For Hisham Samawi, this is the most exciting week of the year.
The opening of Art Dubai, the region's biggest art showcase, marks the culmination of about six months of painstaking preparation for the managing partner of Ayyam Gallery.
He is just one of hundreds of art dealers displaying their most eye-catching works at the annual event, which opened to the public yesterday at Dubai's Madinat Jumeirah.
"We are not here just trying to sell, we are here trying to show people amazing art," Samawi says.
Having had a sneak peak at this year's exhibitions, 7DAYS can vouch that they are indeed "amazing". But while many of the thousands of visitors expected at Art Dubai before it closes on Saturday evening are there to have their spirits lifted, a good few others will be attending in the hope it is their finances that are sent skywards.
For there's no doubt art is now big business in the UAE. One of Art Dubai's biggest backers is Abraaj Capital, the region's largest private equity group. It supports five artists each year through its own art prize.
But it's not just huge financial institutions who are supporting new talent.
Speaking to 7DAYS, Ayyam Gallery's Samawi (below) says his journey to this year's event started several years ago when, as a budding entrepreneur with an MBA from Columbia University under his belt, he and his cousin chose to support 12 artists in Syria. Their original gallery in Damascus has been joined by one in Beirut and two in Dubai - one in Al Quoz and another in the DIFC.
Samawi's interest in opening a gallery was sparked as he wandered around the inaugural Art Dubai in 2007.
"I remember I had no background in art, no interest in it as a collector, but I remember going to the first Art Dubai, then going to the Abu Dhabi Art Fair, paying attention, and just starting to see more and more," he says.
"The biggest hurdle is always buying your first piece. Once you buy your first piece, then you kind of realise that it is not this crazy, intimidating world."
There has been a glut of new galleries open in Dubai in recent years, but Samawi says he doesn't see them as competition - instead they are growing Dubai into a "proper market" and attracting foreign collectors.
"If you only have two or three galleries, I mean what are they going to come for?" he asks.
But what about the first-time buyer anxious about putting their cash into a piece only to see the fickle art crowd move on to the next fad?
Samawi has a story for those hesitating over spending a couple of thousand dollars on art.
"Let's say you put it in your living room and every morning you wake up, have a cup of coffee and you look at your painting and you go 'wow, I like that piece'. Every morning, cup of coffee, sit down, and look at your piece. After a year, the cup of coffee costs as much as the painting does. But the coffee has gone and you still have the painting," he says.
Samawi simply buys the art he likes .
"Ask questions," he advises. "Look around for something you like, get information about it and really ask every question you have about it. I mean, there really is no stupid question when it comes to art."
HOW TO BE SMART WITH ART
Ayyam Gallery managing partner Hisham Samawi says there are three rules he swears by when it comes to buying art:
"Definitely buy something that you like. Buy with your eyes and not your ears - don't buy because someone tells you this is great piece, or it is going to be this or it is going to be that. Because at the end of the day you have to live with this thing. You should enjoy it, you should consume it, you should get value out of it, every single day."
"Buy something within your means that you can afford. So don't mortgage your house to buy some artwork that you like, or whatever, because at the end of the day it is going to stress you out.
"Buy something from a reputable gallery or an artist that has a good track record. If you care about the investment value of it, you obviously want to sleep well at night knowing that there is a gallery out there promoting the artist, selling him, so that he can produce more and is going to have a long career."
© 7Days 2012
