In 2021, Collins Dictionary announced that NFT was word of the year, which was a rather curious situation for a word that isn’t even a word. NFT is an acronym that stands for non-fungible token. Collins defines it as “a unique digital certificate, registered in a blockchain, that is used to record ownership of an asset such as an artwork or a collectible.” The rise of NFTs in popular discourse over the course of the past 12 months has been meteoric and frankly unprecedented especially given that the vast percentage of people had never heard of one before March 2021. This month two things happened to catapult them into the headlines. First was Twitter’s co-founder Jack Dorsey selling the first ever tweet as an NFT for USD 2.9 million and the second was the sale of an artwork by a previously unknown artist called Beeple whose digital collage sold at Christie’s for USD 69 million. Of course, this was not the birth of NFTs. Actually, the first ever piece of art minted [this is the term for making an NFT] on a blockchain was in 2014 but March 2021 will go down in history as a watershed moment.
In March 2022, when the 14th edition of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature got underway, so did the first year-long edition of First Chapter, the ELF Seddiqi Writers’ Fellowship. The programme, the first of its kind in the region, is a platform for aspiring writers from the UAE aiming to identify and nurture emerging writing talent, elevating it to an international standard and bringing it to global attention.
After a three-year hiatus, Sharjah Biennial will return next March. It is a landmark moment also for the event, as SB15 will realise the dreams of its curator, who died in 2019. Here, Anna Seaman gives a short preview ahead of the 2023 event.
This story is tinged with sadness as the artist Ismail Khayat is in a coma since having an accident in 2019. Sharjah Art Museum will celebrate his practice with a landmark show.
How Manal Ataya, the director of Sharjah Museums Authority, steered her mammoth team of museum staff and institutions through 2020 to emerge stronger and set an example for the digital future
Chants Mystique was a painting the artist never thought she would see again. An avid collector from Sharjah tracked it down and now it is part of Barjeel Art Foundation’s permanent collection.
Sheikha Hoor Al Qasimi is a true game changer. Thanks to her work at the Sharjah Art Foundation, she has led the way to great regional impact that has created ripples around the world. She is passionate, hard working and visionary - a real asset to the art and cultural landscape in the UAE and beyond.
Of all the galleries covering South Asian art, Aicon are doing a fantastic job of bringing art to us in fresh and contemporary ways. They have released online videos and virtual exhibitions, that are well worth checking out.
Don’t let isolation get you down. Here is a round up of five digital art displays, showcasing art from across the region to brighten up your day and provide some much needed cultural impetus.
