Art Dubai 2021
DIFC, Dubai
29 March - 3 April 2021
ART DUBAI 2021 AT DIFC
Photo courtesy of Art Dubai
The Middle East’s leading art fair, Art Dubai stages its 14th edition in a purpose-built venue at the iconic Gate Building in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
Featuring 50 leading Contemporary and Modern galleries from 31 countries visitors to Art Dubai 2021 can discover a diverse selection of artworks, artists and practices, reflecting the multicultural identity of the city along with a curated sculpture park with large-scale installations, featuring works by eight artists including Emirati Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim and Hussain Sharif.
As part of this year’s curatorial projects, Art Dubai also presents a Film Programme comprised of various short films. Screening stations placed along DIFC’s Gate Avenue feature single-channel films produced by 20+ regional and international artists, each thematically categorized to curate a specific experience for the viewer, including: Nature, Journeys, Dystopias, Conversations, Performances and Animations, among others.
Art Dubai’s Artistic Director, Pablo del Val, commented: “We understand culture as a priority and a necessity, even more so after this long pandemic. Our ability to understand the world and connect with it without the filters of a computer screen is more imperative than ever. This edition of Art Dubai invites us to do precisely that, to recover our senses and reactivate them through art.”
Art Dubai operates at the highest COVID-19 safety protocols; alongside standard procedures, including regular testing of participants, the fair has introduced extra precautions to manage capacity and offer a safe and flexible environment for all. These include extending the opening hours, adding an extra fair day and the newly launched Art Dubai App allows visitors to book dedicated time slots in advance to guarantee entry.
The new Art Dubai App also allows visitors to stay up-to-date with the latest news and announcements, explore the exhibiting galleries and artworks, view the full programme of exhibitions and cultural events happenings in galleries and public spaces across the UAE. From family-focused activities to cutting-edge, dynamic programming, a diverse array of activations take place during this week of Art Dubai.
Sculpture Park
A curated Sculpture Park surrounding the DIFC Gate Building features large-scale installations by ten artists including: pioneering conceptual Emirati artists Mohamed Ahmed Ibrahim and Hussain Sharif, Saudi artist Rashed Al Shashai, Iraqi painter and sculptor Dia Al-Azzawi and Algerian sculptor, print-maker and ceramicist Rachid Koraïchi alongside contemporary Mozambican artist Gonçalo Mabunda, Greek conceptual sculptor Costas Varotsos, Indian architect Tarik Currimbhoy, French conceptual artist Bernar Venet and Argentine-French multidisciplinary artist Pablo Reinoso.
Film Programme and 50 Years United Exhibition
As part of this year’s curatorial projects, Art Dubai will present a Film Programme comprised of screening stations located along DIFC’s Gate Avenue, featuring single-channel films produced by over 20 regional and international artists. Each is thematically categorised to curate a specific experience for the viewer that includes: Nature, Journeys, Dystopias, Conversations, Performances and Animations, among others. A station is dedicated to Art Dubai Portraits, an ongoing film series in partnership with BMW Middle East that provides perspectives into the lives and workspaces of artists connected to the fair.
Also in Gate Avenue, a recollective black and white photographic exhibition showcases images dating back to 2 December 1971, taken by Ramesh Shukla and the inspiration behind Art Dubai’s 2021 graphic campaign. 50 Years United is a visual commemoration of the upcoming 50th anniversary of the nation and offers a journey down memory lane, with portraits of the Founding Fathers, vintage landmarks and traditional customs and heritage.
Campus Art Dubai 8.0
Curated by Munira Al Sayegh, an exhibition titled Plants, Animals, Minerals presents the culmination of Campus Art Dubai 8.0, that was supported by Dubai Culture & Arts Authority and hosted by A.R.M. Holding. The latest edition of the six-month seminar and residency programme - providing Emirati and UAE-based artists with educational and professional opportunities - features five selected artists’ responses to the theme of symbiotic life in a parasitic world. The participating artists are: Ameena AlJarman, Layan Attari, Nahla Tabbaa, Zahra Jewanjee, and Zena Adhami.
