Very vernissage...

Last night I went to the Bastakiya Vernissage, which was, in a word, blissful. I arrived on my own at about 7pm, as we weren't sure if it was going to be invite only, and so I hadn't wanted to invite people to something that we then couldn't get in to. Anwyay, it wasn't, it was free to everyone.


At 7pm, it was just opening, so I was fairly free to wander round pretty much on my own. The Bastakiya is a rabbit warren of old Arabic houses, next to the Creek in the very old part of Dubai. By very old, read about 30yrs, but still. It is all traditional architecture, and quiet, with only the sound of the mosque filtering through the streets. Everything was really well lit, with candles in the alleyways, and soft lighting around the exhibits, and as I wandered, I found a courtyard with benches under a jasmine tree, and a string quartet playing from hidden speakers, so it sounded like they were sitting on the roof. It was so blissful. I nearly didn't recognize a friend as he walked past, and he remarked on my state of near-meditative-zone-out ... I'm not good at concealing when I'm on another planet! There was a little installation of a collection of bowling pins dressed in arabic national dress, which apparently teases out perceived stereotypes about femininity in an Islamic cultural context. see www.hilger.at as well.

Mum and Dad came and joined me, and we had a further wander around, but it was starting to get busy, which had taken the edge off the magic for me, and my shoes were starting to hurt. We walked out towards the Majlis Gallery to say hello to Alison, the owner, as Mum knows her, and came across a tiny boutique hotel, that I will be recommending to all and sundry from now on. Never again will people get away with telling me Dubai has no soul. Anwyay, the Majlis Gallery was as lovely as usual, and they were hosting a "Wish Tree" installation. Everyone wrote a wish on a piece of card, and the artist was attaching them to a tree on the roundabout. At the end of the fair, in a week, she'll photograph the tree and the wishes, and turn that in to an exhibit in itself. I loved it, and wrote two wishes, one on either side of the card.


The hunger had struck, so we debated Ravis (awesome curry for about 5 pounds for all three of us) vs. pizzas from the hotel. I won, with the suggestion of shwarmas on Diyafa street. They rocked. All in all, a truly old school, soul-warming, refreshingly intelligent evening.