Posted by david.westley
on
11 March 2008 at
02:57 UAE time.
Dubai has long been seen as a desert, not just in terms of landscape but culturally too. But the sands are finally shifting and today few could deny that both popular and higher forms of culture are coming at the city from bottom up and top down.
A distinctly bottom up movement - from the people, for the people - is John Martin’s annual Art Dubai Fair, now in its second year. The fair follows on from the tried, tested and incredibly successful events bringing modern art to the people first deployed in major cities such as London and New York.
London’s Affordable Art Fair, held in Battersea Park, is now a twice yearly event, and brings paintings, sculpture, photography and original prints under one roof - not just to look at, but to buy. Everything within the massive event has to be sold between 300 dirhams and 21,000 dirhams, which means there really is something there for everyone.
Art Dubai may not have such democratic pretensions for its displays but it still offers its visitors the chance to spot and bag a pre-famous Banksy. In fact, now could be the time to buy with art from this region already attracting pretty heavyweight interest. This month Iranian Farhad Moshiri became the first Middle East artist to achieve an auction sale of over $1 million, selling a work titled ‘Eshgh’ (Love) at a Dubai-based auction.
The auction house, Bonhams, said its first sale in the region had achieved total sales of over $13 million - almost three times the amount expected, with 94% of the lots sold.
However, it’s not only local art that you will be able to get your hands on. Galleries are coming to Dubai from across the world, including one Australian entry. Sydney-based Galleries Direct will showcase the work of antipodean artists such as Maree Azzopardi, Jason Benjamin and Tim Maguire. It is also running a seminar on how to make money by investing in art…
So Art Dubai - a cultural event, but one that also will appeal to a more traditional Dubai pursuit - speculation. Now, however, along with buying and selling properties, we can buy and sell the fittings inside them. Who said art can’t be both enjoyable - and profitable?
