Dubai and art: the beginning of a great love story

Dubai the gigantic, Dubaï, whose skyscrapers are growing faster than the music, is nevertheless a young pioneer in its quest for tourism open to all. While it throws itself headfirst into the hotel industry with its innovations and records in all kinds of ways, Dubai also shows timidity towards its new love, the art.

Indeed, although young, she is nonetheless endowed with a soul as beautiful and diverse as it is, and it is through art that she transmits all her magic and culture to us. A few years ago, art and Dubai had not yet met each other.. Today the meeting took place, as did the love at first sight. Shy but in love, she decided to dare, and it is when the shy dare to dare that the most beautiful love stories are born. Now, the hub of art is Dubai.

The Art Dubai festival

Just a month ago, the 9th edition of the Art Dubai fair ended, which has established itself as the largest international art fair in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. This was my first time attending such an event!

Every year in March, this meeting place has become an essential event where international collectors come to discover the new gems of the artists of this region, mingling with expatriates and museum directors seeking a new breath of life. This 2015 edition saw 90 galleries offer and exhibit works ranging from the most modest to the most extravagant, through three programs: Contemporary and Modern, dedicated to the masters of the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, and Marker, which focuses each year on a theme or a geography.

In just nine years, Art Dubai has become one of the most globalized meeting points in the art world, a true must-see.

 

The Al Quoz industrial district

Symbol of the effervescence and the emergence of the relationship between Dubai and art, the Al Quoz neighborhood is the true heart of the city’s artistic scene. Forgotten are the construction sites and gigantic skyscrapers, In Al Quoz, we are somewhere else, And it’s in a completely different way that you get your fill of it…

As in many cities, it is in this former industrial district that the artistic scene has developed in search of space; the warehouses have given way to numerous art galleries, such as Art Sawa and Isabelle Van Den Eynde. To top it all off for enthusiasts, the Jamjar gallery offers the Art In The City service, a bus that takes you around the most beautiful art hubs in Al Quoz.

Design Days Dubai

In March, alongside the Art Dubai fair, the «Design Days Dubai» are also taking place, the 4th edition of which this year. This is the largest design exhibition in the Middle East, featuring some of the most beautiful works from international design galleries, which, like Dubai, knows no limits. The diversity of the works is omnipresent to fully reflect the image of the multicultural city.

Limited edition works, collection models, as well as design workshops, conferences and live performances—in short, as you can see, it’s a powerful event that fuels our curiosity.

More information about art in Dubai

• Design Days Dubai Next edition: March 14-18, 2016
• Art Festival Dubai Next edition: March 16-19, 2016
• Universal Exposition 2020

A huge thank you to the Dubai Tourism office and the GroupExpression agency for this wonderful trip.