Omanternity’s gallery is now updated with 2 new talents:

- Shanna, a skilled Omani artist.

-  Azzan, a talented Omani photographer.

You can now view their work in our gallery.

You may also contact us, if you want your artwork to be displayed in our gallery.

Continuing the spirit of exchange between the two nations, De Nieuwe Kerk Museum in Amsterdam has recently launched an Oman centered exhibit titled Oman’s Heritage.

The event, a response to the recently held Rembrandt Exhibit in Muscat, will similarly portray elements of Omani culture & life in the 17th century. The event, inaugurated by His Highness Sayyid Haitham Bin Tariq, along with the Crown Prince of Netherlands Willem Alexander and other dignitaries, will be displaying select 250 traditional items ranging from Dhofari frankincense, clothing & silverware weaponry to the public.

The exhibits have been provided by participating collections from Oman (Ardh Al-Luban Museum, Bait Al-Zubair Museum, Sultan’s Armed Forces Museum, Sayyid Faisal Bin Ali’s Museum, Bait Al-Barranda Museum, Sayyid Mohammed Bin Ahmed’s Library) and organized by the Ministry Of Tourism, and the Omani Embassy in Amsterdam.

A first of it’s kind, and length, the exhibition is also a sign of further cultural and developmental cooperation between the two countries in support of the long standing economic one.

The event will last until April 18th, 2010. A rich audio descript by Luitgard Mols, the guest curator of the exhibition, can be found on the Radio Netherlands Worldwide website.

Photo Credits : Paddy Maguire – More pictures after the break.

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There has been a lot of fuzz and buzz about the new Jaguar XF. Mainly because jaguar doesn’t introduce new models that often and this is supposed to be the start for new generation of Jags. To be honest, I’m not a big fan of Jaguar but I thought this one was interesting and my good friend recommended test driving it. I’m going to be honest again and say: when I checked the XF in the showroom, it reminded me of the Ocean’s eleven movie. The movie starts and you can’t help but to notice that a movie star pops up every couple of seconds. The Jaguar gives you the feeling that it has all the stars in one movie.

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Muscat, 25th October: The prestigious Barr Al Jissah luxury residential development has announced the near completion of Phase 2 of the project and will soon handover 71 luxury townhouses and villas to their new owners as the complex forges ahead for a bright and successful future.

The announcement came at a press conference hosted by the Zubair Corporation and Juthoor Real Estate who are managing the real estate project on behalf of the company.  It was also announced that Juthoor will now take on responsibility for the management of the prestigious Al Mazaar Souk at the Barr Al Jissah Shangri-La resort complex.

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An Omani team consisting of 3 architecture students from the Sultan Qaboos University have won the Royal Institute of British Architects‘ first competition, and the first of it’s kind in the region.

The competition revolved around designing an insight of what the new definition of the traditional souk may be. It involved choosing an existing location and ‘rejuvinating’ it to incorporate urban design elements and present it to the panel. We know that the team have chosen the Beach Road area, in Shatti Al-Qurum to become the canvas for their project.

The team was told that their entry has been shortlisted some time ago, and were flown to Abu Dhabi to attend RIBA’s Gulf Chapter’s launch event and take part of the awards ceremony where they were announced winners, and received a check for £2500.

Haitham Al-Busafi (@conceptoo), an active member in the Omani online community scene is one out of the three that were part of the team, so congratulations to him & to the rest of them.

In an event organized at The Chedi Hotel, Muscat, the Virginia Commonwealth University, part of the Qatar Foundation, announced that it will be holding it’s design competition which it holds annually to high school seniors. The admissions dean at the university briefed the attendees of the Virginia Commonwealth University, it’s qatar branch, and the programmes and degrees they offer to undergraduate students. He also made a small brief about the yearly contest, the awards of which include two full-expenses-paid scholarships to the university as well as financial amounts for the top 40 positions donated by Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser Al-Missned.

The theme for this year’s competition is “Everything is Useful” which revolves around recycling and the  reusability of seemingly defunct and discarded materials that must be used creatively to convey that it may serve further purpose than it’s initial purpose. The deadline for entries is the 10th of January, 2010.

Rules, Guidelines & Submissions : Here

I hope this comes into use for anyone, let your friends know about this great opportunity.