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Emirates Woman
15-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Emirates Woman
Art Dubai plays a pivotal role in transforming the region's art scene
Benedetta Ghione, Executive Director at Art Dubai, on how Art Dubai creates high-impact art. Can you elaborate on the initiative that is Art Dubai? Art Dubai is the most significant global art gathering in the Middle East, and for the 2025 edition, the fair will spotlight around 120 galleries from over 40 countries across our four distinct gallery sections including Contemporary, Digital, Modern and Bawwaba. From performances, installations and experimental commissions from the likes of Mohammed Kazem, Héctor Zamora and Ania Soliman to talks as part of the Global Art Forum and the Digital Art Summit, there's so much to see and experience during the fair from April 18 to April 2025 and preview days on 16 and 17 April. Plus, we support the arts and culture community year-round with many initiatives including the A.R.M Holding Children's Programme and our professional development programme Campus Art Dubai, where we support aspiring art professionals. How has Art Dubai evolved since it first began? From our beginnings nearly 20 years ago, we have evolved into more than a week-long art fair. Art Dubai is now a major meeting point for the global art community of artists, collectors and institutions. As an incubator for a new generation of artists, we embrace an institutional responsibility to lead in innovation and thought leadership with arts and culture. Since we launched, we remain committed to giving a platform to artists from lesser represented geographies of the world, and approximately 76 percent of this year's programme is drawn from MENA / South Asia. Can you expand on the key highlights from this year's programme? Art Dubai is always evolving, and 2025 marks an evolution of the fair. First up, we're launching a new programme with Alserkal Avenue, kicking off with renowned Mexican artist Héctor Zamora. Known for his bold, site-specific works, he's bringing to Art Dubai a powerful performance exploring transformation and liberation; the performances at the fair will be complemented by a site-specific installation at Alserkal Avenue. We are also continuing to place strong emphasis on digital art and the impact of new technologies on creative practice. In the Digital Summit, themed 'After the Technological Sublime', under the direction of Art Dubai Digital 2025 curator Gonzalo Herrero Delicado, we will unpack how AI and digital art are pushing creative boundaries. We're expecting one of the most dynamic editions yet, with bigger ideas, deeper conversations and even more ways to experience Art Dubai. Our Modern section offers something quite different than anywhere else in the world and this year sees its expansion to Latin American for the first time. Venezuelan artist Darío Pérez Flores' (Mark Hachem) work will reflect common concerns and empathies between Latin America and West Asia and North Africa. 'Art Dubai has established itself as an important institutional platform and a catalyst for Dubai's cultural economy' 'The New New Normal' is a thought-provoking theme for this year's Global Art Forum. What key discussions and ideas will it explore? This year the Global Art Forum will examine how constant change reshapes our world, making everyday life feel as unusual and unpredictable as science fiction. Throughout its nearly 20 years, the Global Art Forum has always been ahead of its time and is a hub for cultural dialogue and innovation. This year, it's commissioned by Shumon Basar and curated by Y7 – the UK-based post-disciplinary duo Hannah Cobb and Declan Colquitt – so expect sharp insights and big ideas from some of today's leading thinkers, technologists, artists and forecasters. In an era of rapid digital transformation, how does Art Dubai ensure that technological innovation is balanced with artistic integrity? From early digital art pioneers to new emerging names, Art Dubai Digital has shown the evolution in this art form over the years. We are seeing huge growth in digital art with the artists expanding our very understanding and definition of contemporary art and culture. You will see pieces examining how artists and creative practitioners are working with advanced technologies particularly AI, virtual reality and augmented reality, interrogating the key environmental, social and political challenges of our time. How does Art Dubai play a pivotal role in the UAE as an incubator for creative talent? Art Dubai is a catalyst and anchor point for the rapid growth of the UAE and the wider region's art scene and creative economy which has evolved into a meeting point for international art collectors and the creative community. The development of Dubai's cultural scene, the dynamism of the city and the rich communities of artists and creatives that call Dubai home, is reflected in the eclectic line-up at this year's fair. We have 23 Dubai galleries and some inspiring local artists including Sara Al Haddad, Sara Ahli and Faris AbdullaAlshafar at Aisha Alabbar; and Hassan Sharif and Mohammed Kazem at Gallery Isabelle. Outside of the fair, the Dubai Collection, an initiative of Dubai Culture & Arts Authority and managed by Art Dubai, is the first institutional art collection for the emirate of Dubai and is an initiative that further enhances Dubai's artistic influence