"100% Increase in Sales" is the headline in the local press reporting on Art Dubai.  However, this economic buzz is not as strong as the cultural buzz that is vibrating through the exhibition halls.  The place is swarming with artists, curators and educators from around the world.  The energy is not around who is buying the artwork but who is reacting to it and how.

A recurrent theme of discussion in the booths, the studios, the galleries and the discussion forums is the attachment of regional labels to the art and artists - Iranian, Palestinian, Saudi Arabian, Lebanese etc etc.  The same questions are repeated: where do the artists come from, where do they live? Is their work typical of their country, their region? How does this work of art live up to its label?  Even the art fair itself uses an acronymic label for its marketing - art from MENASA (Middle East, North Africa, South Asia).

But how valid is this approach to art in a region that has experienced so many diasporas over recent decades?  The response being discussed across the board appears to be a global one - that the artwork needs to be assessed on its own merits as a work of contemporary art that can stand up in an international context.  This is what international collectors and international institutions are looking for.  And it appears that the exhibitors at Art Dubai have responded to this challenge.

Due to recent financial woes on an international level, and at a regional level particularly in Dubai, many of the heavy weight galleries are not participating at Art Dubai.  Instead a large number of regional commercial galleries (many only opened in very recent years) from within the UAE and other countries such as Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt to name but a few are showcasing their local talent.  And what remarkable talent it is.

The level of confidence and cooperation in the artistic communities in this region is invigorating and inspiring.  The messages contained within the artworks are of hope and optimism, determination and pride.  And with that strength of message comes a quality of art that can hold its head high in any international context.

For any further information on any of these images / artworks, contact anita@anitaarcherfineart.com.au