Kaleidoscope Magazine - Issue 2

New Perspectives

kalEi dos cope

the magazine

Editor's letter Welcome to the second issue of Kaleidoscope magazine, themed New Perspectives. I would like to thank all of you for the positive feedback and questions I received after publishing the first issue back in January. I am also grateful to all of the students who sent me their work, thank you again for reaching out to me, your art adds another layer of depth to this magazine that I could not achieve on my own.

In this issue you will find a variety of art work and events from our community that give you an insight into everyones New Perspectives come the 2021.

For the cover, year 12 art student, Renata Miranda Cordoba has created a piece that reimagines the Dubai skyline we know and love so much.

some of our teachers and staff on page 4 in an interview on life, health, school, and family one year since the first COVID-19 lockdown. Student wise, we have have seven incredible pieces of art on display all throughout the magazine.

We also look at the existing art in our city on page 23, "Open Air Museum", exploring the art murals adorning the walls of many building on Jumeriah Beach Road.

I hope this issue of Kaleidoscope leaves you witha myriad of"new Perspectives" as we begin the final term of this academic year.

Sincerely, Sophia Arango.

Inside we look at the outskirts of our city from above through student drone photography on page 2. We also explore recent arts events in articles on the new Theatre of Digital Arts on page 13, the Hermes Carre Club Pop-up on page 9, and the XVA gallery on page 19.

Within the school we hear from 1

Birds eye view

"I have always been enamored by the idea of flying. If you asked me what animal I would choose to be it would probably be a bird. With drone photography it is almost like seeing the world from a bird's perspective.

I love drone photography because it allows me to see the bigger picture and come to terms with how small I really am, which I find uniquely calming".

- Sophia Arango -

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Fossil Rock

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Messages from our teachers I sat down with some our teachers to ask them, "With the dawn of this new year, how do you think COVID-19 has affected your lives in terms of lifestyle health, family, or education?"

Ms. Roberts “This question really interested me because I think a lot my personality traits have really come out because of this last year. I am by nature a homebody and I have actually quite enjoyed it. I think this expat life we have has made us live super-fast and I have now come to realize that simply reading on my sofa all weekend is okay. I don’t need to always be doing a million things. Luckily, as an immediate family, we haven’t been affected by COVID, my wider family has, but looking at my husband and my two children, we have quite enjoyed it. It has made us slow down. We got to enjoy the home and each other a lot more. It has actually made me a more content and happier person because I’ve spent a year actually being my true person.”

Ms. Mac “I am really missing the performance element of drama, it’s really a shame that performance theatres around the world have been closed for so long. At the Diverse show, my first show in a year, I came away feeling quite emotional because many of our students were on that stage and it was fantastic to have music acting and singing back. It made me realize that we are over the worst of this and hopefully by next year we will have some music drama and acting on our stage. Its moment that I’m really looking forward to because I know that when it happens it will be a feeling like no other because COVID has really affected the arts."

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Mr. Stibbs “It has forced a lot of change in education. Being in IT and CS it has always been a feeling that technology can play bigger part in education, but I think a lot of people have been frightened to make that change. I think the pandemic and lockdown forced that change at a quick speed. I think our school as a whole acted and adapted very well. I do think that the lockdown has had an impact on wellbeing of students, missing the social interaction of teaching. On a personal note, as a new dad, the lockdown gave me an opportunity to be more at home and spend more time as a family. In terms of travel it was frustrating because it has impact the maintaining of those relationships and seeing those people physically, it not the same seeing them online.

Lifestyle, I like being outside. I struggle being locked indoors, I need to be doing something, and when I tested positive, I found it hard not socializing exercising and being active. For me I take time to adapt to change, I’m a creature of habits, taking time to warm and adapt to change. Overall, eventhough we have adapted to the new teaching style well, I still find the new structure hard.”