and reach. Containing over 1000 pieces of work, the Collection includes artwork from private collections based in Dubai and the wider region. Whilst maintaining focus on the Middle East, the Dubai Collection is an international collection with no geographical restrictions, and artists from more than 40 countries are currently represented. How will this year's summit change the way we think about art and technology? From early digital art pioneers to new emerging names, Art Dubai Digital has shown the evolution in this art form over the years. When we launched this new gallery section four years ago, Art Dubai was the first and only major international fair with a dedicated digital section. This year's Art Dubai Digital Summit will offer thought-provoking conversations on ecological activism in media art, the hidden biases in artificial intelligence, and what the future holds for museums in an increasingly digital world. Through public talks, lectures and breakout sessions, museum directors, curators, artists and tech innovators will share insights on where we're headed and what's at stake. This year we have several digital installations and hybrid works – phygital or works that are digital but in contemporary sections – showing how artists are integrating digital elements in traditional art pieces and changing how we think of the two mediums. For example, Egyptian/Polish/American artist Ania Soliman and her work Kahrabaa, takes its title from the Arabic for 'electricity'. As a large-scale, site-specific installation, it traces complex interconnections between technology, nature, and memory and presents five-metre-high canvases that blend technological and organic motifs captured in a series of performative acts involving artificial and real plants being thrown onto the canvases. Pioneering kinetic sculptor BREAKFAST will debut a large-scale interactive installation, Carbon Wake, and this first-of-its-kind kinetic artwork will take centre stage at the main entrance of the Digital gallery section. Alfred Basbous, Le mysterieux, Ed.8, 1991, Bronze, 46.5 x 21 x 16 cm, Courtesy of Alfred Basbous Foundation How do you see blockchain, AI, and immersive technology influencing the future of Art Dubai Digital? Curator Gonzalo's theme for the 2025 Art Dubai Digital section 'After the Technological Sublime', brings together artists and creatives who are using digital technologies to address the challenges that humanity and the planet are facing today. Through their pieces, the artists raise critical questions and demonstrate the role digital technology has today and in the future. This year we have focused on artists active in artificial intelligence, virtual, and augmented reality, and other technological advances to interrogate some of the key environmental, social, and political challenges of our time. How is Art Dubai shaping the region's role in the global art conversation? Art Dubai remains the most significant global art gathering in the Middle East, and our regional and international reach providesartists and galleries a global platform to connect with international audiences, fostering dialogue and new opportunities on a global scale. This year, we have 67 cities represented from across 39 countries. Over the years, Art Dubai has established itself as an important institutional platform and a catalyst for Dubai's cultural economy, playing a key role in shaping its artistic landscape. This is The Design Issue – tell us more about art that has design appeal? The presentations for this year will encompass a diverse variety of mediums – from textile-based art, marble and resin sculptures, to glass wall pieces. French artist Joana Vasconcelos, whose textile sculptures are part of an ongoing series wrapping animals in handmade cotton crochet and five needle lace, is inspired by the ceramic's artwork of Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro (1846 – 1905), one of the most renowned Portuguese artists of the 19th century. Thomas Brambilla Gallery is bringing American sculptor, Bryan Hunt, and his series of wall pieces to this year's edition of Art Dubai. – For more on luxury lifestyle, news, fashion and beauty follow Emirates Woman on Facebook and Instagram Images: Supplied
Web Release
08-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Web Release
ART DUBAI ANNOUNCES, PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS FOR 2025 EDITION
Art Dubai today announces the first details of its programming and partnerships for the 2025 edition, reaffirming the fair's commitment to supporting and developing Dubai's cultural ecosystem. The 2025 edition of Art Dubai takes place at Madinat Jumeirah from 18 – 20 April, with invitation-only previews on 16 and 17 April. Since its foundation in 2007, Art Dubai has played an important institutional role in the growth of the local and regional cultural scenes, shaping and delivering high-impact cultural programming through long-term, year-round partnerships with institutions, business and government. Art Dubai's 2025 programme demonstrates the fair's commitment to providing significant commissioning opportunities for local and international artists; convening the world's brightest creative minds through innovative talks and conference programming; and supporting scholarship and professional development programmes to develop the region's future cultural leaders. Programme highlights for Art Dubai 2025 will include: A new series of