All About Art Dubai
Art Dubai, the international art fair, is returning for its 11th edition this March 15-18 at Madinat Jumeirah. The fair will host 93 galleries featuring over 500 artists communicating through different media such as dance, painting, sculpture, food and music.
We’re looking forward to so many events this year. Get acquainted with the 20thcentury histories of the Middle East, South Asia and Africa through Art Dubai Modern’s 15 art galleries, showcasing works from Mumbai, Cairo, Tehran, Ramallah and more.
Art Dubai Contemporary will feature 79 galleries, showcasing painting, sculpture, installation, video, photography and performance. We’re looking forward to seeing Martin Browne’s dreamlike digital artworks, Experimenter’s paintings (below), and Zidoun-Bossuyt’s aluminium mesh and spray-paint sculptures (top).
The Global Art Forum, titled Trading Places and led by Shumon Basar, will bring an exchange of narratives, with a focus on the trade of goods and ideas that shape society. The forum will take place throughout the fair.
The Art Dubai Modern Symposium will bring stories from the region’s key modernist figures: curators, scholars, museum directors and patrons, to celebrate the cultural impact of 20th-century masters from the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia.
If you’re into performance art, check out the Art Dubai Commissions performances (below right) including Iván Argote and Pauline Bastard, Eglé Budvytyté, Manuel Pelmus and Lana Fahmi, with contemporary, modern and interpretive dance. Yasmina Reggad and Lana Fahmi will perform a dance homage to Emirati artist Hassan Shari.
As part of the the Shaikha Manal Little Artists Programme, children between the ages of five and 17 can enjoy hands-on workshops, discovery tours and Expanding Treasures, a project for families.
For a glimpse into the life of Moroccan women, check out Brooklyn-based artist Meriem Bennani’s interactive installation that will include video portraits of Moroccan women. Bennani’s installation, titled Ghariba/
Stranger, will take place at Art Dubai Bar, where there will be a line-up of DJs on March 15 and 16.
Add a surreal touch to your Art Dubai experience with Plaisirs Supremes ,a five-night pop-up at Inked, Alserkal Avenue, from March 13-18. Inspired by Salvador Dali’s cookbook The Les Diners de Galais, the dining event will offer recipes from Dali’s book and other Dali-inspired creations. The event is part of the Art Dubai project The Room: Cooking Liberty. Plaisirs Supremes starts at 8pm but Inked will be open to the public for viewing before 7pm. Dh475 per person, including a five-course dinner and soft drinks. Guests should book beforehand at inked.ae.
81 Designs, an initiative that will kick start on March 17 with a talk with eL Seed, a ‘calligraffiti’ artist renowned for his spraypaint murals that mix traditional Arabic calligraphy and graffiti, is set to showcase artworks recreated by women refugees by using ancient techniques passed down from through generations (left). The initiative is aimed at empowering female refugees by providing them with jobs based on their skills. A short documentary will also be shown as part of the event, held at Julius Baer Lounge in Madinat Jumeirah from 5-6.30pm.
Madinat Jumeirah events are from 4pm-9:30pm on March 16, from 2-9.30pm on March 17, and from noon-6.30pm on March 18. Tickets can be purchased online for Dh50 at 800tickets.com, or at the venue for Dh80. Those under 18 years old and students with valid identification get free entry; artdubai.ae.