Regional attributes and experiences at Art Dubai 2019

Art Dubai is an international fair, which focuses on regional attributes and experiences and this year too I had an inspiring experience. Visiting Art Dubai Fair always brings new experiences and things that inspires you and make you wonder. Featuring 92 galleries from 42 countries that were exhibiting works by more than 500 artists who represented 80 nationalities, the 13th Art Dubai Fair at the Dubai's iconic holiday resort Madinat Jumeirah offered a wide array of creative styles and concerns.

The four day Art Dubai 2019 fair celebrated the diversity of art ran from March 20 to 23 held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

International collectors and art lovers discover modern and contemporary art from faraway parts of the world. People find new things that interested them particularly works by artists from the Middle East and South Asia. The fair was as usual divided into three sections as “Contemporary Art”, “Modern Art” and “Residents Art”.

The fair was dedicated to culture and contemporary art and foster as well as boost talent from Middle East, North Africa and South Asia (MENASA) region. Thus the artistic talent exists in the vast region got a platform to excel their artistic journey into the global stage.

"We aim to provide visitors to the 2019 fair a new experience by changing the gallery hall structure to allow for a more curated presentation with larger booths, enable a more cohesive reading of the different works on show, and highlight one of Art Dubai's key focal points - art from and focused on the Global South. With this new format, we received a record number of gallery applications and we are delighted to welcome both long-time returning galleries as well as newcomers, including first-time exhibitors from Cameroon and Colombia," commented Art Dubai's Artistic Director Pablo del Val.

In this edition of the fair Bawwaba gallery section was inaugurated, the Arabic word means 'gateway'. This section focused on different geographies and viewpoints from new markets and features solo presentations of works produced specifically for the fair about immigration, identity and socioeconomics by artists or galleries from the Global South. The programme-cum-gallery section Residents, a project inviting international artists for a six to eight-week residency in the UAE to produce new work and immerse themselves in the local art scene, this year it specifically focused on Latin America. Offered one-person exhibitions Latin American artists were invited to spend up to eight weeks making work to be exhibited at the fair in select studios in Dubai. The artists created works by merging their distinct artistic practices with their surroundings. Thus the final works presented the amalgamation of artist's home country and the resident country.

Also this year 69 Contemporary and Modern galleries participated presenting their diverse works reflecting the new structure of the fair. This time Modern art was displayed in a specific designated area, allowing for a better reading of the art history and contextualization of Contemporary art from the region. The fair featured a prominent line-up of first-time exhibitors from the region and beyond. The talk programmes - the Modern symposium and the Global Art Forum now took place in the Modern section.

Hence the Art Dubai Modern was a perfect place to know styles, influences and practices of influential modernists and the cultural landscape of the 20th century. While talks on lives, works and cultural impact of modernists from the Middle East, South Asia and Africa were a delight for art lovers.

The art fair also served as an education venue that provided opportunity for the children as well as art students to gain first hand knowledge about art practices around the world and also set goals for themselves. Thus everybody from art graduates, art collectors to art enthusiasts has something for their interest and information at the fair.