Ithra Art Prize
The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra) celebrates contemporary art and artists through the Ithra Art Prize. Launched in 2017 in collaboration with Art Dubai, the winning artwork premieres at the yearly event. This is the third iteration of the prize which is awarded annually to Saudi and Saudi-based contemporary artists and aims to fund, promote and showcase them globally. The latest winner is the Saudi artist Fahad bin Naif, for his installation ‘Rakhm’, which means ‘incubation’ in Arabic. Unveiled at Art Dubai 2021, it is the first opportunity for the public to enjoy it. The installation aims to conceptually preserve a nursery as both an urban typology and its ‘incubatees’, as an environmental micro-economy. Mirroring both the sensitivity and urgency of the content, safely and carefully incubating an intelligent green infrastructure, Rakhm is a polytunnel nursery that mimics the existing urban nurseries in the Kingdom with endemic plants and flowers instead of conventional foreign houseplants.
Art Dubai’s 2021 programme also includes new exhibitions by key partners of the fair; Switzerland is presenting an outdoor installation titled Swiss Fog Magnified, featuring over one thousand crystal glass spheres and reinterpreting a highlight that awaits visitors in the Swiss Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai. Commissioned by Maison Ruinart to express his vision of the brand, its heritage and savoir-faire, British artist David Shrigley presents a series of indoor and outdoor artworks with an offbeat and unrelenting sense of humour, acting as an effervescent eye-opener to environmental concerns. Luxury Italian brand Salvatore Ferragamo will stage an activation, showcasing their Spring/ Summer 2021 collection and integrating a visual experience and short film shot in Milan by award-winning filmmaker Luca Guadagnino.
Art Dubai 2021 Participating Galleries
+2, Tehran
Gallery 1957, Accra
Addis Fine Art, Addis Ababa/London
Aicon Art, New York
Akka Project, Venice/Dubai
Galería Albarrán Bourdais, Madrid
Gallery ArtBeat, Tbilisi
Athr Gallery, Jeddah
Ayyam Gallery, Dubai
Saleh Barakat Gallery, Beirut
Circle Art Gallery, Nairobi/London
Comptoir des Mines Galerie, Marrakech
GALLERIA CONTINUA, San Gimignano/Beijing/Les Moulins/Havana/Rome/São Paulo/Paris
Custot Gallery Dubai, Dubai
Dastan’s Basement, Tehran
ELMARSA GALLERY, Dubai/Tunis
Experimenter, Kolkata
Eye for Art, Houston
Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde, Dubai
Gazelli Art House, Baku/London
Hafez Gallery, Jeddah
Leila Heller Gallery, Dubai/New York
Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery,London/Berlin
Lawrie Shabibi, Dubai
Mark Hachem, Beirut/Paris/New York
Gallery Misr, Cairo
Meem Gallery, Dubai
Mono Gallery, Riyadh
Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Paris/Brussels
PERROTIN, Hong Kong/Seoul/Tokyo/Shanghai/Paris/New York
Giorgio Persano, Turin
Perve Galeria, Lisbon
RONCHINI, London
The Rooster Gallery, Vilnius
SANATORIUM, Istanbul
SARADIPOUR Art Gallery, Los Angeles
Galerie—Peter—Sillem, Frankfurt
Sfeir-Semler Gallery, Beirut/Hamburg
Silverlens, Manila
Stems Gallery, Brussels
TAFETA, London/Lagos
TEMPLON, Paris/Brussels
The Third Line, Dubai
Tropical Futures Institute, Cebu City
Vermelho, São Paulo
Vin Gallery, Ho Chi Minh City
Yusto/Giner, Marbella
Zawyeh Gallery, Ramallah/Dubai
Salwa Zeidan Gallery, Abu Dhabi
Zidoun-Bossuyt Gallery, Luxembourg
Isabelle van den Eynde, founder of Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde (Dubai) commented: “I have always believed in the energy of Art Dubai and, in spite of everything, this year is no exception. Art Dubai has remained faithful to its vision. They have persevered. I am confident the upcoming event, in its new format, will dynamize the scene yet again.”
Kristin Hjellegjerde, founder of Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery (London, Berlin, Nevlunghavn) commented: “In these times we have to find alternative ways to keep growing. Art Dubai’s innovative approach and commitment to make the fair happen works very well for us. Having taken part in many previous editions of the fair, we trust the team to make this a great success, whether circumstances mean we can be there in person or not”
Nathalie Obadia, founder of Galerie Nathalie Obadia (Paris, Brussels) commented: “The city of Dubai has strengthened its position as a strategic crossroads thanks to ambitious fine art projects in the Middle East. As Art Dubai has become an essential fair in the region and one of the few to be held this spring, it was vital in relation to the promotion of our artists to be at this rendezvous.”
ART DUBAI
