Al Riwaq Art Space was a total surprise during my trip to Bahrain. It’s an absolutely gorgeous non-profit space supporting contemproary art practice and encouraging the creativity of the youth in Bahrain. A few shots of work throughout the gallery I found interesting (and one I purchased) below.
The last few were by an incredible artist named Nader Abdulrahim. I grabbed the last one here entitled “Creative Suicide”. Some of the others were part of a new series called Beautiful Censorship, and Mecca Cola. Looking forward to seeing more work by him!
Since its founding in 1998, the gallery’s vision has been to promote creativity and art value, providing the artists and the public with a platform to exchange ideas, provoke intellectual debate, promote, inspire and develop creative thinking and nurture cultural production.
The gallery promotes its mission by nurturing a strong relationship between art and society through its programs. In order to encourage public awareness and appreciation of visual arts, Al Riwaq hosts local and international group exhibitions, workshops, talks and debates, film screenings and meetings for the art communities and patrons.
Thanks to some local friends one of the stops during my tour of Bahrain yesterday was the new Bahrain International Circuit– the first track on the Grand Prix tour in the Middle East.
I figured I was just going on a quick tour to see the ground, go to the control tower, hear about the construction (it was a massive project) and snap some photos.
So I started snapping away…
We visited the race tower…
And some great VIP viewing spots and saw the track from above…
Definitely the best place to watch from…
The control room is incredible. Completely electronic, the whole track is wired in every way imaginable. They can zoom these cameras onto the serial number on a car part– and change aspects of the track at the touch of a button.
While I was there one of the control room guys admitted playing Playstation on the massive screens once!
Map of the track. They can actually run two races on it at once (and have before) as there are two circuits, one inside the other. The track has a fully functional hospital capable of even heart surgery– equipped with two heliports in case a patient needs to be moved quickly.
Back up on the top of the tower..
Off in the distance there was a little car buzzing and squealing around the corners. I asked about it… My guide looked at me and said, he’s coming to get you!
Sweet! Laps on an F1 track!
Suited up with what turned out to be a very crazy driver, and a good one.
Open track was amazing. And when I told him I loved cars, he knew he could push it. It was probably 110° on the track, plus the engine heat. Very surreal. Two laps on this F1 track will never be forgotten.
This little thing goes way faster than you imagine. I promise.
BIC goodies. An incredibly impressive facility. Absolutely top notch everything. I look forward to coming back one day to see a race there. Big thanks to those that made this possible!
Last year, Michael Lewis found himself traveling quite frequently from New Jersey to Santa Barbara, CA. You see, as the Director of Product Development for a tech company that was being acquired by a west coast SAS company, trips to California’s central coast were becoming a commonplace occurrence. During this time he discovered two things – how beautiful SB is and how frustrating and annoying packing and carrying toiletries was becoming. Even a person like Lewis who was becoming well-versed in FTA rules and regulations would face the occasional mishap – a dopp kit full of shampoo from a bad packing job, a missing razor due to simply forgetting, or missing toiletries altogether because his checked in bags were arriving on a different plane half a day later.
After the acquisition was complete, Lewis quit his job, sold his car, and moved to SB to start Suite Arrival. The company provides a service to fill a very particular, and in my opinion, needed niche. Before you embark on your trip, you simply visit their website and choose among dozens of items, ranging from body wash to sunscreen, anything you might need for your time away from home. All the most popular brands are represented and Suite Arrival adds new partners all the time. On a recent visit, I noticed they now carry premium label Billy Jealousy and even offer snacks and gum now. Currently, Suite Arrival operates in the continental US and delivers straight to your hotel so the package is ready for you when you check-in. Concerned about strict hotel policies, I asked SA if they ever had any issues with delivery and Lewis assured me they have always been able to work it out. He also let me in on a few things they have up their sleeves – city guides relevant to the city you are visiting, additions to the partners list, and even a pilot program for international service. Personally, I am waiting for the last item to be checked off as I am traveling to Montreal next month.
Bright and early this AM I went to an event at the Museum of Islamic Art here in Doha. The architecture was completely breathtaking.
Beautiful skylight…
Gorgeous details..
This building was Art-chitecture.
Staring straight up at the opening in the ceiling. Simply stunning.
The Doha Skyline from the edge of the Museum in three shots. One.
Two.
Three. *With Reflecting Pool
I had to snap this, fascinating to see two women working on computers in the office wearing the traditional black dress covering everything but their eyes. (Called an Abaya).
I love this! I have a great map my father kept from 1972, Vignelli’s Classic.
Next month, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will unveil a resized, recolored and simplified edition of the well-known map, its first overhaul in more than a decade. The new subway map makes Manhattan even bigger, reduces Staten Island and continues to buck the trend of the angular maps once used here and still preferred in many other major cities. Detailed information on bus connections that was added in 1998 has been considerably shortened.
I couldn’t sit still long. I’m off tomorrow on a quick trip through the Middle East. Visiting Doha for business, followed by some fun in Bahrain, Cairo, Beirut and perhaps a swing through Damascus if time allows.
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to travel through rural Tanzania. While I was there, I was able to witness firsthand the difference clean drinking water can make for a community.
I took the pictures below. People used to wade into this disgusting swamp to get their water several times throughout the day, or lower buckets into the muddy mess. It’s unreal.
We’ve all heard about it non-stop, but I needed to see it with my own two eyes. It’s unexplainable and as soon as I saw it I knew I had to keep helping.
Last year we built one well together, this year let’s go for two. That will serve 500 people clean drinking water.
The word’s Otete and Anyo are the nickname for a baby’s hands and feet in Japanese. These customs stamps of each are awesome. Wish my parents made them! Am I too old to have one made now?
What looks like the cross section of a very old and very large oak tree with many rings is actually a soft, wool area rug by Floor To Heaven. Via Daily Icon
The ‘Consumption’ Porcelain Dinnerware collection consists of a set of four 10.5” diameter fine white porcelain dinner plates. Each plate is decorated with a graphic representation of a particular statistical aspect of our global food consumption. Hopefully the design of these plates will help to turn conversations at the dinner table to an honest discourse on our nations eating habits.
Check out this beautiful music video which was made using pyrogprahy (soldering images onto plywood) and stop motion. It averaged five hours of work per second shown.
The song isIf I Was Kingby Dutch indie rocker and singer-songwriter Tim Knol, directed by an Amsterdam hotshot called Sverre Fredriksen. Making of availablehere.
Better late than never, Y-3 (one of my favorite brands) just relaunched their website celebrating the upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup. Very nice, although a tad spooky for my taste. Check it out.
I’ve been a hardcore Happy Sock wearer for a long time. Very pleased I can support my team of choice in fun style this year. Actually, screw the game, I just love the designs. Via Hypebeast
The Go-Go Transporter is a system of components that allow the user and or the manufacturer the ability to make a variety of human powered transport products by simply adding or subtracting components. For the user, this makes the product sustainable as it adapts to the users’ lifestyle over time. So, for example, no more expensive strollers with nowhere to go post infancy. For the manufacturer, they can play in multiple categories with one set of core tooling.
