I am back from Art Dubai 2010, the art fair of the Middle East and it was absolutely fantastic ! The fair welcomed nearly 18,000 international and regional visitors during the four-day event, up nearly 30% on visitor numbers in the previous year.
Over 70 galleries from 30 countries took part in Art Dubai 2010. The majority experienced strong sales, with buyers including members of the royal family, major international and regional museums and established and new collectors from the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and the US.
A number of participating galleries, including Athr Gallery from Jeddah, Galerie Christian Hosp and Caprice Horn, both from Berlin, traffic from Dubai and Priska C. Juschka from New York sold nearly all of their available works at the fair which is an excellent sign of the recovery of Dubai.
“In its fourth year, Art Dubai has matured into a highly regarded art event on the world stage shown by the diversity of the work, the significant increase in attendance, strong sales from institutional and private buyers and the greater involvement of Dubai’s art community during the week of the fair,” said John Martin, co-founder of Art Dubai. I definitely think that John is right. I've witnessed this evolution and I am impressed by how professional, how well organised and matured it is.
“I think Art Dubai is a great barometer for where the Middle Eastern art market is heading,” said Hisham Samawi from Ayyam Gallery (Damascus, Dubai). “People seem ready to buy and build their collections, and that has us excited about the rest of the year.”
One of the most impressive pieces was this artwork by El Anatsui, In the World But Don't Know the World, by October gallery which attracted a lot of attention and I would have loved to buy it.
The programme of collateral events was stunning too, with the Global Art Forum, the series of conferences and talks of the underground car park cleverly turned into an "art park" and of course the unveiling of the Abraaj Capital Art Prize, which I will be writing more on in the near future.
More info on: http://www.artdubai.ae/
