Abu Dhabi Art Fair is a place where discerning collectors can acquire important modern art works from the Middle East, while also keeping up to date with all the exciting developments in the world of art. The fair is a catalyst for the burgeoning art scene, writes Sree Bhat.

The Abu Dhabi Art Fair, a premier annual art show in the region, will open its doors for its most expansive edition yet from November 20 to 24.

With over 100 galleries from around 30 countries participating, this year’s event promises to be a highlight of the global art calendar.

Held at Manarat Al Saadiyat, the fair is the pinnacle of Abu Dhabi Art’s year-round programme. It goes far beyond the confines of a typical art fair, weaving together public engagement activities, installations, exhibitions, and thought-provoking talks that take place throughout the year across the emirate. It’s not just about selling art; it’s about creating a rich, immersive experience that resonates with both local and international audiences.

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, the event offers a vital platform for galleries to showcase and sell their work. But there’s more: visitors can also explore ambitious installations and site-specific pieces designed to push the boundaries of traditional gallery displays.

The fair’s international reach is undeniable, yet its heart remains firmly rooted in the region, as highlighted by the fair’s Art Director Dyala Nusseibeh, who told Arabian Knight: “While we bring in galleries from all over the world, the essence of Abu Dhabi Art is deeply connected to the Middle East’s rich cultural fabric.”

This year, the fair has appointed an impressive team of six curators to lead the way, each bringing their unique perspectives and expertise. The lineup includes Carine Harmand, Odessa Warren, Lorenzo Fiaschi, Myrna Ayad, Roxane Zand, and Elvira Eevr Djaltchinova-Malets.

With a dazzling mix of exhibitions, artist commissions, and installations spread across Abu Dhabi, this is much more than just an art fair – it’s a cultural journey that promises to leave a lasting impression.

Excerpts from the interview:

What is the focus of Abu Dhabi Art this year?

Abu Dhabi Art is an engine for the local and regional art economy, bringing together galleries, artists, curators and other professionals in the field of culture. The fair generates millions of dirhams worth of sales for galleries each year and is a catalyst for the burgeoning art scene.

Most galleries work toward their booths for months in advance, given the important financial opportunities that the fair provides.

With galleries from over 30 countries participating, we are a meeting point for global cultural practitioners and in this context, we have recently been exploring South-South cultural exchange.

For example, this year we will delve into the historical ties between the Arab world and South America through galleries from both regions participating in the exhibition programmes.

Whilst global in outlook, the identity of the fair remains rooted in the region. We have quite organically come to be a place where local and regional collectors can acquire important modern art works from our part of the world, re-discovering these artists at the fair whilst also keeping up to date with all the exciting work that contemporary artists are producing.

If buttressing a sustainable and globally networked market is at the core of what we do, we also have a strong educational pillar, offering a range of student awards, residencies, prizes and opportunities for youth to participate.

Through our exhibitions we commission more nuanced research relating to the region often offering a new curatorial lens on an artist, art history or movement and contributing to much needed knowledge production and sharing in this sense. Through varied endeavours, our focus is on being a supportive and active participant in the local art eco-system.

How will it be different this time?

In 2016 when I first joined Abu Dhabi Art, the fair had 37 exhibitors participating. This year marks our biggest edition to date, with over 100 galleries participating in the fair from over 30 countries.

The growth in gallery numbers can be attributed to several factors, not least the growth in the number of collectors, the opening of museums on Saadiyat Island with their attendant collections and the announcement of future museums opening soon. 

The calibre of programmes and cultural events that the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi has brought together over the years has meaningfully contributed to this groundswell of interest and investment in the art scene in Abu Dhabi. With this environment in mind, I think of Abu Dhabi as a teenager now (16 years of age in 2024) – more energetic, more experimental and testing different boundaries! It is also more mature in terms of where the conversations around it are going. I think visitors will notice the expanded size and variety of galleries that have come together for this latest edition almost immediately. The energy around these latest developments will be palpable.

How has the show accommodated diverse voices from the art sector?

Each year we invite different curators to contribute with their research or support in the production of exhibitions such as Gateway or Beyond Emerging Artists. We also invite different curators or cultural professionals to bring together galleries in Focus sectors at the fair, with gallery sectors that range from a presentation on Art Histories of Hong Kong (2023) to Modern Female Artists (2023) and this year includes Modern artists from the region alongside, for the first time ever, a section we are calling The Collectors Salon brought together by former Deputy Chairman of Sotheby’s Middle East, Roxane Zand. The Collectors Salon will be dedicated to art, manuscripts and artefacts that span centuries, including, for example, a rare 7th century leaf from a Quran and an Ottoman ceremonial saddlery that once belonged to Sultan Selim III.

In what ways is it helping local and regional artists establish themselves in the global space?

We have several programmes that achieve this, from our Gateway exhibition this year exploring the long-standing cultural ties between South America and the Arab world as well as our Beyond Emerging Artists programme which annually invites three artists from the UAE to create new work for exhibition at Abu Dhabi Art. Our 2023 Beyond Emerging Artists exhibition has since travelled to both Kochi and Venice, the latter during the Venice biennale, whilst our 2023 Gateway exhibition was also shown in Kochi, offering these artists fantastic exposure to new audiences and building on their exhibition histories. 

We are starting to see some very interesting developments in our local and regional art market, a reassessment of the importance of modern and contemporary artists from our part of the world. In future there will be a real attraction, which we are already witnessing, toward our region, in terms of the global markets. The future lies in the hands of our younger generations who will be shaping these potentials.

How is the show boosting confidence among young artists to advance their careers?

First and foremost by providing a platform for them through the participating galleries and giving assurance that it is possible to survive and thrive both financially and in terms of career prospects in taking this path. Alongside that, we bring interesting exhibitions and galleries together in one place providing an opportunity for young artists to learn from best practices and network with peers and with leaders in the field. If a gallery picks up a new artist encountered at the fair (which has happened many times in recent years) we count that as a great success in terms of our impact.