DohaTribecaFilm.com Goes Live

From Personal User Profiles to the Latest Community Activities, Dynamic Online Resource Now Available

August 22, 2009 (Doha, Qatar)— Doha Tribeca Film Festival (DTFF) announced today its new website, DohaTribecaFilm.com. As it becomes available, this will be the destination for information about the Festival—opening night, screening times, even where and how to buy tickets—though it offers visitors much more. DTFF, which will take place October 29 to November 1, 2009, aims to create a sustainable film community in Qatar, and that effort is represented in every aspect of this unique new site.

“This site is an incredible resource for the film community,” said Amanda Palmer, DTFF’s executive director. “We’re not only reaching out, we’re telling the rest of the world about life here.”

One area of the site, “Doha365,” offers mini-episodes about the history, traditions and life in Qatar. “Video” offers a showcase for our workshop participants. “Doha/NY Blog” will feature contributions from staff working on the project on both continents. Visitors will be able to create a personalized profile to connect with other film enthusiasts, watch behind-the-scenes footage as the Festival programme is put together, and engage with the regional and international film community.

“You’ve never seen Qatar like this before,” said Ahmed Shihab-Eldin, web content producer. “The traction we’ve already gotten though Facebook, Ikbis and our other social networking tools shows a real hunger out there for our content.”

Other special features on DohaTribecaFilm.com include a Flickr photo gallery of film enthusiasts’ photos documenting the build-up to the Festival; a Doha/NY blog linking DTFF to the Tribeca community; and hours of film-centric programming from Doha-based “Fabulous Picture Show.”

In addition, DohaTribecaFilm.com is the first port of call to learn about the 30+ films being screened at DTFF, as well as the filmmakers behind these regional and global stories. One-on-one interviews, dynamic video content, and opportunities for the community to get involved in competitions, workshops, and other special events are among the highlights of the official website.

The site was designed by dubz.tv in London.

DTFF will run from October 29 to November 1 2009 and is being produced by Qatar Museums Authority (QMA) in collaboration with the Tribeca Film Festival.

About DTFF
Doha Tribeca Film Festival was formed through a strategic partnership by Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and CEO Abdulla Al Najjar of the Qatar Museums Authority and the Tribeca Film Festival Founders, Jane Rosenthal, Craig Hatkoff, and Robert De Niro. The arrangement was spearheaded by DTFF Executive Director Amanda Palmer. Uniquely Qatari in its identity, the festival is modeled on the success of Tribeca Film Festival’s dedication to engage the local community and promote filmmaking talent. In its inaugural year, Doha’s first international film festival will celebrate the best of Arabic and international cinema. Its ongoing aim will be to inspire, engage and educate a new generation of cinema appreciation locally; discover, mentor and fund regional filmmaking talent; foster a community through art and entertainment; and encourage open discussion and debate.

Subject: HOT SPOTS: What comes after oil?

An FB posting from TheJamJar:

Join us for an evening of dialogue and brainstorming around arts and sustainability during the premiere opening of HOT SPOTS: What Comes After Oil? A student poster exchange featuring works by students of Zayed University, American University in Dubai, and the Art Institute of Pittsburgh.

HOT SPOTS is an interdisciplinary project designed to initiate a multi-national dialogue and exploration of the past, present and future of oil. Its many iterations include public art and installations in abandoned gas stations, symposia, and educational programs. For more information go to http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.hot-spots.net

The exhibition will run from 1 September - 23 September 2009

The Holy Quran exhibition features manuscripts from the 3rd century AH

Featuring rare and important Quranic manuscripts from the 3rd to the 13th century AH, the exhibition offers visitors a unique insight into the art of copying the Holy Book through the history of Islam.

Emilie Faure, Collection and Exhibitions Manager of The Farjam Collection, comments “Quranic manuscripts and the art forms with which the word of God was recorded played a crucial role in the history of Islamic arts. Talented calligraphers and craftsmen, including papermakers, bookbinders and illuminators expressed their artistic virtuosity and devotion by producing Qurans of the highest quality.”

The Qurans on display include leaves in Kufic script on parchment, a scroll containing the entire Quran, as well as a line for the Baysunqur Quran dating back to the 9th AH. Related items such as a prayer rug, a book holder, and pieces from the Kaaba curtain will also be on view.

Emilie Faure, continues “we will also be offering a variety of educational materials and programmes to allow for a wide range of audiences to engage with the arts of calligraphy and illumination. A guided tour of the exhibition will take place on Wednesday, 2 September from 1:00 – 1:30pm as part of our usual First Wednesdays series. Our school programmes, specifically designed for children, will launch on October 19 from 10:00am – 12pm. We are very excited about the opportunity to share these important Qurans with the community.”