performances and site-specific interventions by Mexican artist Héctor Zamora , marking the launch of a new multi-year co-commissioning partnership between Art Dubai and Alserkal Avenue A major new digital commission by leading Emirati artist Mohammed Kazem , presented by Julius Baer A series of experiential commissions and installations examining the transformation of nature through technology and human experience, including site-specific works by Ania Soliman and Total Arts at the Courtyard A series of new site-specific digital installations debuting at Art Dubai Digital, including by Ouchhh Studio, Breakfast, Jacopo Di Cera and Hybrid Xperience The first details of Art Dubai's flagship transdisciplinary summit, the Global Art Forum , entitled 'The New New Normal', commissioned by Shumon Basar, and curated by Y7 The second edition of Art Dubai's Digital Summit , entitled 'After the Technological Sublime' These initiatives are an important complement to Art Dubai's diverse gallery programme, which this year comprises more than 120 exhibitors, including dedicated sections curated by Magalí Arriola and Nada Shabout (Art Dubai Modern); Gonzalo Herrero Delicado (Art Dubai Digital); and Mirjam Varadinis (Bawwaba). Pablo del Val, Art Dubai's Artistic Director commented: 'For nearly two decades, Art Dubai has played two complementary roles, as the region's leading commercial art platform and as a unique institution that is rooted in and significantly contributes to the local cultural ecosystem. This year's programme continues this long-term approach, working in partnership with local institutions, business and government to create new opportunities for artists, and enhancing Dubai's reputation as a centre of innovation and thought leadership. We are proud to be a convener of the brightest minds and a meeting point for the diverse, global creative communities that we represent, those building the region's cultural infrastructure, and the increasing number of people who call Dubai home.' Art Dubai is held under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The fair is held in partnership with A.R.M. Holding. It is sponsored by Swiss Wealth Manager Julius Baer. Art Dubai's exclusive Watch and Jewellery partner is Piaget. Culturally driven lifestyle developer HUNA is a partner of Art Dubai. The Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) is the strategic partner of Art Dubai and Art Dubai Digital. Madinat Jumeirah is the home of Art Dubai. Further details on Art Dubai's 2025 programme here View the list of Art Dubai 2025 participating galleries here EDUCATION A.R.M. Holding Children's Programme 2025 Artists Announced The A.R.M. Holding Children's Programme is the UAE's largest cultural education initiative, having reached more than 30,000 children since its launch in 2021. This year marks the 5th edition of the programme which will, for the first time, feature a collaboration between two artists: Peju Alatise, a widely recognised contemporary African artist who represented Nigeria at the 2017 Venice Biennale; and Alia Hussain Lootah, an Emirati artist, educator and co-founder of Medaf Studio in Dubai. Launching at Art Dubai before expanding in schools across all seven Emirates, their co-produced programme will celebrate local ecosystems, explore ecologies and question our interactions with our surroundings through different artistic lenses. It will also address the cultural significance of water in the UAE's landscapes, guiding children to examine our essential connection with this crucial resource and its creative applications in art. The programme is a cornerstone of A.R.M Holding's ongoing support for culture and education, empowering the next generation through innovative cultural initiatives. COMMISSIONS AND INSTALLATIONS Art Dubai Commissions This year's Art Dubai Commissions programme will explore transformation, liberation and the interplay between humanity and materials. Known for his site-specific interventions Mexican artist Héctor Zamora will present a new series of performances and site-specific interventions, including new sculptural pieces and performative group actions that involve performers interacting with terracotta objects. Each of the works is an exploration of symbolism through clay vessels, and the ritual dimension of the performances offer further reflection on human culture and social and natural dynamics. Performances at Art Dubai will be complemented by a site-specific installation by the artist at Alserkal Avenue. This marks the start of a new multi-year partnership between the two organisations, co-commissioning artists whose practices are rooted in performance. A series of digital artworks will debut at the fair, responding to Art Dubai Digital's theme 'After the Technological Sublime' and explore how human-made creations may inspire admiration of human achievement, but also provoke anxiety as these systems may surpass our control and divert attention from pressing environmental, social, cultural and political issues. Following their successful debut in 2024, Ouchhh Studio will return to Art Dubai this year, presenting MotherEarth, a large-scale AI-driven data sculpture that transforms raw climate data—including air quality, CO2 emissions, humidity levels, and temperature changes—into a vivid sensory experience. New York-based data and kinetic artist Breakfast will present Carbon Wake, a digitally controlled kinetic installation that