World Renowned Artists Descend on Dubai for Region’s Biggest Contemporary Art Fair

By Farrah Hamid

March 17, 2010

Art aficionados, listen up – last night marked the kick-off of Art Dubai, an annual art extravaganza that draws the best of the best in collectors, artists and art enthusiasts, celebrating the vibrant art culture stemming from over 30 countries in the Middle East, South Asia and more. Thousands of visitors are expected to attend the 4-day event, which is hailed as the biggest contemporary art fair in the Middle East.

One of the major events of Art Dubai is the annual Abraaj Capital Art Prize, which this year will go to Kader Attia (hailing from Algeria, his work focuses on the Dome of the Rock), Marwan Sahmarani (work covers the political history of Egypt) and Hala Elkoussy (features Renaissance art in an Arab context).

The artists’ works all focus on the MENASA region that they hail from (side note: loving the ever-increasing use of MENASA, meaning: Middle East, North Africa and South Asia).

The Abraaj prize is no joke – valued at $1 million, it is the world’s most generous art prize. The winning works become a part of the Capital Art Collection and are shown at museums around the world.

Other highlights from this year’s event include the Bidoun Projects exhibition: A New Formalism, which will include tours by artists themselves, and a ‘pop-up’ Bidoun Library for visitors.

“A New Formalism brings together a precise selection of works by Hazem El Mestikawy, Iman Issa, Mahmoud Khaled and the collective U5 that together pose an expanded understanding of formalism,” said Antonia Carver, Director, Bidoun Projects in a press release.

Art Dubai will also include the return of the Global Art Forum, and a special exhibition by Van Cleef & Arpels, covering a century of watch-making and is entitled “Poetry of Time.”

Many of the artists at Art Dubai hail from regions largely unsettled with financial and political issues this year. The event makes us even more happy to see such a lively and healthy support for the arts, a vital asset for any thriving culture. For more info on Art Dubai, visit: http://www.artdubai.ae

Contact the author:

Email: fhamid@elanthemag.com

Twitter: twitter.com/farraheditor