The Farjam Collection is open: Sunday to Thursday, 10am to 8pm; Saturday 12pm to 8pm.

All exhibitions and programmes are free and open to the public.

The Farjam Collection
The Farjam Collection is one of the finest privately-owned Islamic art collections in the world today. Spanning almost the entire history of Islam, it brings together items produced throughout the vast region between Andalusia and Mughal India. Its treasures include Quranic manuscripts, miniatures and illustrated books on science, mathematics and poetry, as well as finely-decorated metalwork, lacquer, glasswork, tiles, glazed pottery, woodwork, textiles, coins, jewellery, carpets and art from the 13th century AH.

Illustrative of Farhad Farjam’s interests wide ranging affinities and tastes, the collection also includes works by major masters such as Picasso, Chagall, Dali, Braque, Renoir, Matisse, Miro, Leger, and Giacometti, as well as modern and contemporary artists including Warhol, Basquiat, de Kooning, Calder, Moshiri, Ehsai, Tanavoli, Al Rais, and Moustafa.

The Farjam Collection @ DIFC
The Farjam Collection @ DIFC showcases a rotating series of exhibitions drawn from the Farjam Collection. A programme of educational events free and open to the public offers audiences the opportunity to learn more about the works on view and the context in which these were produced.
Please visit www.farjamcollection.com for updates on events at The Farjam Collection @ DIFC.
The Farjam Collection @ DIFC is generously supported by the Hafiz Foundation.

The Hafiz Foundation
The Hafiz Foundation was founded in 2008 to support outstanding initiatives within the visual arts, with a special emphasis on the greater Middle East. With the city of Dubai as its base, the Foundation aims to become a centre for production, preservation, and promotion of the arts at large. At the heart of the Foundation’s goals is the development of educational opportunities for young Middle Eastern artists, students, scholars, curators, and art enthusiasts. As a partner to both local and international cultural initiatives, the Foundation’s recent activities include having supported the founding of the award-winning Middle Eastern arts magazine Bidoun, support for local arts education programs, as well as the organization of a series of exhibitions displaying selected works from The Farjam Collection.

Magrudy's Painting Competition for Kids

Hey P'rents and kids!

I was over at Magrudy's the other day, quickly picking up a set of oil paints - been meaning to go back to it for a long time - when I saw these half page registration forms.

Seems that Magrudy's will be holding a KIDS ACTIVITIES PAINTING COMPETITION open to children ages 5-12 years old. All you need is to fill up the registration form and confirm before Aug 21. Competition dates are Aug 28 for Ibn Batuta Ball and Aug 29 for Dubai Festival City.

Check it out while there is still time!

Crafts 101: Recycled Boxes

This beautiful Friday evening we set out on a quest - to create our very own beautifully recycled boxes.

(With the economic crunch, we'd rather not spend on those beautiful yet pricey boxes we can buy at the stores. Plus, we'll be helping save the environment too!)

My little helpers - Tin, Tel, Ice and Kit - all had a goal of their own. Tin wanted a box for her knickknacks, Tel wanted a jewelery box, Ice wanted a box for his photo collection and Kit wanted a dragon, which we'll talk about in a later project.

The only rule is: we can only use whatever we find in the house which we didn't need anymore.


Generally, what you would need for this project are:
1. Boxes - you can use almost any box. For example: tissue box, shoe box, laundry detergent box, boxes of shampoos and soaps, boxes of gadgets and a lot more. Most of these boxes we just throw away anyway but there are some good ones which just need a little prettying up.
2. Paper for the cover - again, you can use almost any paper. Leftover gift wrappers, paper bags, magazines, newspapers, old comics, drawings, photos, etc.
3. Glue or paste - the dry sticky kind is better so that it does not soak through the paper and end up crumpling it.
4. Scissors - if children are doing the project, please make sure adults are with you to supervise.
5. Colors - depending on your design, you may need to color so pencil colors or watercolor may come in handy.

With creative hands at hand, we set to work.

Lavender Delight
1. In this box, we used a Hallmark paper bag which was used to package some postcards we bought recently. Cut the paper bag into strips to make it easier to attach to the box. Here, we kept all the pretty lavender parts and all the white parts. The paper was a thin one, so we needed to apply two layers on the box to hide the original text.

2. We used the white strips from the paper bag as a first layer by spreading glue all over the box. Then we smoothed out the strips over it.

*If your cover is thick enough to hide any original text or design on the box, then one layer is enough.

