Art Dubai 2017 closes largest edition to date with 28,000 + visitors

The eleventh edition of Art Dubai, 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, was inaugurated by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, in the company of dignitaries including His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, His Excellency Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum and His Excellency AbdulRahman Bin Mohamed Al Owais.

This year’s edition was the fair’s largest and most international, with new galleries and countries participating for the first time, reinforcing its position as the world’s most globally diverse art fair, as well as the preeminent platform for the regional art scene.

A record number of 98 museums and institutions visited the fair this year, with museum directors and curators from returning institutions, including the Tate, London; the Victoria & Albert Museum, London; The British Museum, London; The Centre Pompidou, Paris; MoMA and MoMA PS1, New York; LACMA, Los Angeles and Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha. Institutions visiting for the first time included the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem; the Norton Museum of Art, Palm Beach; and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia. For the first time, Art Dubai also ran its inaugural Invited Collectors Programme, hosting over 150 international collectors and curators, who took part in a week-long extensive cultural programme across the UAE.

“This year was one of our most successful at Art Dubai to date,” said Sunny Rahbar of The Third Line, Dubai. “In addition to selling out our booth, we have been able to meet interesting new collectors and connect to staff at some of the most important institutions in the contemporary art world”.

Highlights of this year’s fair included the unveiling of Rana Begum’s monumental winning work for the ninth edition of the Abraaj Group Art Prize, the eleventh Global Art Forum that focused this year on trade, the extensive programme of performances taking place around the fair and the commissions programme that included The Room by Atfal Ahdath and Meriem Bennani’s installation at the Art Dubai Bar.

Outside the fair, Art Dubai’s Art Week programme, a testament to Dubai's growing cultural scene, had a record number of 150 participants hosting over 350 events across the city. Highlights included the sixth edition of Design Days Dubai, Sikka Art Fair and 27 gallery exhibitions in Alserkal.

Art Week also saw the announcement of the opening of the Jameel Arts Centre, one of the first major not-for-profit contemporary art institutions in Dubai, due to open at the end of 2018. The centre was seen to be active at the fair adding both Middle Eastern and international artists to the Jameel Art Collection.

Art Dubai 2017 was held in partnership with The Abraaj Group, who celebrated their annual Abraaj Week alongside the fair, and was sponsored by Julius Baer, Meraas and Piaget. The fair took place at its home, Madinat Jumeirah. The Dubai Culture and Arts Authority is a strategic partner of Art Dubai and, along with Dubai Design District (d3), supports the fair’s year-round education programme.