Mr. Cullinan “Ultimately, it has made me gain an appreciation of the word connection and the connections that I share daily through my colleges, my students, and my family. I think COVID made me realize the importance of looking after each other, because it is tough. COVID has made me understand how responsible I am for looking after myself, and my wellbeing, and that my mental health is so important for those around me as well. It has made me prioritize balance, I have a ways to go before achieving it, but at least now I think I’m understanding it. The other day, for my mental health I booked a flight back home because I haven’t seen my dad in nearly two years, and he hasn’t met his grandson yet. I just think that humanity can be such a beautiful thing. Let’s look after one another where we are right now as individuals and appreciate and respect each other.”

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Renata Miranda Cordoba

Nord Anglia Student Year 12

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Arwa Samir Ramadan Hassan

Nord Anglia Student Year 10

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Hermes Carre Club

From the 15th to the 20th of January, the Hermes Carre Club held an immersive pop-up in the artsy hub of Alserkal Avenue.

Hermes, unlike many other luxury brands, prioritizes quality and a love for craftmanship. They refer to themselves as a fashion house, a maison, shunning mass production, manufacturing lines, and outsourcing.

The brand was founded in Paris in 1837. Originally, it’s intent was to serve the needs of European noblemen by providing saddles, bridles and other leather riding gear. Today, they manufacture leather bags, luxury shoes, and their signature silk scarves.

Hermès first began producing scarves in 1937, they were made from imported Chinese silk, twice

as strong as any other silk scarf on the market at the time. Before long the scarfs were seen worn by the likes of princess grace of Monaco, quickly transforming it into the must-have fashion accessory.

Nowadays, Hermès sources its silk from its own silkworm plantation in southern Brazil – and the scarves remain impressively strong, thanks to 450,000 meters of silk.

Every Hermes scarf design tells a story. From an artist's sketchpad to the final inspection can take as long as two years and include as many as 40 artisans. It is this attention to detail that is the reason "It just still has a timelessness to it and just continues to be that icon year after year and decade after decade."

In January I visited The Hermes Carre Club pop-up in Alserkal Avenue. The vibrant event was a 9

social space for the public to engage with the Hermes team and learn about its scarfs and history. I was able to talk to real Hermes designers about their creations, watching them work in real-time.

As well as meeting the designers, the pop-up had a skateboarding rink, a live band, a café, and digital tablets where you could lose yourself coloring-in Hermes designs.

After talking to the designers and team, I gained a new respect and appreciation for the art and effort that goes into an Hermes scarf.

Now I can depended understanding of Robert Dumas’s statement when he said, “creativity is a process”.

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Hyein Park

Nord Anglia Student Year 10

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Hanna Susic

Nord Anglia Student Year 12

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Theatre of Digital Art Unlike a traditional walk through a classic art museum, the ToDA experience is completely immersive. It merges high-end technologies with classical art. The experience combines evocative music, visual effects and surround sound. The music, the art being projected across the So, I wasn’t sure what to expect floors, walls and ceiling, the when we booked our visit to experience, offers us an ToDA, which is at The Souq Madinat Jumeirah. I have been to opportunity to discover these masterpieces of the world's The Louvre, in Paris and Abu most notable artists in a way Dhabi, The Rijks Museum, in that feels very personal.

Amsterdam and many other traditional art museums around the world; Each of these experiences a little different from the other and yet very similar at the same time, however very enjoyable and educational.

The Theatre of Digital Art, otherwise known as ToDA, is the very first museum, of its kind, in Dubai. The marketing material says that, a trip to ToDA offers the visitor an experience completely unique to the traditional art museum visits.

But this trip to ToDA was completely different from the very start. We sat down in our beanbag-like chairs, surrounded by floor to ceiling digital screens (the ceiling is also covered in screens), the lights dimmed and the experience began.

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The quotes from the artists, that are projected on the walls, make us feel like we can better understand why the artists felt inspired to paint what they did.

The quotes from the artists, that are projected on the walls, make us feel like we can better understand why the artists felt inspired to paint what they did.

The “Revolutionary Art” journey took us from Monet to Kandinsky, from the later part of the 19th century to the mid 20th century.

This period also included Georges Seurat, Vincent Van Gogh, Edvard Munch, Paul Cézanne, Juan Gris, Robert Delaunay, Paul Klee.

