Art Dubai 2023: Building Bridges

15.08.2023

Dubai will host the 16th international Art Dubai modern art exhibition fair, featuring both renowned and promising talents from all over the world

From 1st to 5th March, Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai will host the 16th international Art Dubai modern art exhibition fair, featuring both renowned and promising talents from all over the world. Maturing the local art market, the event increases the importance of the region as the gateway to the Global South. Across its gallery sections, annual artist commissions as well as year-round collector and education programmes, Art Dubai champions, coming from every corner of the Global South provide a relevant and increasingly important alternative to mainstream, largely Western-led narratives. Art Dubai is 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.

Launched in 2007, Art Dubai is a leading global platform for Middle East’s and Global South’s artists. Its 16th edition will present over 120 participants from more than 40 countries and six continents in four gallery sections: Contemporary, Modern, Bawwaba, and Art Dubai Digital. The gallery programme is complemented with newly commissioned artwork by the region’s leading artists, extensive multidisciplinary talks, and an education programme. The Fair’s five days will be packed with all sorts of exciting events – lectures, excursions, conferences, installations, and artist-led workshops for children and teenagers, to name just a few.

Art Dubai’s aim is building bridges between the worlds of art and technology as well as exploring the ways artists utilise new immersive techniques to push the boundaries of traditional art. The Art Dubai Digital will feature an extensive multi-strand conference, talks, and an education programme. Artists from six continents will present their works across a broad spectrum of digital media. Among others, the 2023 Highlights will include projects like Quantum Art (Los Angeles) and such galleries as The Window Project (Tbilisi), The Afrofuturism (Ikoyi, Lagos), THE GALLERIA CONTINUA (San Gimignano, Beijing, Les Moulins, Havana, Rome, São Paulo, Paris, Dubai), The NFT Asia (Singapore), The Unit London (London), The UAE NFT (Dubai), and The MORROW Collective.

I can see whether things fit in space and how prop- erty can be transformed. I’m actually pretty good at this

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Dubai is rapidly developing into a global financial and technological hub. Now, the booming city that many generations from all over the world call home will welcome 16 first-time exhibitors, including The Art: Con- cept (Paris), The Barakat Contemporary (Seoul), The First Floor Gallery (Harare), The kó (Lagos), The Piedras (Buenos Aires), The Shrine Empire (New Delhi), The Gallerie Barbara Thumm (Berlin), and others. There will be more South Asian and African galleries than ever before, 12 galleries returning to Art Dubai after a hiatus, THE AL- BAREH ART GALLERY (Manama), The Ruth Benzacar Galería de Arte (Buenos Aires), The Chemould Prescott Road (Mumbai), The Taymour Grahne Projects (London), The GVCC (Casablanca), The Octo- ber Gallery (London), and The Project 88 (Mumbai) among them.

The 2023 Art Dubai’s edition will also feature 21 locally-based galleries, more than ever before too, reflecting the continuous growth of Dubai’s artistic ecosystem and the Emirate’s increasing importance as a global creative and cultural centre.

Held at Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, in partnership with A.R.M. Holding and The Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) as its strategic partner, Art Dubai is sponsored by Swiss Wealth Management Group Julius Baer.