Three paintings caught the attention of visitors to the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair 2024, due to the uniqueness of the idea and the excellence of the execution, completed by the artist Taim Al Omar.
One of these paintings was made of falcon feathers, and bears the title “Zayed Al Khair.” It is 5 meters high, 4 meters wide, and includes 11,500 feathers that Tim collected from various parts of the country. It was displayed alongside another painting made with 520,000 coffee beans, which were roasted at varying temperatures to acquire shades of color ranging from green to brown, and then shaped into an extremely beautiful and creative artistic painting showing a picture of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President. The Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, may God protect him, and his son, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council, is two meters high and three meters wide. On the opposite side, three sequential paintings of the rulers of Abu Dhabi were displayed: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, may God have mercy on them, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, “may God protect him.” They were carefully woven from 100 ghutras, and reached Each one is 3 meters high and 2 meters wide.
Regarding how he developed his ideas, Tim said: “I studied architecture, but my love for art prompted me to leave work in my scientific field and follow my artistic talent. Ideas for my works come to me naturally. When I see something, I do not think about it as others think about it. For example, when I see coffee, I do not think about it.” How to drink it, but rather I think about how to make a painting from it, and from here comes excellence and creativity, and the process of implementing the idea also requires another talent, and this does not come easily, but rather by doing various experiments that lead to obtaining the best results in terms of form and quality so that the painting maintains itself for the longest time. “possible period.”
Regarding the time period that it takes to make his paintings, he said that the feather painting took about 8 months of continuous work, and he continued: “During this period, I collected falcon feathers from all regions of the Emirates. I went to Liwa, Al Madam, Al Dhaid, and others, and I visited some veterinary clinics, and a number of The feathers I collected amounted to more than 30,000 feathers. I sorted them according to color and quality, and I used 11,500 of them, which I treated, sterilized, and pasted on the board.” He added, “As for the coffee painting, it required me great effort and took 4 months to complete. I roasted the coffee at different temperatures in order to extract 6 different colors and then formed them on the painting. Meanwhile, the completion of the “Ghutra” painting took more than 4 months as well, in terms of forming The fabric is treated in a way that makes it look old. It is a complex process and it took me many attempts and experiments to make the fabric appear in this image and for the painting to maintain its quality for a long time.”
Artist Taim Al Omar thanked the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, represented by the Abu Dhabi Center for the Arabic Language, the organizer of this major global event, for embracing the artistic talents and creativity of young people of different nationalities residing in the United Arab Emirates, and supporting them to emerge and appear to the whole world.
“Sweet meanings”
The “Poetry Nights” event, one of the most important events of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, continues to host the most prominent stars of Nabati poetry in the United Arab Emirates, who have contributed to enriching culture and preserving local heritage, as the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center, which organizes the event, celebrates, honors and supports them. In all fields.
The “Memphis Hall” at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center, where the exhibition’s activities will be held until May 5, witnessed a poetry evening under the title “Sweet Meanings,” moderated by the journalist Hamid bin Muhammadi, in which the poet and journalist, His Excellency Butti Al-Mazloum, and the poet and journalist, Obaid bin Qathlan Al-Mazrouei, hosted an evening. Literary literature rich in cultural information. The two poets talked about the career of the great poet Awad bin Rashid Al-Saba Al-Ketbi, the poet of beauty and chaste ghazal, who was distinguished by his poetry and traditional arts, such as authentic Bedouin singing such as shawls and tarij, and some folk stories and chants. Obaid announced the preparation of a new book documenting the poet’s journey, works and poetic experience, with support from the Abu Dhabi Center for the Arabic Language.
Obaid bin Qathlan spoke about the poet Awad bin Rashid Al-Sabaa Al-Kutbi’s rich poetic experience, which contributed greatly to preserving the Emirati cultural heritage, and also documented important periods in the history of the Emirates. Obaid also spoke about his human relationship with the poet, a friend of his father, noting that he is distinguished by kindness, taste, high morals, and humility, which made him treat him as if he were his father. As for the poet’s professional side, Obaid explained that he was surprised by the poet’s professionalism, the strength of his memory, and his keenness to verify the accuracy of the information and verses contained in the book, which contributed to the work being produced in the most complete and best possible way.
For his part, His Excellency the poet and journalist Butti Al-Mazloum spoke about his close relationship with the poet Awad bin Rashid, his high morals and humility in dealing with others, and described him as being loved by everyone. On the professional side, his poetry was distinguished by its simple, smooth, and sound language. He referred to the poet’s experience in the media field and the radio and television programs in which he participated and received a distinguished presence. The poet was distinguished by the sweetness and purity of his voice, had distinctive choirs, and had a uniquely beautiful melody, explaining that Al-Ketbi was a poet who tried to elevate his vocabulary and give the poem its value and time so that it appeared like rare pearls. But the poet, according to Al-Mazloum, did not get his due in the media, as he appeared during the traditional media period.
In the end, the two poets, Al-Mazloum and Al-Mazroui, extended their sincere thanks to the Abu Dhabi Center for the Arabic Language for its efforts in honoring and celebrating poets, documenting their experiences in this field, as well as in preserving the popular poetic heritage of the United Arab Emirates, which is a rich legacy and an integral part of its history. And its ancient civilization.
Content and artificial intelligence
Under the title “Content and Artificial Intelligence…The Question of the Future,” Abu Dhabi International Book Fair 2024 discussed controversial issues currently being discussed about the future of the publishing sector in light of the digital revolution.
The symposium was attended by Dr. Saeed Al Dhaheri, Director of the Center for Future Studies at the University of Dubai, Dr. Mohamed Khalif, Rapporteur of Digital Culture and Information Architecture at the Supreme Council of Culture in Egypt, Caroline Cummins, Director of Policy and Public Affairs at the British Publishers Association, and Nadeem Sadiq, CEO of Shammar Company. The dialogue was moderated by Sherif Bakr. General Director of the Arab Publishing House.
Nadeem Sadiq pointed out that artificial intelligence constitutes an application in the field of publishing and printing. He said: “If we look at neuroscience, we see that artificial intelligence opens our eyes to things that we have never seen before, and it gives us more knowledge.” He added: “Artificial intelligence cannot play the same role in creative writing. It cannot write a complete book, but rather helps in writing it.”
Caroline Cummins said: “At the British Publishers Association, we publish a lot of works and deal with independent publishing houses, and we have been astonished by what artificial intelligence has achieved in the past two years. It helps us market, publish huge amounts, and document citations, and for this we must learn how to deal with artificial intelligence to find… Wider opportunities in printing and publishing. She added: “With regard to copyright, there are rights that we are working on in the United Kingdom and in the world as a whole regarding creative writing.”
As for Dr. Mohamed Khalif, who has been working in the field of publishing for more than twenty years, he said: “We have witnessed the revolution of generative artificial intelligence, which puts us before the challenge of priorities in the field of Arabic content and its development. As I work as a donor in the Supreme Council of Culture in Egypt, we have studied the impact of artificial intelligence on people.” Since the launch of “GBT Chat,” we have been working on developing content and dealing with challenges.” He added: “Generative artificial intelligence presents us with the challenge of protecting our heritage and developing skills so that the Arab world can align with these efforts.”
Dr. Saeed Al Dhaheri reviewed his experience with artificial intelligence and said: “I prepared a master’s thesis in artificial intelligence, and as a specialist in bioengineering, and my interest in technology applications in medicine, I had to benefit from artificial intelligence in the field of health in cooperation with a medical center in Boston.” He added: “Artificial intelligence has contributed to raising the prediction rate of heart attacks by up to 75%.”
