Lookout Qatar

Urban Chaos: Trotro Station by Ablade Glover, represented by Nubuke Foundation, part of the Marker project at Art Dubai 2013

A Cocktail of Art
The UAE seems to be the epicenter of all things art after the success of the seventh edition of Art Dubai.
By SINDHU NAIR

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BOXED IN ART: (above left clockwise) The Miraculous Lives of This and That, installation by Huma Mulji,HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rasheed Al Maktoum enjoys art with Antonia Carver, Joe Namys dance and musical show, a birds eye view of a section of galleries at Art Dubai 2013.

The sun was on a setting path and an earthy ochre hue was slowly spreading over the Dubai sky the perfect backdrop for the evenings entertainment at the seventh edition of Art Dubai held from March 20-23, at Madinat Jumeirah. Though the entertainment in itself was not as spectacular as the backdrop, the virtuosity in concept made it distinctive and bestowed a perspective on the one-of-a-kind contemporary art fair of the region. Emiratis danced to the beat of traditional percussions, with a street-style version of hip hop taking center stage. Sporting sneakers, ball caps and a cheeky attitude, the hip hoppers tried to better their predecessors acrobatic display. The young acrobats juxtaposed the barefoot, thobeclad Emiratis, singing and dancing in their effortless style, all keeping in tune to the same rhythm. Standing around and watching this fusion of dance and music were the media and the cosmopolitan group of art-lovers on the grounds of the ultra-luxurious Madinat Jumeirah, intent on capturing the mix of cultures while trying to decipher the art and soul of this melee. The performance was a commissioned project by Joe Namy, who is currently researching traditional song and dance. He says that the traditional songs were once used for ritual healing and is unique to

the UAE. Namy and eleven other artists were commissioned to create site-specific works for Art Dubai Projects 2013, to create new works that engaged audiences and interacted with the fair. Namys performance, drew upon the parallels between these ritual dances and their rhythmic connections to contemporary electronic music. Namy says that this dance form is more celebratory. One person steps in the middle, tags someone on the other side and they come in. The dance isn't actually native to the UAE, he says, and this is one of the reasons I like it. It comes from Africa via Oman and through the trade routes. This aspect of the dance fascinated Namy because so much of Dubai is actually imported. And that in essence personifies the essence of Art Dubai. While the fair was without doubt UAE-centric, it weaved together the flavors of the region, intersecting it with offerings from around the globe in its quest to be identified along with international art majors. And it more than succeeded. Art Dubai, Fair Director, Antonia Carver stressed the intentional global aspect of the fair when she said, Art Dubais 2013 edition underscored its importance as a fair of discovery with a diverse roster of 75 galleries from 30 countries including a curated introduction to varied art scenes across West Africa. For the mere size of it, we are the most global of all art fairs. What has been really exciting this year is that not only has the number of local visitors gone up, (by local I mean visitors from the whole of the GCC) but also more international and institutional visitors, major museums directors, curators from Beijing, Singapore, London, New York and Delhi and this is a positive development for the fair. An estimated $45 million worth of artworks were exhibited at Art Dubai over the course of the four-day fair. Though contacted, the Art Dubai organizers could not give the total value of the

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Lookout Qatar

BEYOND ART: (From far left, clockwise): Art Installation by Chris Burden, Curved bridge; Bisi Silva leading the Marker Tour, HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum and Antonia Craver, glimpses of the Art Dubai galleries

artwork sold during the fair, as non-disclosure was part of deals between the galleries and buyers. But Carver said, Strong sales including major acquisitions by collectors and visiting museum groups were reported at Pilar Corrias (London), Nubuke Foundation (Accra), Athr Gallery (Jeddah) Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde (Dubai) and Galerie Rodolphe Janssen (Brussels). Art Dubai 2013 also featured the largest notfor-profit program in the fair's history, with over 40 artists participating in Art Dubai Projects including residencies, commissions of which Namys was one, performances, screenings, as well as dXb store, an initiative that supports UAE-based designers. Carver and the team seem to have made a tremendous effort to make it a global fair that is inclusive of local artists and artisans. Another global inclusive gesture by Art Dubai is its Marker project, a curated section of

concept stands that focuses each year on a particular theme or geography. While last year Marker put its spotlight on the Indonesian art scene, this year the focus was on West Africa. Lagos-based curator Bisi Silva selected work from galleries and art spaces located in that region and the program was curated around the theme of cities in transition, with a focus on the work of dynamic, independent organizations and artists dealing with specific identities and localities. Silva talked about the curating process and how she began the difficult process of representing a continent with 54 countries and over 100 languages. I decided that instead of focusing on the whole continent, I would focus on a region West Africa and use the theme of migration, urban development and the impact of cityscape on our life, she said. D Galleries, one of the Marker projects of Art Dubai 2012, is part of the gallery representation

