This year’s Abu Dhabi Art, scheduled for 19 to 23 November, has more than 140 galleries from 37 countries for its 17th edition. Last year the total was 104, and that itself was the largest number to date.
The press release says “the fair has become the largest in the region”, which might well be accurate; Art Dubai’s March edition had around 120, and that was about the same as the previous year. DCT Abu Dhabi’s chair Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak chipped in with “the fair has evolved into the region’s most influential platform for art and ideas”, which Art Dubai might take issue with. Certainly Abu Dhabi’s 40 percent increase in exhibitors, and the presence of some big names like Pace, Richard Saltoun and ATHR, does suggest that something significant is going on.
That something is obviously a maturing art market in the UAE in general, with strong Abu Dhabi government investment in the creative and cultural industries. There’s a buzz about the place, especially as gallerists see opportunities there. Abu Dhabi Art has traditionally been associated with sales to the royal family and its associates, but there does seem to be a broadening of the base as institutional and private investors locally see opportunities for investment and also in demonstrating something about their confidence, judgement, and espousing of soft power.
From the outside, Abu Dhabi Art has always had a non-commercial feel. Not many sales-oriented art fairs are owned by an government entity, after all, and Abu Dhabi Art has always had a part to play in fostering the Emirates’ ambitions and burnishing its reputation. In practice this has meant that the organisers can work on curatorial projects beyond the sales floor. As fair director Dyala Nusseibeh said, “Our curatorial focus continues to centre under-represented art histories and foster equity in global art narratives through the platform of the fair”.
For instance, this time that includes ‘curated Focus sectors’ (invited/supported exhibitors) for Nigeria (seven galleries) and Modern Türkiye (three galleries, showcasing rarely seen works by modern masters – Fahrelnissa Zeid, Burhan Doğançay, Gülsün Karamustafa and Cengiz Çekil). There’s a strong showing of galleries presenting Khaleeji artists, too, and even if you’re not shopping it would be worth visiting to check out works by the likes of Hassan Sharif and Mohammed Kazem (Gallery Isabelle), Joud Fahmy and, Alymamah Rashed (Hunna Art), and Nasser Al Yousif (Albareh) – but there are several others to see too.
Incidentally, the Manarat al Saadiyat needs some extra space to accommodate the fair’s growth. Aldar is back as leading Partner for the fair and will unveil a newly repurposed space at the entrance to the Manarat called Aldar Hall. This will host galleries in the Gulf Focus section plus those from across West Asia and North Africa.
The full list of the fair sections and the participating galleries is here.
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