Dubai Public Library Honored with ‘Naseej Academy Library and Information Pioneers Award’

The award was presented during Dubai Culture’s participation in the 35th Arab Federation for Libraries and Information Conference held in Muscat. WAM
The award was presented during Dubai Culture’s participation in the 35th Arab Federation for Libraries and Information Conference held in Muscat. WAM
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Dubai Public Library Honored with ‘Naseej Academy Library and Information Pioneers Award’

The award was presented during Dubai Culture’s participation in the 35th Arab Federation for Libraries and Information Conference held in Muscat. WAM
The award was presented during Dubai Culture’s participation in the 35th Arab Federation for Libraries and Information Conference held in Muscat. WAM

Dubai Public Library, managed by Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), has been honored with the ‘Naseej Academy Library and Information Pioneers Award’ in the Arab world under the category of Professional Excellence, Emirates News Agency reported.

This recognition reflects its efforts and contributions to developing the Arab library sector, its continuous progress, and its literary initiatives that enrich the local cultural scene, WAM said. These efforts align with Dubai Culture’s efforts to cement Dubai’s position as a global center for culture, an incubator for creativity, and a thriving hub for talent, it added.

The award was presented during the Authority’s participation in the 35th Arab Federation for Libraries and Information Conference held in Muscat, Oman, under the slogan ‘Arab Libraries and Archives Institutions and Their Role in Promoting Digital Identity and Citizenship.’

The conference, organized by Oman’s Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Youth in collaboration with Sultan Qaboos University and the Arab Federation for Libraries and Information (AFLI), witnessed extensive participation from academics and library professionals region-wide.

During the conference, Dubai Culture highlighted a range of its projects and programs aimed at strengthening the cultural and creative industries and activating libraries as interactive hubs that empower community members.



Magritte Painting Nets Auction Record of $121 Million

Rene Magritte's "L'empire des lumières" is on display during a press preview for Christie's Fall 20/21 Marquee Week in New York, November 8, 2024. (AFP)
Rene Magritte's "L'empire des lumières" is on display during a press preview for Christie's Fall 20/21 Marquee Week in New York, November 8, 2024. (AFP)
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Magritte Painting Nets Auction Record of $121 Million

Rene Magritte's "L'empire des lumières" is on display during a press preview for Christie's Fall 20/21 Marquee Week in New York, November 8, 2024. (AFP)
Rene Magritte's "L'empire des lumières" is on display during a press preview for Christie's Fall 20/21 Marquee Week in New York, November 8, 2024. (AFP)

A painting by Rene Magritte shattered an auction record for the surrealist artist on Tuesday, selling for more than $121 million at Christie's in New York.

The seminal 1954 painting had been valued at $95 million, and the previous record for a work by Magritte (1898-1967) was $79 million, set in 2022.

After a nearly 10-minute bidding war on Tuesday, "Empire of Light" ("L'Empire des lumieres") was sold for $121,160,000, "achieving a world-record price for the artist and for a surrealist work of art at auction", according to auction house Christie's.

The painting -- depicting a house at night, illuminated by a lamp post, while under a bright, blue sky -- is one of a series by the Belgian artist showing the interplay of shadow and light.

"Empire of Light" was part of the private collection of Mica Ertegun, an interior designer who fled communist Romania to settle in the United States where she became an influential figure in the arts world.

She died in late 2023 and was married to the late Ahmet Ertegun, the music magnate who founded the Atlantic Records label.

The sale of the Magritte painting was an expected highlight of this week's autumn sales season in New York, at a time when the art market has seen a slowdown since last year.

Christie's -- which is controlled by Artemis, the investment holding company owned by the Pinault family -- said sales totaled $2.1 billion in the first half of this year.

That is down for the second straight year, after a peak of $4.1 billion in 2022 as the world emerged from the coronavirus pandemic.

During the same Christie's auction on Tuesday, a celebrated 1964 painting of a gas station by 86-year-old Ed Ruscha, titled "Standard Station, Ten-Cent Western Being Torn in Half," sold for $68.26 million, setting a new auction record for the American pop artist.