magpie
@magpieuae
The UAE’s guide to all things cultural, creative and inbetween. Informative, pointed, educated. And free! Sign up for our weekly newsletter (and no spam) at bit.ly/47D9k3X
More photographic gorgeousness: the ZWO Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2026 shortlist (Golden Moonrise over Seattle here is an actual pic!) tinyurl.com/4bnzw8ma...
Most unique paint colours aren't, despite the manufacturers’ claims: analysis of 26,597 colours from 13 US brands show 66.6% are near duplicates (and 749 are identical) tinyurl.com/mpd5hzhb...
Michael Rosen on Benjamin Zephaniah: "he could synthesise his ideas into what I’ll call oral action" tinyurl.com/ywzsphyw...
For UK readers: popularity of various musicians among supporters of UK political parties. Weird. Greens go for Chappell Roan, Tories for Paul McCartney and One Direction (ok) but Lily Allen and Dua Lipa for Reform? tinyurl.com/4jnc2nny...
DEADLINE 19 July 2026: Alserkal Arts Foundation – Untitled | The Unfinished Project Grant. Apply for a one-time grant that will enable completion of an ongoing project tinyurl.com/3x2yzyb8...
Hauser & Wirth cleared of sanctions charge over 2022 George Condo sale because the Russian buyer hadn't been proved to be “connected with Russia” at the time of the transaction tinyurl.com/y33mdjd4...
Snøhetta's new and elegant Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library – green roof + timber + earth walls, sits beautifully in the North Dakota landscape tinyurl.com/mr3fw8v8...
“I feel that within a healthy [arts] ecology, you need all the different components. You need museums and institutions, you need art schools, and you need fairs” Art Basel Qatar’s new Artistic Director Wassan Al-Khudhairi talks to Vogue HK tinyurl.com/5c7r86sy...
#MAGPIESEZ Help us to make magpie Weekly newsletter EVEN better ... How did you like the 9 July issue of the newsletter? tinyurl.com/2s3j6vum...
Free wifi for art – submit artwork (anything goes), get free local internet access (around Dalston Square in Hackney, East London). There's a monthly online exhibition. Something Alserkal or similar could try? wifartgallery.com?ut...
#MAGPIESEZ Here's magpie Weekly, your FREE guide to what's happening in the UAE's arts / culture / creative scene this week – complete with A Poll! tinyurl.com/mvwh66r4...
Tom Gauld's elegant comment for the Guardian on designing highbrow book covers tinyurl.com/4fbpw887...
Nat Geo profile of "the world’s most modern natural history museum" (Abu Dhabi's of course). Lots of insights, and great photos of course tinyurl.com/29hjhbzv...
The world’s first Pokémon airport (rebranded as 'Noto Satoyama Pokémon With You Airport' – hopefully sounds better in Japanese) opens today tinyurl.com/375bf75r...
More Benin bronzes go back to (somewhere near) where they belong tinyurl.com/t2y2k3tc...
Redesign Dubai’s Al Safa Park 2 using AI tools (demonstrating that such tools can be at the heart of creating inclusive, human-centred environments). Three cash prizes totalling AED 200,000 DEADLINE 15 Aug 2026 tinyurl.com/43jmjtjr...
Norway to win the World Cup (if democracy rather than football decides). Play with other metrics to watch France being eliminated in the round of 32 tinyurl.com/bp77auu4...
The BM took a record £2.5m on the first day of online tickets sales for its upcoming blockbuster Bayeux Tapestry exhibition (ticket prices £27-33). First release of tickets, for Sep-Dec, now sold out tinyurl.com/5tkdwm6f...
Glider: a nicely rendered flight simulator for would-be glider pilots khalifa.games/glider...
Here's a visual library of Black hairstyles with accurate naming, alternative terms and filtering by texture, length and style. Good for illustrators (among others) afroindex.org/?utm_s...
#MAGPIESEZ Saadiyat Cultural District fills another gap with Dar Al Funoon. Here's what we know about the Performing Arts Centre (v little, in fact) and where it fits ... tinyurl.com/5a5kj6dh...
#MAGPIESEZ Here's magpie Weekly, your free guide to the best of the UAE's creative and cultural scene – with SAF doing megamixes: a chance to look good in Sotheby’s PJs: and a fond farewell to Vilma ... tinyurl.com/atp6p786...
Two ways to build a city. "European space is shaped on purpose: American open space is what's left over. Small blocks make more corners, more routes, more street life" H/T Jason Kottke tinyurl.com/3tdvc6hj...
Why is photography banned in so many museums and art galleries? Five reasons listed here, only one of which bears scrutiny ... tinyurl.com/3snhratd...
50 classic novels that are under 200 pages long (and while all lists are debatable, there are least 40 books on this one that are unarguably classics. IMO) tinyurl.com/28y686kf...
James Turrell's As Seen Below – his 100th Skyspace, the largest he’s ever built inside a museum – is now open at ARoS Aarhus Art Museum in Denmark. It's brilliant tinyurl.com/4efte7s7...
More unintended consequences of AI: Apple hiked prices because “the rapid expansion of AI data centres" has led to an “extraordinary surge in demand for memory and storage" tinyurl.com/yfhd4cxs...