Help needed for victims of Typhoon Ondoy

A little but much important break from art-related stuff:

The Philippines has been rocked by a natural calamity - Typhoon Ondoy, international name Ketsana. Many places are flooded, houses destroyed and still, many people are in need of rescue.

Relief and rescue operations have been launched since the day the typhoon started wreaking havoc but more help is needed, either monetary or in kind.

You can send money directly to the Philippine Red Cross or if you're in the UAE and you want to give donations in kind, you can coordinate with the University of the Philippines Alumni Chapter (UPAA-UAE).

UPAA-UAE
Cash pledges and donations in Dubai please call Abet Alba, 050-136 7265.
For Abu Dhabi, contact Earl Palacios - 050-8223516.
All other emirates, kindly coordinate Emily - 050-9533459.

If you want to donate goods - blankets, clothes (esp. for children), slippers, canned goods, rice, cooking oil, sugar, coffee, sleeping mats, medicine and first aid kits, etc. - please contact Arn Cerneo from LBC 050-9250662 and he can give you a free box.

Here are some video posts from the Philippines:

Don't know where the click video to donate leads to, but it's always safer to donate to the Red Cross or institutions you know.





Please spread the word.

Paint tonight at theJamjar

This sounds like fun, and at 50aed for the whole night, price is definitely a steal.

--
Facebook message from theJamjar:

Come down to thejamjar tonight for SKETCH #4, an evening of live sketching and art making that offers the local arts community a place to congregate, talk, create and be seen, with the request for artists to simply drop in, register and start creating.

The registration fee is AED 50 and all basic materials needed for the event will be provided.

The final work(s) will be put up for sale on the walls of thejamjar as and when the artist has completed their piece – and the artists are encouraged to produce as many pieces as they wish throughout the evening. The end result being that the art is instantly made more accessible to attending customers and by individually pricing each piece, making them independently affordable and attainable.

This event offers patrons and art lovers an opportunity to see local artists at work and get acquainted with them on a personal and interactive level – as well as it being an ideal way for artists and designers to meet each other in a social environment and be inspired by each others creative process.

All art created at the event is for sale and will be displayed until the event closes.

SKETCH #4: Presents live music and visual elements by "Whitney Huston, We have a Problem" (James Clar from discoballbreaker)

For more details go to the event page http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/event.php?eid=130638176900&index=1

Hope to see you tonight

Best wishes
thejamjar team

Understanding Opera

Anybody up for some Opera? If you don't have an inkling what's happening but would like to know more, then this is right up your venue:

Art Sawa is starting its season of Programs by introducing Music Appreciation:
Understanding Opera by David Lesser.

Passionate, dramatic, colorful and psychologically probing, Opera is a fascinating and ever changing art with universal appeal. Open to everyone who would like to begin to develop or widen their knowledge of Opera, this course will explore how Opera works on stage and trace its history during the 18th and 19th centuries. The course will focus on some of the best loved works by Handel, Rameau, Mozart, Donizetti, Verdi, Wagner, Puccini and their contemporaries.

Schedule:
Option Mornings: Tuesdays 10.30-12.00
Option Evenings: Wednesdays 19.30 – 21.00

Dates:
Tuesdays
|6Oct|13Oct|20Oct|27Oct| Break: 3Nov|
|10Nov|17Nov|24Nov|1Dec|8Dec|15Dec|
Wednesdays
|7Oct|14Oct|21Oct|28Oct|Break:4Nov|
|11Nov|18Nov|25Nov|2Dec|9Dec|16Dec|

Audience: Seniors (15+)
Number of sessions: 1 Cycle: 10 lessons (4 lessons + 1 week break + 6 lessons)
Fees: 950 AED (Full Cycle)

Kindly register on workshop@artsawa.com
Or call Art Sawa on 04-3408660

Deadline for registration: 3 October 2009

www.artsawa.com

Art beats the economic blues

Here's a great twist in treating the general economic gloom and doom. We should take a page from them and turn this setback into an advantage(Orangejar takes the hint and will post new art projects soon):

Dubai Community Theatre and Arts Centre reports more people turning to art as an antidote to economic gloom

In the pic: Maria Peat, Arts Centre Manager DUCTAC

Financial gurus may struggle to find a way out of the downturn but increasing numbers of ordinary people are escaping the economic gloom – by painting pictures, making vases, taking photographs or creating sculptures.

“More than ever we are finding that people from all walks of life are seeking to de-stress and take a break from gloom by taking up the physical arts,” says Maria Peat, Arts Manager at Dubai Community Theatre and Arts Centre (DUCTAC).

“Art can be a great antidote to the economic malaise and we are now offering more classes in art of all kinds than ever before at the centre,” she added. “Participants may not be able solve all the world’s economic problems but they are finding it relaxing fun.

“They are being more cautious about what classes they choose but are looking to develop their artistic side, perhaps because they find they have more time on their hands due to business being slow, working reduced hours or being made redundant.”

The Dubai Community Theatre and Arts Centre, at level two of Mall of the Emirates, is currently offering 14 adult classes in drawing and painting, six in pottery, sculpture and photography and six in the decorative arts. In addition, there are classes for children and teenagers aged from three to 16. A number of the classes for both adults and children are in Arabic.

“Our evening classes are very popular with people being able to leave work and head straight to DUCTAC,” said Peat. “Our most popular classes at the moment are in oil painting and mixed media. Art is clearly proving to be a great stress reliever for our participants and is helping them in developing new skills.”

For more information about the art classes and all other activities at Dubai Community Theatre and Arts Centre, please visit www.ductac.org

About Dubai Community Theatre and Arts Centre
Dubai Community Theatre and Arts Centre 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 and Arts Centre does not receive any funding, relying on the generous support of sponsors and patrons and on income generated from the hire of facilities. The centre is currently fundraising to support its artistic programme, educational and outreach work.

'Fingers and Things' on exhibit

Check this out: an exhibit of Khaled Abdelwahed's "Fingers and Things" at Artsawa. The exhibition runs from Sept 28 till Oct 28, from 10am-6pm.

Khaled Abdulwahed was born in Syria but Lives and works in Dubai. His work is inspired by ordinary objects, which act as a catalyst to create intense - and sometimes uncomfortable moods.

In "Fingers", the artist's almost obsessive exploration of human digits takes him into the realms of outlandish surrealism which teases the spirit, but provides no punch lines.

In his "Things" studies , seemingly mundane 'subjects' are portrayed as overpoweringly solitary, giving a sense of pointlessness and melancholy isolation. Despite the compulsive forces that inform his work, Khaled's technique - a bold contradiction of technique and naivety - imbues all his work with a unique charm and humor that leaves the viewer feeling positive and strangely liberated.

For more information, go to www.artsawa.com.