These artists represented many different styles of art, impressionism, pointillism, postimpressionism, cubism and expressionism. Their styles of work were all unique, however, their desire to tell the stories of their lives, their passions and to use their work to communicate the challenging upheavals of their times, were all the same.

So even if you aren’t the typical lover of traditional art museums. I recommend that you give ToDA a try. You will definitely learn something new, you will be surprised by the beauty of the works of art by these artists and you will be impressed by the relevance of their work in today’s times.

Art has the power to transform, to illuminate, inspire and educate us all.

"The Impressionist", is the other offering at ToDA. In this experience they explore the incredible pieces by 9 Impressionist artists: Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, Henri Rousseau, Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Cezanne, George Seurat.

This is surely another experience not to be missed.

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Martine Ravnbol

Nord Anglia Student Year 13

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Sophia Simoni

Nord Anglia Student Year 12

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xvA

When one hears anything about the city of Dubai, the first thought that comes to mind, for most, is modern high rise buildings, luxury and prosperity; and maybe a thought of a desert scattered with camels. But there is another side to this city that tells the story of the quaint tradition and fascinating past of the people and culture that existed long before the Dubai we know today.

Dubai’s heritage, culture and architecture can be experienced, at its best, at Al Fahidi. The Al Fahidi Historical Neighborhood gives us an understanding of what life was like during the mid 19th century.

The district is a key heritage site with much of the original infrastructure preserved and intact.

The traditional wind towers, constructed from stone, teak, gypsum, palm wood and sandalwood tell a small part of Al Fahadi’s history. Walking down the allies and pathways that wind through the buildings gives us a glimpse of the old life before the 7 emirates came to be.

This where I discovered the XVA Gallery. The art gallery was established in 2003 and has become one of the leading galleries

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in the Middle East that specializes in contemporary art from the Arab World and Iran. “ Its program includes works by emerging, midcareer and established artists who are responding to their environments in thoughtful and provocative ways.’

In my most recent visit to the XVA Gallery, I discovered a very interesting artist, Richard Ketley.

He is a South African born artist that has lived between Johannesburg and Dubai for many years. He started painting at a young age and held his first exhibition while still in school at Hyde Park High School, Johannesburg. Today he works primarily in charcoal, acrylic and oil and seeks to develop images that are drawn from life but also encourage the viewer to extend their imagination.

drawing is an integral part of my life, and has been since a very early age. At the moment I am interested in formal elements of painting and drawing inspired by the world around me and the many countries that I visitfinding meaning where others do not - in the fall of the light on a sandy building in Riyadh, the chaos of the shacks of Kampala, the crowded taxi parks of Johannesburg, My art is a search for perfection that is not often found in life. I am fortunate enough to travel widely in the Middle East and Africa, but I have not found my Tahiti- a landscape populated with many Venuses and primary colors, instead I find landscape covered in sandy construction sites, tin roofed shacks, humanity sweating, as trucks are loaded with voluminous bundles. But within these spaces there is balance and form and structure - all elements that are abstracted in my paintings.’

Ketley’s most recent exhibition, tells the story of his days during lockdown….

XVA Gallery Al Fahidi Neighborhood, Bur Dubai Dubai, UAE

Ketley says, “Painting and OPENING HOURS: 7 days a week: 10am - 6pm

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"OPEN-AIR MUSEUM"

After initially noticing these artworks along Jumeriah Beach Road, I went home and did some research. I discovered that this initiative, by the ruler of Dubai, commissioned local and international artists to create pieces across the city, on wall, building, overpasses, and more.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum explained that “Our objective is to turn Dubai into an open-air museum where the whole world could see its race against time in terms of development. We want all our initiatives and projects to be driven by innovation. We will provide all the support and resources necessary for turning promising creative ideas into reality.”

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kalEi dos cope Editor Sophia Louise Arango

Contact sophia_arango@nasdubai.ae Location Nord Anglia International School, Hessa Street, Al Barsha 3 South, Dubai U.A.E.

Edition 2