transforms real-time energy data collected from cities around the world. Gathering energy production data from a new city every minute, the work visualises the impact of individual energy choices through motion and interaction. Further highlights will include Retreat , a new work by Italian artist Jacopo Di Cera, reflecting on the urgent need for climate action, capturing the melting of the Brenva glacier in the Italian Alps through an impactful four-metre-high piece with over 30 upcycled screens. Hybrid Xperience, a collective of artists, engineers and creatives based in Dubai, will present a large-scale kaleidoscope inviting audiences to visualise their dreams using artificial intelligence. Taking its title from the Arabic for 'electricity', Kahrabaa, is a monumental site-specific installation by Ania Soliman that traces complex interconnections between technology, nature, and memory. The work was created in response to Beirut's ongoing energy crisis, and presents five-metre-high canvases that blend technological and organic motifs captured in a series of performative acts involving artificial and real plants being thrown onto the canvases. Total Arts at the Courtyard (Fereydoun Ave, Shaqayeq Arabi and Dariush Zandi) will present Reconstructed Landscape, a new site-specific installation. Their latest collaborative project transforms fragments of found objects from the mountains and urban environments of the UAE into an imagined terrain. Through photo collages, sculptures and assemblages, the work will carry traces of each object's origins, forming a landscape that is both rooted in reality, and shaped by imagination. The work invites reflection on the fragile relationship between humans and their environment, urging viewers to consider how we shape, and are shaped by, the world around us. New digital commission by Mohammed Kazem, presented by Julius Baer Swiss Wealth Manager Julius Baer, lead partner of Art Dubai, will present a newly commissioned digital installation by Emirati artist, Mohammed Kazem titled Directions (Merging) – ??????? (?????) . In this installation, Kazem places the coordinates of Dubai at the centre of the space, drawing the visitors to converge as well – a microcosm of the city and the fair. The viewer is then surrounded by three walls containing a collection of static coordinates lining every inch, placed against the backdrop of moving waves, highlighting the feeling of this convergence and borderless flow. The installation speaks to the seamless exchange of resources, the fluidity of nature, and the interconnectedness of distant shores, mirroring Dubai's evolution as a future city and a hub for global communities. This commission is part of Julius Baer's 'Future Cities' next generation theme – looking at the enormous growth potential of cities and how they are the engines of the global economy. This also marks Julius Baer's 10-year partnership with Art Dubai, and the wealth manager's third major digital commission at Art Dubai, following successful collaborations with Krista Kim in 2024 and Refik Anadol in 2023. Piaget to debut a new commission by Alyamamah Rashed Piaget returns to Art Dubai 2025 with a special commission by Kuwaiti artist Alyamamah Rashed , which will feature in a new exhibition titled 'Play of Shape' celebrating the Maison's creativity, energy and craftsmanship through a showcase of their daring jewellery and watch collections. The commissioned piece, to be created in Alyamamah's distinctive surrealist style, will debut at Art Dubai and draw inspiration from Piaget's signature styles that are anchored in the vibrant creativity and the social and artistic revolutionary ethos of the 1960s and 1970s. ART DUBAI 2025 TALKS AND CONFERENCE PROGRAMMING Global Art Forum 2025: 'The New New Normal' The largest arts conference in the Middle East and Africa, Art Dubai's Global Art Forum will this year examine how change keeps changing, often making everyday life feel more unsettling and unpredictable than science fiction. The 2025 edition, entitled 'The New New Normal,' will offer a timely exploration of the cultures and economies that are transforming chaos into progress. Sessions — featuring many of the world's foremost thinkers, technologists, artists, and forecasters — will cover transformations in quantum computing, Artificial Intelligence, gamified economics, cultural geopolitics, beauty and luxury industries and the never-ending reach of social media into our personal and political realms. The programme will be hosted by Global Art Forum Commissioner Shumon Basar and is curated by Y7, the UK-based post-disciplinary duo Hannah Cobb and Declan Colquitt, who specialise in integrating AI for audio-visual works and cultural criticism through their writing. Speakers will draw on a diverse range of expertise and backgrounds and will include celebrated architect Rem Koolhaas, artist Lawrence Abu Hamdan and Postpostpost. Second Annual Digital Summit Taking place over three days and building on the platform established by Art Dubai Digital, the second edition of the Digital Summit at Art Dubai brings together international and local industry leaders to explore the theme 'After the Technological Sublime'. Under the direction of Art Dubai Digital's curator Gonzalo Herrero Delicado, the summit offers a unique opportunity to discuss and debate how art and technology are addressing critical environmental, social, cultural, and political challenges. The