3. Make sure that a little part of the paper strip overlap on the edges. You can then fold this over to the other side to make the edges look neat and tidy. Let it dry.

4. Once dry, apply another layer of glue or paste. Using the lavender strips, slowly and carefully put it over the glue. Use your palms to smooth over any creases and don't forget to let the strip go over the edge for a nice finish.

*Make sure you do this to all the sides.

Trinket Keeper
1. On a used white folder, we traced these two patterns to create our own box.

*If you want to make your own box, follow this guide: dark pink broken lines are for folding; the blue broken lines are for cutting.

2. After cutting and folding out the pattern, you can design the outer side. You can paste strips of paper on it or as Tel decided, color the box with her favorite colors.

*This is not shown in the photos, but after she finished coloring, Tel lined the inside of the box with cotton from an old jewelery box and sprayed it with cologne to make it smell nice.

Art explosion
1. Ic and Tin decided to cut out colorful pictures from 2004 magazines which they were told to throw away.

2. Put glue at the back of the cut outs.

3. Carefully smooth out the cutouts over your box.

There are many possibilities. It's all up to you to decide.

Hope you have fun like we did!

*You can play around with this by pasting your favorite pictures all over the box. You can choose words which you like as Tin did. You can compose messages using different word cutouts. You can color it or paste flowers, shells or other decorative items on the cover.

Local artists join Al Noor students to create ‘special’ art

Here's a special project I just saw in the inbox - happened last month, but the initiative is not only unique but very noteworthy:

Finished artwork to be displayed at DUCTAC will embody attitudes, interests, behavioural patterns & emotional responses of special needs children A unique initiative this summer will see talented local artists work with children from Al Noor Centre for Children with Special Needs. Throughout the summer, artists will interact closely with children to produce artwork inspired by the children that will form part of a subsequent exhibition at DUCTAC’s Gallery of Light. On July 5th, a diverse group of six artists made the first of what will be many visits to Al Noor to introduce themselves to the staff and students and spend quality time with the children, at times communicating only through art.

“The aim of the project is to reproduce the creative ideas of the Al Noor students. Initially the artists plan to get to know the children and understand their attitudes, interests, behavioural patterns, emotional responses and convey those individual traits on to canvass. It is a chance for the artists who have a love for art, and a passion for being artists to reveal their social conscience - it is a unique and rewarding challenge for all,” said DUCTAC’s Fathima Mohiuddin, the organiser of the project.

The children range from five years up to those in their teens. Some can only express themselves non-verbally, but they all share a compassion and energy for art, creativity, design and colour. The end result will be a collaboration of creative ideas, reproduced by the artists. “For the children, the opportunity to interact with creative individuals other than Al Noor staff and students is very exciting. It not only broadens their social circle, it embodies their creative thoughts,” added Mohiuddin.

To get to know an individual in a short period of time and attempt to embody their thoughts in a piece of art will be a memorable task. Each artist’s approach will be entirely unique - Karen Dias, a photographer, plans to provide children with disposable cameras to capture their surroundings as a part of her piece. “Being with the children has taught me that one’s time and support is so much appreciated, it goes such a very long way. Everybody benefits here – it’s good for the soul”, commented Guillermo Munro, another one of the artists. The finished artworks will be displayed in an exhibition in the Gallery of Light at DUCTAC, later this year with the proceeds going to worthy local charities. For DUCTAC the project is yet another example of nurturing an appreciation for the arts in the local community. This summer the Al Noor project demonstrates how art is as much about visiting galleries and taking classes as it is about interaction and dialogue and bringing people together, concluded Mohiuddin.

About Al Noor Centre for Children with Special Needs
Al Noor is a Centre for Children with Special Needs run under the auspices of the Ministry of Social Affairs. It is passionately committed to helping special needs children from their infancy to adulthood, its goal being to integrate its students into society.

Al Noor Training Centre opened its doors in 1981 and has been developing its training programme to ensure that the Special Children it caters to, receive quality and enriching experiences towards a more independant and functional life.
Her Royal Highness Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, Wife of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE, Ruler of Dubai has given her kind support and guidance. This has widened future horizons and renewed the commitment to work and strive towards providing the best possible service to the Special Needs community in U.A.E.

About DUCTAC
Dubai Community Theatre & Arts Centre (DUCTAC) aims to contribute to the creative and cultural development of Dubai by presenting and hosting a programme of events and participatory activities for Dubai’s many multi-national communities and visitors alike.

The Theatre & Arts Centre is the first modern, non-profit, cross-community creative centre in the Gulf. This flagship project was the brainchild of local theatre-lovers, arts enthusiasts, artists and business people who recognised the need for an entertainment and educational centre for the community and future generations of Dubai.

