Gulf Art Fair - Hottest Art Fair

Uma Nair

What is an art fair? It is not an exhibition of art assembled for viewing pleasure, like a show in a museum. It is only marginally similar to an exhibition in a commercial gallery. There is no curatorial hand, no theme, no overriding conceit beyond commerce. An art fair is the same as an electronics expo - a trade show that displays goods for sale. Galleries rent out booths (though at least a few galleries were "invited" to Dubai this year) and kit them out with the works of the artists they represent. As for the public, you go, you look, you buy or you don't. The Gulf Art Fair, as such, created a fleeting emporium with $100 million in art on offer. But the hallmarks of the Gulf Art Fair are the younglings with deep penetrating pockets.

There is definitely a very interesting young generation, very striking, very dynamic, many of whom are in their late 20s and early 30s and are poised to become tomorrow's collectors. This generation grew up with money and is able to spend. That said, the art of collecting prescribes patience. "It will take time." More collectors, better galleries and the formation of real institutions in the region, all of this will come, she suggests, and the Gulf Art Fair is part of the process.

As a newspaper reported: participants in the nebulous entity known as the international art world may be forgiven for smarting, like a sting of sour lemon, at the thought of Dubai becoming a major destination in an already overbooked itinerary. There are hundreds of art fairs and biennials to attend every year. A swarm of artists, dealers, collectors, curators and critics gather and disperse for these events, held in cities ranging from New York and Los Angeles to Venice and Moscow to Auckland and Yokohama. There's even Argentina's Biennial at the End of the World in Tierra del Fuego along the way.

What does Dubai, a rapidly expanding and increasingly robust bubble for global capital on steroids, inject into the art world's schedule? Not a critical mass of young and hungry artists. Not a core gallery system fueled on the ambitious of fledgling dealers and upstart curators. Not a cosmopolitan streak bruised by history and the occasional bought of tumult that inspires either sublime or piercing work.

Dubai does, however, have a history of trade, money to burn, a skyrocketing standard (and cost) of living and a fast-paced ethic of conspicuous consumption. The first ever Gulf Art Fair, held in Dubai's Madinat Arena over the weekend and staged in "strategic partnership" with the Dubai International Financial Center, tested out whether those things could actually combine to make art a combustible engine for another niche market in the United Arab Emirates.

The Gulf Art Fair is one of several initiatives exploring the potential of cultural initiatives to generate business activity outside of oil in the United Arab Emirates. The others include the Cultural Village project launched in Dubai last December; the Sharjah Biennial, which opens its eighth edition next month; and a deal signed last week to import a version of the Louvre in France to Abu Dhabi, part of a massive, profit-driven tourism complex.

The Gulf Art Fair, meanwhile, is the brainchild of John Martin, an art dealer who opened a gallery in London for British and Irish art in 1992. For its first outing, the event brought 40 galleries from all over the world together to show and sell their work for three days. Three other events buttressed the fair and padded its commercial motivations with critical analysis, educational pursuit and local flavor.

Sotheby's sponsored an education program, teaching enlisted students about the ins and outs of the art market; developments in contemporary Indian, Arab and Iranian art; and the process of building public and private collections. Meanwhile a host of Indian art galleries are all there for the asking, Arun Vadehra, Amit Judge all collectors turned gallery professionals with deep pockets and  trained keen eyes.