Culture

The Recently Concluded Art Dubai 2009

by rumana husain | March 29, 2009 at 05:22 am

447 views | 34 Recommendations | 10 comments

Hectic ten days were spent in Dubai, with our contemporary art magazine from Pakistan, NuktaArt, as Art Dubai - the art fair's media partner. It was good to experience this well organised major international art event of the region. The hallmark of the event was participation of galleries and works contributed by several South Asian artists. It was great to view some exceptional art (together with the mediocre and cliched works), great performances, and meet a variety of professionals: artists, curators, gallery owners, editors of other publications, local Emirati young women who were interns there, and generally participate in the excitement all around. Close by was the Sharjah Biennale - one of the most prestigious art events that has been taking place every 2 years for the past 18 years - that awarded the jury prize to Pakistani artist Hamra Abbas.

This year, dealers focused far more strongly than in the two past editions on regional artists. The fair has matured to become the leading commercial event in the Menasa (Middle East, North Africa and South Asia) area. Even the western galleries ensured that they had something locally relevant on offer. Newcomer Edwynn Houk sold works by the Moroccan photographer Lalla Essaydi depicting veiled women, while Goff + Rosenthal was showing large-scale, semi-abstract works by the Iraqi-born painter Ahmed Alsoudani, a Saatchi favourite.

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Barry Artiste

at 08:16 on March 29th, 2009

I hear it is beautiful there!~

rumana husain

at 08:43 on March 29th, 2009

thanks for the recommendation and comment barry! yes, the venue of art dubai was madinat jumeirah hotel which overlooks the sea, and it was rather a nice setting.

azzayindia

at 09:01 on March 29th, 2009

the art work looks Exemplary. nice job done rumana

rumana husain

at 09:02 on March 29th, 2009

thanks azzay. i was having a field day taking pictures.

Roy C

at 09:08 on March 29th, 2009

Rumana, are there any controversies in this area that reflect the world in general or Dubai and other emirates in particular?

Good photographs.

rumana husain

at 09:28 on March 29th, 2009

Roy, i am copying here a portion of an article by Ed Lake, published in an Emirati paper, which might throw some light on your query...(that is if i have understood it correctly): "Rumours of Dubai’s economic demise may have been exaggerated, but all the same they filtered out to the wider art world, a vulnerable place in times of hardship.

Collectors and gallerists alike have been confiding this week about their trepidation on setting out for the third Art Dubai fair. In his address to the press at the preview on Tuesday, however, the fair’s director John Martin was all silver lining. “We’ve seen a lot of froth in the art market over the past three years,” he said, “a lot of huge art prices. And I think a lot of serious collectors – and importantly, new collectors, have been a bit afraid to get involved. Now is a fantastic opportunity to find new artists.” In a downturn, in other words, dealers have to stand by the fresh talent they believe in. There may be something in this: at the Madinat Jumeirah this year, the galleries are, in the dread phrase, looking to make a compelling case for themselves. Happily, the result is a wealth of solid and interesting work from artists you may not have heard of before. The casual browser could hardly ask for more."