Imagine the Burj Al Arab, the world renowned symbol of Dubai, lit up with an intricate and vibrant swirl of colour, a shining piece of art spreading culture across the emirate.
Now imagine Dubai as a cultural beacon for the Middle East and beyond, drawing in artists and connoisseurs from Europe, Russia, India and the rest of Asia.
That vision is just a few years away, with Dubai set to become one of the world's premiere art markets, according to organisers of the first Gulf Art Fair due to be held in March.
"It will happen here, I am absolutely sure of that," says John Martin, director of the art fair. "Dubai is perfectly positioned and there is a buzz around the place the Dubai Effect. Putting on an event like this would be almost impossible anywhere else in the world, but here it is really easy because of the level of support we have been given." The Gulf Art Fair, under the patronage of Her Highness Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, will bring the work of internationally renowned artists such as Pablo Picasso, Damian Hirst and Patricia Millns, and music legend Brian Eno, to Dubai, together with galleries, collectors and dealers from around the world.
"The response I got when I was approaching people about this fair was amazing," says Martin. "They were queuing up to get work in. This first year we have 40 stands, but it will certainly grow in the future. Dubai is a crazy place and that's something the artists will like they like crazy and they like money, and Dubai has both."
Light spectacle
One of the artists hoping to make a big impression on the city is Argentinian Jorge Orta, who uses highly advanced light projectors to shine complex images on buildings and monuments. His previous work has included lighting up the ancient Inca city of Machu Pichu in the Andes and the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Now he has his sights set on one of the world's most luxurious hotel.
"The Burj Al Arab is the obvious choice it is an exceptional piece of architecture, and most importantly it's a very symbolic building for the city," he says, adding that he has not yet received permission for the project but has had "very positive echoes" from the hotel management.
"It would be perfect. In doing these projects we hope to create a bridge between the contemporary art world and the wider public.Wherever in the world we have created these works there has been
scepticism as to how people would react to them and the response has always been amazing," he says.
Flanked by up to 60 technicians and support staff, Orta decides upon a design before composing the images on a computer and burning them on to Perspex plates that can withstand the heat from powerful projectors.
Factors such as the building's texture, size and distance from the light source are taken into consideration when Orta is developing a light spectacle.
"It is complex, it takes a long time," says the artist. "We normally do one of these every two years, but sometimes we do as many as two in a year. For the art fair we have only a few months, but we can do it.
We invented and developed this technology there is no other team in the world that could do it in this time."
'Good for the city'
Artist Patricia Millns hails from England, but has lived in the Middle East for 25 years and maintains a studio in Dubai. Her Islamic-inspired art has won over a number of sheikhs and her work hangs on the walls of palaces across the UAE. Millns praises the educational programmes run by auction house Sotheby's, which will contribute to the festival atmosphere of the art fair.
"This will be really good for the city. Anyone will be able to come and see art," she says. "When people see that art can take so many forms, when they have art they can walk in to and touch, it will maybe challenge their perception of what art is.
"Most of the Emirati artists around at the moment are from an older generation - it is important to continue to encourage young people to express themselves. Many people are predicting that Dubai will become one of the biggest markets for art in the world, and it will. Dubai can do anything it sets its mind to." Sunny Rahbar is director of The Third Line gallery in Al Quoz, Dubai, one of the local art galleries involved in the fair. She says the event will help educate the UAE about the importance of modern art and will, in the long term, help young Emirati artists who are struggling to make a living.
"There are pockets of art here, but you need to seek them out, make the effort to sit in traffic to get to Sharjah or seek out the galleries in Dubai. Art is not all around you and part of the social consciousness like it is elsewhere," she says.
"That is improving. Dubai is such a young city and things take time to develop. The more that contemporary art reaches people here, the more the market for art develops, it will be easier for Emiratis to make a living as artists." The fair is receiving support both from government and private institutions, and Rahbar says it is vital for more funding to be provided in order to nurture local talent.
Rahbar says: "At the moment there are people leaving art schools here, but there are no artist-in-residence programmes and so on; if people want to make a living from art they have to go abroad. We have exhibitions and projects like the Guggenheim museum in Abu Dhabi, but most of the art is imported.
"At some point that needs to change. There are talented artists here and they need to be able to export their work without necessarily leaving the country." The four-day Gulf Art Fair will be held at the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai from Wednesday, March 7. For more information, visit www.gulfartfair.com
By Gregor McClenaghan
Emirates Today 2006