programme will feature public talks, lectures, and breakout sessions, with contributions from museum directors, curators, artists, and experts shaping the global digital art landscape. The summit programme will address questions around ecological activism in media art; bias in artificial intelligence; and a focus on the future of museums in the digital age. The second Digital Summit is in strategic partnership with Dubai Culture. Collector Talks Art Dubai Collector Talks offers a platform for collectors within the Art Dubai network to discuss their passions, idiosyncrasies, unique perspectives, and provide intimate glimpses into their personal lives and inner worlds. This series fosters connections among like-minded individuals while offering inspiration to those who aspire to a deeper engagement with collecting. This year's discussions will explore questions that are particularly relevant to our times, including whether collectors are the same anywhere in the world; whether the practice of collecting, along with its motivations, has shifted over recent history. The sessions will also explore whether collectors today think beyond personal gratification, including whether the notion of 'impact collecting' shapes their decisions when acquiring works and fostering relationships with artists? Modern Talks Art Dubai Modern Talks is an annual series of conversations that support the fair's commitment to scholarship and under-explored art histories. A platform for discursive conversations sparked by Art Dubai Modern, whose 2025 edition is curated by Dr. Nada Shabout and Magalí Arriola, this year's programme will explore the cultural affinities and solidarities between West Asia, North Africa and Latin America, delving into shared experiences of navigating new national identities and examining how heritage has served as a tool for artists and scholars to address contemporary realities. Art Dubai's Collector and Modern Talks are presented in partnership with Dubai Collection, the city's first institutional collection of Modern and Contemporary art. Further talks strands will include a new Conversations with Artists series, exploring the practice, stories and achievements of international and regional artists featured at this year's fair. Additionally, a new series of intimate conversations, presented by HUNA , will delve into the lives and practices of leading cultural voices in the UAE A detailed day-by-day schedule of Art Dubai's extensive talks, workshops and events programme will be available in late March.
Trade Arabia
05-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Trade Arabia
Art Dubai 2025 set to convene brightest creative minds
Art Dubai has announced the first details of its programming and partnerships for the 2025 edition, reaffirming the fair's commitment to supporting and developing Dubai's cultural ecosystem. The 2025 edition of Art Dubai takes place at Madinat Jumeirah from April 18 to 20, with invitation-only previews on April 16 and 17. Art Dubai's 2025 programme demonstrates the fair's commitment to providing significant commissioning opportunities for local and international artists; convening the world's brightest creative minds through innovative talks and conference programming; and supporting scholarship and professional development programmes to develop the region's future cultural leaders, it said. Programme highlights for Art Dubai 2025 will include: • A new series of performances and site-specific interventions by Mexican artist Héctor Zamora, marking the launch of a new multi-year co-commissioning partnership between Art Dubai and Alserkal Avenue • A major new digital commission by leading Emirati artist Mohammed Kazem, presented by Julius Baer • A series of experiential commissions and installations examining the transformation of nature through technology and human experience, including site-specific works by Ania Soliman and Total Arts at the Courtyard • A series of new site-specific digital installations debuting at Art Dubai Digital, including by Ouchhh Studio, Breakfast, Jacopo Di Cera and Hybrid Xperience • The first details of Art Dubai's flagship transdisciplinary summit, the Global Art Forum, entitled 'The New New Normal', commissioned by Shumon Basar, and curated by Y7 • The second edition of Art Dubai's Digital Summit, entitled 'After the Technological Sublime' These initiatives are an important complement to Art Dubai's diverse gallery programme, which this year comprises more than 120 exhibitors, including dedicated sections curated by Magalí Arriola and Nada Shabout (Art Dubai Modern); Gonzalo Herrero Delicado (Art Dubai Digital); and Mirjam Varadinis (Bawwaba). Pablo del Val, Art Dubai's Artistic Director, commented: 'For nearly two decades, Art Dubai has played two complementary roles, as the region's leading commercial art platform and as a unique institution that is rooted in and significantly contributes to the local cultural ecosystem. This year's programme continues this long-term approach, working in partnership with local institutions, business and government to create new opportunities for artists, and enhancing Dubai's reputation as a centre of innovation and thought leadership. We are proud to be a convener of the brightest minds and a meeting point for the diverse, global creative communities that we represent, those building the region's cultural infrastructure, and the increasing number of people who call Dubai home.'