The Centre was officially opened on 1 November 2006 by HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, wife of HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.

Dubai Community Theatre & Arts Centre does not receive any funding. It relies on the generous support of Sponsors and Patrons, and on income generated through the hire of its facilities. The Centre is currently fundraising to support its artistic programme, educational and outreach work.

Dubai Community Theatre & Arts Centre is located on Level 2 of The Mall of The Emirates.

Call for Entries for Young Artist Award 2009

Exciting news to all young artists: Her Highness Sheikha Manal’s Young Artist Award 2009 is now open for entries. This year the application process will be conducted via the newly launched website www.YoungArtistAward.ae where interested participants can follow the instructions on the website to make their online submission. The deadline to apply and upload entries is 8th October, 2009. The competition will be divided into four categories – ‘Fine Art Award’; ‘Photography Award’ and ‘Multimedia Award’. Each category winner, runner up and second runner up will receive a cash prize worth AED30,000, AED20,000 and AED10,000 consecutively.

Deadline for entries: 8th October, 2009. For more information go to www.YoungArtistAward.ae

Doha Tribeca Film Festival Announces Leadership - Amanda Palmer Named Executive Director

Doha Tribeca Film Festival (DTFF) today announced key members of the team heading up the inaugural 2009 Festival. Amanda Palmer, head of entertainment for Al Jazeera English, has been named DTFF Executive Director. Palmer will lead the Festival and work with a team from Tribeca that includes Geoffrey Gilmore, Chief Creative Officer of Tribeca Enterprises, to shape the programme. Locally the team will include Arab documentary and short films expert Mohamed Maklouf, serving as the festival’s Regional Programmes Advisor, and award-winning Palestinian filmmaker Scandar Copti serving as Community Outreach Programmer. DTFF will run from October 29 to November 1 2009 and is being produced by Qatar Museums Authority (QMA) in collaboration with the Tribeca Film Festival. “Our vision is to create a festival that genuinely engages the Qatari people and supports regional filmmakers,” said Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chairperson of QMA. "This team is going to impact the way this region experiences film.” “We are thrilled to have Amanda on board. Her relationships and her understanding of the region will be an enormous asset," said Jane Rosenthal, co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival®. “Together, Amanda and Geoff’s experience will help us engage the film world and the Qatari community in an exchange of ideas through the universal language of film.” "When Her Excellency and I started talking about this possibility, it was always clear that the festival vision was to create an authentic film event that truly serves the community,” said Palmer. "Film is such an amazing equalizer and we felt Tribeca was unique in how it creates an event where filmmakers and film-goers can equally celebrate film." As part of the collaboration with Tribeca, the core team of Qatari nationals travelled to New York to learn how the organisation runs an international film festival. Palmer is leading that group in Doha, modelling DTFF programming on the success of Tribeca while creating an authentic, locally-driven, Middle Eastern film festival. "Doha Tribeca Film Festival seeks to initiate a dialogue about the power of film that resonates long after the Festival’s conclusion and creates a sustainable foundation for the growth of a film industry in Qatar," said Gilmore. "We hope that the Festival will help nurture and support area filmmakers and be an important step towards creating the next generation of filmmakers in Qatar." Copti and Maklouf are working to uncover local and regional film talent, while Palmer and Gilmore are exploring new works from established filmmakers to present works from emerging artists that appeals to the Qatari population, the majority of which is under 30 years old. DTFF will include approximately 30 films, as well as special events. In its four days in Doha, DTFF will centre its events around the city’s renowned Museum of Islamic Art. “As the heart of culture and artistic scholarly vision in Doha, we’re delighted to host this festival,” said Abdulla Al Najjar, chief executive officer at QMA. “We look forward to welcoming new audiences.” Up to date information can be found at, www.dohatff.com. The official website will launch August 18. About DTFF Doha Tribeca Film Festival was formed through a strategic partnership by Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and CEO Abdulla Al Najjar of the Qatar Museums Authority and the Tribeca Film Festival Founders, Jane Rosenthal, Craig Hatkoff, and Robert De Niro. The arrangement was spearheaded by DTFF Executive Director Amanda Palmer. Uniquely Qatari in its identity, the festival is modeled on the success of Tribeca Film Festival’s dedication to engage the local community and promote filmmaking talent. In its inaugural year, Doha’s first international film festival will celebrate the best of Arabic and international cinema. Its ongoing aim will be to inspire, engage and educate a new generation of cinema appreciation locally; discover, mentor and fund regional filmmaking talent; foster a community through art and entertainment; and encourage open discussion and debate.