this year. Esti Nurjadin, the owner of this gallery shared her Art Dubai impressions. There was a lot of interest in our presentation last year so we felt it prudent to come back this year. However, this year has not been so exciting for us and we haven't had any deals yet (on the second day of the show). But apart from purchases, networking is another aspect that helps us, said Nurjadin. Media for change Carver can also see a broadening, not just in terms of geographic reach but also in terms of the media that the artists' used. We see artists working on films, video, threedimensional videos, new media, more than just traditional painting and drawings. We see more of such projects in the non-commercial programming such as the Art Dubai Projects, where we commissioned artists to come up with projects that drew audiences to react to the fair in a humorous way. These projects represent Dubai and its unique flavor, she says.

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Take your pick: (from left, clockwise): Ehsan Ul Haqs History Lessons, Mohammed Kazems Windows 20112012, Antonia Carver with Murtaza Vali.

One such example Carver gave to explain the witty, non-conforming range of projects was Ehsan Ul Haqs History Lessons. A series of sculptures that depict a herd of life-sized donkeys, referencing terracotta warriors from the Qin dynasty. This sculpture blended in with the fairs site in a subtle display of humor. The work comments on ideas of force and control, and dwells on the mindless activity of the group as it zealously follows power without critique, a typical following the herd practice. Commenting on the fabric of the fair and the distribution of the various galleries, Carver deciphers a new pattern that is encouraging for local and regional artists. While the basic dissection of the fair is kept the same, a third of it is represented by the Middle East, a third by Europe and a third is given to the Americas and Asia. But what is interesting to see is that the over the seven years of the fair, more and more artists from the region, who have earlier been represented by their local galleries, are now being represented by international galleries. Many of the international galleries visit such art fairs not only to sell but also to get a pulse of the art scene, to pick new and emerging talent and that is happening here too. So that is another positive development for the region and for the artists from the region, she said. Carver has lived in the country for over 12 years and is witness to the changing art scene of the country. I think it is one of the greatest unsung stories of the Gulf. When the fair started in 2006, there were just a tiny handful of galleries, and now we have over 40 in Dubai, while the city itself has become the center for contemporary arts. Whats also great to see is the development and ecologies throughout the Gulf, the major museums in Doha, galleries in Dubai, museums coming up in Abu Dhabi and the Biennale in

Sharjah. So an international visitor who comes down to see Art Dubai is taken to all four centers and they get to see how these cities work together and by working together how they create a multi-faceted and mature art market, says Carver about the changing dynamics. Going by Christies sale in March the art scene seems to be going into a lull. But Carver disagrees. You need to look at the volume of sales too as Christies focused on younger, new collectors and emerging artists this year, which could be the reason for the low sales figures. The gallery scene is completely different, she continues,No galleries have closed, even with the economic downturn and more galleries are opening in Dubai, one from Tunisia (Al Masah Gallery) and another one from Damascus (Atassi Gallery) opening this year. So Dubai is doing what it always does, providing a hub, a refuge for galleries and business. Carver classifies Art Dubai as a fair of discovery that aims for high quality a very diverse fair where you discover artist and art movements that you have never seen anywhere before alongside the best galleries from Europe and America. Another art critic, Evrim Altug from Turkey, who was in Dubai for the first time, was quite impressed with the offerings and felt that Art Dubais advantages were essential.

It is a real time education, in the contemporary global culture and art for four days, with interaction with art experts, global suppliers, international art press and institutional and individual followers, he said. Between 2012 and 2013, there has been a 90% return by galleries (present in 2012) for space, with around 20-23 new galleries applying, according to Carver. Though some art experts mentioned a decline in the number of Indian Galleries too at the fair what was lacking in numbers was made up by the maturity and high quality of those represented.What was encouraging was that like Middle Eastern artists numerous Indian artists were being represented by international galleries. As the world is increasingly becoming global, art seems to play a major role in encompassing classifications, breaking borders and understanding age-old concepts. So much so that art seems to have transcended imaginary limits to include everything creative, questioning its very definition, if it had one. Personally, even with the wonderful multimedia presentations that wowed the onlookers, my favorite was an array of charcoal representations of Dubai and the memories it evokes by UAEs own artist Mohammed Kazeem.

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