JEDDAH, 8 February 2007 — Forty of the world’s leading contemporary and modern galleries will gather in Dubai from March 7-10 for the first DIFC Gulf Art Fair. It opens with an exclusive patrons’ preview on March 7. The fair will showcase a global mix of artists and galleries organized by Quintessentially and the Jumeirah Group. It will offer international collectors the chance to see some of the best in contemporary art and invest in the booming world art market.
The proceeds from ticket sales and the charity dinner will help toward establishing a cultural foundation called START to provide funding for children’s art workshops in deprived communities in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.
Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) has a 50 percent stake in the Gulf Art Fair. The deal, announced Feb. 1, was concluded a month ago. “This is perhaps a first for an art fair,” said John Martin, Gulf Art Fair director at a press launch for the Art Fair in Jeddah on Monday. “It’s now a joint venture, with the DIFC committed to the next two to three years.”
“There are three ways a collector may acquire paintings,” he said. “Galleries and auctions are the traditional sources but the one that is becoming increasingly popular is through art fairs.”
Galleries, he said, were established all over the world and to visit them individually took a great deal of time. “An art fair brings them to one place once a year,” he noted.
He pointed out that the Guggenheim and the Louvre Museums were opening in Abu Dhabi and collectors across the region wanted to buy. “There are collectors and importantly there are collectors internationally who have realized that they have been neglecting some of the modern artists far to long.”
Established in 2004, the DIFC operates a 110-acre zone behind the central business district of Sheikh Zayed Road. Most of the artists’ projects commissioned by the fair will be situated in the DIFC’s vast complex, with Florence-based Patrizio Travagli among a number of artists selected.
A three-day educational program sponsored by Sotheby’s will bring international speakers to discuss aspects of contemporary art and collecting.
A complementary fair celebrating contemporary regional art organized by Dubai’s growing number of contemporary galleries will take place along Dubai Creek, coordinated by The Third Line gallery.
Among the international line up of galleries taking part are Bodhi Art (Singapore), Max Lang (New York), SCAI Bathhouse (Tokyo), Albion (London), White Cube (London), Pekin Fine Arts (Beijing), Ben Brown (London), Forsblom (Helsinki), Krinzinger (Vienna), Hyundai (Seoul), Gallery Chemould (Mumbai) and the Third Line (Dubai).
The growing significance of the Asian art market is represented by the participation of galleries such as Continua (San Gimignano/Beijing), Sfeir Semler (Hamburg/Beirut) and Bose Pacia/Nature Morte (New York/New Delhi) who now operate successful galleries from within Asia as well as the West.
“Dubai is set to become a major center for the global art market. Situated within easy reach of Russia, India and South East Asia, it is ideally placed to become the focal point for some of the most exciting new art markets in the world,” Martin said. “To get the best art for the public to see, you need art commerce,” he added.
