell x Ballon d’OrTM Unique Piece: Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema and Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas. This year marked the second for the brand as Official Partner of the prestigious Ballon d’OrTM, a partnership that is rooted in both institutions valor for excellence and rewarding the best of the best—hyper horology meeting the art of the football. This year showed Putellas winning back-to-back Ballon d’OrTM and her second Purnell unique timepiece to go along with it—making her the first female football player to do so and an especially incredible feat after recovering from a knee injury earlier in the season. For Benzema, this award is his first Ballon d’OrTM, after a meteoric rise and undeniable performances in the 2021-2022 season. It also makes him the first French player since his mentor’s, Zinedine Zidane, win in 1998. An evening filled with Glamour This 66th edition of the Ballon d’OrTM proved to be one of the most symbolic for sport in a long time. Both invited by Purnell, Friends of the Brand Marcell Jacobs, 100m Olympic Champion and European World Record Holder, joined the brand in a private salon alongside Andrea Bocelli, who later performed “Nessum Dorma” at the opening of the festivities. It also proved to be a unifying event for football as a whole, as legends and past Ballon d’OrTM winners joined to celebrate the evening, including Ronaldo, Luis Figo, Shevchentko.

By Carlos Mundy Disc oriental by Chahine Khosravi. All images courtesy The Jumeirah Creekside Hotel. “Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art.” Andy Warhol Enveloped by Lateefa bint Maktoum. As an international art advisor, I must admit that I was very Impressed with the art collection owned by Jumeirah and on permanent display at its Jumeirah Creekside Hotel in Dubai. What are the reasons for a business such as Jumeirah Creekside Hotel to collect art and exhibit it to its patrons? 1. Art creates a culture of Creativity 2. Art boosts their brand 3. Art demonstrates a connection to the community 4. Art is an investment 5. Art provides networking opportunities Flying Carpet by Halim Al Karim. Art allows us to see the world from diverse vantage points, which makes us more empathetic civic agents and stimulates us creatively, which makes us better, more productive, more entrepreneurial business agents. Art can speak so subtly that it forces us to think more deeply, feel more fully, engage more wholeheartedly. Art can speak so loudly that it upsets entire governments and sparks uncomfortable but necessary global conversations. The Jumeirah Creekside Hotel collection consists of works from contemporary artists from Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Iraq, and Iran. The collection consists of 4 monumental sculptures, 8 video works, 18 sculptures, 17 paintings, 19 mixed media works and 416 limited edition series. Belly Raining by Asmae Alami. The Jumeirah Creekside Hotel is a contemporary lifestyle hotel firmly rooted in the essence of the region’s culture. The hotel designed by architect Hazel Wong and with Magus Designs, a boutique interiors practice established in Dubai by David Moore in 1981, brings together a fusion of contemporary design and distinctive architectural features, with exposed concrete walls, high glass ceilings, culturally inspired carpet designs and a glass infinity pool over the lobby. Most of the art collection has been specially commissioned to firmly connect the property to the region’s vibrant art and cultural heritage. Committed to providing a renewed perspective on Middle Eastern contemporary art, the collection is playfully placed throughout the hotel and its grounds. Impasse by Driss Ouahadi. As a fully integrated part of its environment, the works can be discovered through a series of chance encounters, the collection has been curated by Camelia Esmaili, the founder of l4 Atelier Camelia and it brings together both acclaimed artists and emerging talent from the region such as Harim Al Karim, Rokni Haerizadeh, Kader Attia, Zoulikah Bouabdellah, Tala Madani, Latifa bin Maktoum and Abdulnasser Gharem. The Ruins by Zoulikha Bouabdellah. I can only applaud this extraordinary initiative. It is worth staying at the hotel just for the opportunity of discovering the art collection. To be surrounded by an ever-changing display of human creative endeavour leads to a sense of us wanting to identify our own creativity. It also leads to in depth discussions about the works, how they make us feel, how we relate to them. Somehow the art makes us feel better, it enhances us, we are proud of it by proxy! We are most definitely the better for it. The Hare imagining Himself in his Burrow by Rokni Haerizadeh. Day 1 Night Pink by Reza Derakshani.